Hopefully you are done calving, but if not be sure to keep an eye on those cows daily. Watch cows and calves closely. Identify calves while they are young and easy to handle. Commercial male calves should be castrated and implanted.
Prevent grass tetany! Continue providing magnesium in the mineral mix until daytime temperatures are consistently above 60 degrees F. Mineral supplement should be available at all times and contain a minimum of about 12-13 percent magnesium. Make sure that your mineral mix contains adequate selenium, copper and zinc along with either Rumensin or Bovatec.
Have cows in good condition for the breeding season! Continue feeding cows until pastures is adequate to meet their nutritional needs. Lactating cows will not likely receive adequate nutrition from short, watery grass even though they may quit eating hay. Keep them confined to a small area with adequate feed until grass has enough growth to maintain cow condition. Pasture needs to be 8 inches high to provide adequate nutrition to cattle. Good body condition (minimum condition score 5) is essential to good rebreeding this spring! Supplement first-calf heifers with about 5 pound of grain or 10 -15 pound of corn silage to promote rebreeding. Lactating cows will probably need supplementation depending upon their body condition and quality of hay fed. Most cows need 3 pounds of 12% feed for another 2-3 weeks.
