Cattle Starving

Cows in Georgia are eating themselves to death. They are losing body condition, aborting calves and being found dead in pastures from impaction. Poor forage quality, combined with the wrong supplements and unusually cold temperatures are behind the losses.

Lee Jones, veterinarian with the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine, explained when forage can't pass through cattle's digestive systems it clogs their intestines. That has led to death in numerous cases recently.

"Low-quality forage is kind of a double-edged sword. First off, it really doesn't meet the cow's needs. She can't even eat enough low-quality hay to meet her needs, because the forage is so slow to digest; so she's basically hungry even though she's got a full stomach," Jones said.

Jacob Segers, beef cattle specialist with University of Georgia Extension at Tifton, said the first sign of trouble for most producers is a cow losing body condition. He's seeing cattle with scores of three and four, and some he's been tempted to rate even lower.

"I've never scored a cow at a two before," he said. "But I've had a few cases where I really thought about that recently. We are seeing a lot of those threes and fours. And it will take a high-energy ration and a lot of expense to move a cow from a four back to a five. This is not something that is quick or easy to recover from."

The problem goes back to the hay producers put up, which in many cases was low in nutritional value. Segers said summer rains and problems getting hay put up, lowered its nutritional value. As a result, the hay breaks down more slowly in the rumen and the low nutritional value means cattle are actually being malnourished. Cattlemen, noting a slip in body condition among the herd, are putting out supplements high in sugar/starch, hoping to encourage the cattle to eat more. That is leading to impaction and death.

Segers explained: "In necropsies we've seen omasums extended to almost the size of the rumen. They are full of what looks like grass clippings. The cattle are eating as much as they can, but they can't break it down, it's like broom straw. It's forming impactions and killing them."

In addition to the loss of cows, Segers said producers are reporting aborted calves. He said this is likely tied to the drop in body condition. "That is conjecture," he added. "But most of the cattle losing calves are malnourished and low on body condition."

Other than a loss in body condition, there aren't a lot of signs cattle are suffering until they die. One thing some producers have noted, said Segers, is a green discharge from cattle's noses, which indicates they may be aspirating.

Producers need to respond quickly to avoid losing cattle. Segers advised adding commodity feeds like whole cottonseed, corn gluten and soybean hulls; and getting the animals onto winter grazing areas if at all possible. Just two hours a day would, in many cases, be enough to keep animals from becoming impacted.

In addition, Segers said he's encouraging producers with poor quality hay and cattle that are suffering with low body conditions to consider selling calves at weaning.

"For years we in Extension in Georgia have been telling people to consider retained ownership or to put weight on those calves prior to selling them," he said. "Now we're looking at damage control. Get those calves off your place and take that need off the cows. If you do that, then hopefully they can get bred back."

He added that from the sales side things could be worse. "A 400-pound calf will bring a good return right now, with almost no investment. If there is a year when you've got to do this, it's as good a time as I've ever seen."

(CZ/BAS)

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