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Later Feeding=Better Night Calving???

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WyomingRancher

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Does feeding late afternoon/early evening truly help with night calving? I've decided to give it a try, and am starting to feed the cows later in the day, but wanted to know if anyone else thinks this helps, I've heard mixed reviews :D .
 
i feed at nite and most of my calves are born between 6 am and 6pm,will still have a few during the nite,kinda seems like they eat then lay down and chew their cud then worry about calving,plus also i think feeding later helps to keep body temp up at night when it gets really cold,its keeps body functions moving ,producing warmth processing the feed,
 
We feed at mid morning. Now I kept track for 5 years. Starting at 6am and ending at 11 pm. What I saw in our herd was that 3/4 of the herd calved between that time and the other 1/4 calved between 11pm and 6 am.
Now I have heard the same results from guys who feed at the later afternoon. Go ahead and try it and see what results you get.
Keep track it may surprise you and it may not.
 
In the late 1980's, i worked at an experiment station ranch for Utah State University. We split the herd of cattle into test groups of ten head for the winter including through calving season. Each group was fed at different times, some morning and some afternoon. And the study results? Inconclusive! We had to be present at each birth, time and weights recorded and we found out that some cows calved regardless of when last fed. We did see that under 20% of afternoon fed cattle seemed to be more likely to calve during daylight, but not enough to merit further study. It did seem that barometric pressure was a trigger for calving. Hope it works out for ya but remember Murphy's Law. Usually some always arrive at the worst possible time. Don't ya love it! :D
 
The later we feed.....most calves are born during the daylite hours.

It's a law around here now, feed about 5PM.....no matter what.
 
I have a large lot on our corrals that will hold all the range cows when we come off the forest and cut out 3 ways. So there is plenty off room for my cows .The west side is a long open faced shed then a new calving barn , heated tack room with a bed and TV.. I do a light feed in the pasture below the barn and turn the cows out in the morning, then do a heavy feed in the lot. About dusk we let the cows trail into the lot thru the corrals, any cows that don't come in we chase them into the corral and separate them into stalls in an old log barn. When we check usually by 10 all of them have calved. Usually only get heifers into the new barn during the middle of the night.
 
We tried it a few years ago, and it seemed to work.

The problem we had was that living in the Land of Ice and Snow, we were still checking in the middle of the night, just in case someone decided to have a night time calf. What was happening to us was that one of us would go out about 4 a.m., and see a cow in early labour. Well, you just can't go and jump back into bed when it's 25 below and you see that, so we'd sit up and wait for her to calf, and then sure enough about the time the sun came up, she'd do it. So there we were with a morning born calf, who most times didn't need any help anyway, and no sleep. :roll: :roll: :roll:

After we lost a few night's sleeps, the executive decision was made that the next year we'd go back to morning feeding. They still calve mostly in the daytime, with a lot of them calving towards supper time and early evening. That's a lot better for us.

I guess if you live somewhere warm, it's well worth a try.
 
I was going to try it a few years ago- but it seemed the late day feeding always interferred with something....About the time you got snuggled up to all the bank girls at the Water Hole it would be time to feed... :wink:

Also I like to get the feeding done early so if I have a breakdown, I've got daylight and parts stores available to fix something...While I think it may work to some extent- I agree with Leanin H that barometric pressure and weather have much more to do with it...
Remember cows are female- and they're going to have it at the most inconvenient of times just for spite... :wink: :P
 
I've tried feeding in the late afternoon(4 - 5 p.m.) for several years now. It definitely does work, you'll get the vast majority of calves during daylight. Although in heifers, I've had not quite as good of results.

If you decide to try it, change over your feeding time at least 2 to 3 weeks before you start to calve. That'll get'em use to it.
 
I have done it for a few years. I wouldn't say it keeps them from calving at night but you can almost always tell the ones that are going to calf that night if you spend about 30 minutes watching them shortly after feeding.
 
Thanks for the advice. I realize I'd still need to check, but after the past few years, where the cows would start in at 9pm and go until 3am, only to dribble along during daylight hours, I'm game to try something different :D .

I'm starting to feed later a good two months before calving, could I go back to feeding in the morning until mid-January, than switch to evening, or am I better off getting them on this schedule now? I know Triangle Bar recommended switching "at least 2-3 weeks before calving".
 
WyomingRancher said:
Thanks for the advice. I realize I'd still need to check, but after the past few years, where the cows would start in at 9pm and go until 3am, only to dribble along during daylight hours, I'm game to try something different :D .

I'm starting to feed later a good two months before calving, could I go back to feeding in the morning until mid-January, than switch to evening, or am I better off getting them on this schedule now? I know Triangle Bar recommended switching "at least 2-3 weeks before calving".
Click to expand...

We feed like that yr round.....of course less in the summer....but I hate to change routines once I've got one set.
 
Unless I'm certain there is a cow in the works, I don't check at night anymore. I start calving in late April when there is more daylight on both ends of the day. So nighttime calvings will naturally be fewer.

I calve on fresh pasture so I'm not feeding the cows anyway, unless I give them some cake. That's good for lining up and checking them over. And to see if a cow has other things on her mind besides cake. :wink:
 
I always figgered if the cow was gonna calve at night she was already thinking about it at 5 when it was time for feeding so didnt put much faith in that myth but i tried it anyways for a season and it didnt make much differance ..Out of 300 cows about the same amount did it at night anyways.
 
I fed afternoons for years because of work schedule with an outside job. When I quit, I switched to feeding mornings. I cannot tell a difference in how many calve at night. What adjustments I made that make a difference in labor and profit is calving later (March 20 in SE CO-a 30 day set back for me). Live calves went up, feed consumption went down. Weaning weights did not drop as much as I anticipated. Pounds of weaned calves is very comparable. I agree with John SD. Calving season is shorter. Breedback is good. I also like calving ease/maternal trait bulls. A smaller calf equals a better start, less problems, and better breedback. A good mother will make more difference than a terminal/weaning wt sire.
 
We've always fed in the AM. The neighbors feed in the evening and still seem to be up all night.
We start April 1 and unless it's a cold night or I think there is a problem starting, I check at 11 PM and Mrs. checks at five AM. Last year we branded a 102.8% calf crop. That was the best ever.
 
I never switch to night feeding until the day they move into the calving pasture. Most years that is a day after a couple calves are born.
 
We find that calving on grass solves a lot of these problems - no feeding time dilemma. Just check them a couple or three times a day and you'll wonder why you ever winter calved. Our assist rate has fallen to under 1% (basically the occasional backwards calf or twins), they all get up and suck and we don't see scour problems.
 
WyomingRancher said:
Thanks for the advice. I realize I'd still need to check, but after the past few years, where the cows would start in at 9pm and go until 3am, only to dribble along during daylight hours, I'm game to try something different :D .

I'm starting to feed later a good two months before calving, could I go back to feeding in the morning until mid-January, than switch to evening, or am I better off getting them on this schedule now? I know Triangle Bar recommended switching "at least 2-3 weeks before calving".
Click to expand...

If you're already starting to feed later in the day, I'd stick with that routine.
 
Several years ago the ranch next door and I compared notes every few days on this subject. He was a firm night feeder and I was a morning guy. What do ya know... no difference. :? We have since moved to spring calving on pasture. Longer days and no night checks. Much better.

Good to see you here, Grassfarmer.
 

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