Robert Bailey, President

Transition feeding and management involves how we feed dry cows and bred heifers three weeks before calving and 3 to 6 weeks afterwards. There have been many excellent articles written on this subject, and it is my goal to summarize these ideas into a simple article that you can use for your herd. I will outline the key factors for successful transition from dry cow to milking.

Maximizing Dry Matter Intake is the most important factor for a successful transition. The better the DMI before and after calving, the lower the incidence of metabolic problems such as milk fever, ketosis, displaced abomasum, retained placenta, and cystic ovaries.

Dry cow rations should be low in energy and contain approximately 32% ADF and 45% NDF. Lower quality forages such as oatlage, grass hay or haylage, and a limited amount of corn silage work well. Three weeks before calving we need to get dry cows and heifers adjusted to the milk cow diet (Prefresh Period).

The Prefresh period should incorporate milk cow forages at a similar ratio, with grain being limited to a level that allows about 24-25% ADF in the ration. Prefresh animals need the highest quality feeds for palatability. Low quality feeds, high fiber feeds, or moldy/musty feeds have no place in this diet. At ANC, we will sometimes formulate some of the milk cow TMR into this diet, but usually only for convenience. Many of the milk cow ingredients do not work for prefresh cows. These include salt, bicarb, buffers, potassium, and fat. Milk cow protein blends fed at more than 1/2 pound are not recommended for prefresh cows because of this! In top dress situations, many dairymen want the animal to get used to the milk cow protein, but this will hurt the prefresh cow in two ways: one is getting all of those previously mentioned ingredients that will contribute to edema and milk fever, and the other is excessive protein which may cause the cow to secrete too much milk too soon, which can also accelerate milk fever. If we do not print it on the ration, do not feed it! We have already balanced for higher protein levels in prefresh rations (15-16%) compared to levels of 12-13.5% for dry cows.

Over-conditioning: Fat cows eat less feed, so conditioning during the last half of lactation, and in heifer rations is important. Animals condition coded over 3.5 to 3.75 will consume less feed and be in the high risk category for all metabolic problems, including fatty liver syndrome.

Prefresh feeding should not start before 3 weeks prepartum! There is a disadvantage of reduced growth in heifers (using anionic rations), a less healthy ration for cows due to lower fiber levels, and a higher cost to you if you start these diets too soon. Cows and heifers alike show higher production if they are on a prefresh diet for 21 days prior to calving. Remember, dollars made in production gains are not as great as the dollars saved from avoiding problems!

Postfresh feeding with TMR groups is made easier by having a Fresh group. Many producers incorporate fresh cows with a heifer group. In both of these situations it is our goal to concentrate minerals, vitamins, protein and fiber to maximize DMI. Notice, I did not say energy! For fresh cows, if energy is increased as a percentage of the diet, you actually lower intake, fiber, and the total energy the cow consumes! For example, a postfresh/heifer ration at 78% energy, where animals are consuming 42 pounds, yields 32.8 mega-cals. An 81% energy ration at 39 pounds DMI yields only 31.6 mega-cals! A reduction of intake of just 3 pounds in this situation will cost you 4-5 pounds of milk! Also, the lower energy ration has more fiber which enhances cud chewing, helping to maintain rumen pH. This is of great benefit for heifers and fresh cows if you want them to stay on feed! The last thing we need is for these animals to walk around with sore feet, have acidosis, and lower DMI. Remember, we also need to think about getting them bred, and cows with low DMI are short of energy and very often become cystic, and that happens a lot after a DA!

Anionic vs. Cationic diets: In simple terms, cows need an anionic diet before calving to help their systems metabolize calcium. Anionic diets actually lower pH of the rumen, blood, and urine. Because urine is something we can readily get at, a urine pH meter becomes a useful tool. Almost all ANC consultants have this pH meter. Anionic ingredients used for feeding include ammonium chloride, ammonium sulfate, hydrochloric acid, calcium sulfate, calcium chloride, and magnesium sulfate. Soychlor (makers of Soy-Plus) and ANC's MFP/Soychlor are good sources. Cationic elements that need to be reduced in a prefresh diet include mainly potassium and sodium. High potassium forages greatly increase the need for anionic products when they are incorporated into prefresh diets. Other cationic minerals that we need to manage include calcium and magnesium.

Environmental Factors that influence intake during this critical period include having enough bunk space, good ventilation, clean pens, comfortable housing, plenty of clean water, and a little competition to stimulate appetite. If you want the highest return on your money, spend it on facilities for transition cows! This time period represents more potential profit or loss than any other phase of a dairy operation!

In summary, if you are an ANC customer, I would like to think you are utilizing the Heifer, Dry Cow, and Prefresh programs, and following them as we have outlined. If you are not currently using Transition Rations, I can assure you that you will be financially rewarded for doing so! Ask your consultant how you can improve on this most important phase of your dairy operation.