Nutrition is a crucial factor in determining the reproductive performance and well-being of cattle. We have selected five of the most critical nutrients for your cattle’s diet in this post.
Now, there are five essential nutrients that must be included in the diet plan you select for your cattle. This is to guarantee that the cattle receive all of the essential nutrients necessary for their growth, performance, and overall health.
These substances are:
Water \sProtein \sEnergy \sVitamins \sMinerals
Water
So much time is spent by dietary experts debating absorbable elements, minerals, and various protein fractions. However, we frequently overlook the most essential nutrient, the one required in the greatest quantity by all cattle types: water.
Water is the most essential nutrient for cattle, as it makes up between 50 and 80 percent of their live weight, and all animals require water. Water is essential for transporting nutrients via the blood, preserving cellular structure, and regulating body temperature, among other functions.
To enhance feed intake and production, your cattle must have regular access to pleasant, acceptable-quality water. Additionally, it offers stress-relieving benefits for the animals.
More than any other dietary shortfall, insufficient water intake is the most detrimental to cow performance. Dehydration in cattle significantly impairs the respiratory organs’ capacity to withstand and remove pathogens. In addition, dehydration has a negative impact on the cattle’s hearing and vision.
You may assist your livestock fulfill their daily water needs by requiring them to consume water and feed with a high-water content.
Cattle require protein for digestion, development, reproduction, and lactation. It is present in muscles, neurological tissue, and connective tissue.
Protein is crucial in your cattle’s diet because it provides the chemicals necessary for microbial growth and the amino acids necessary for small intestine digestion. Insufficient protein intake can slow the pace of digestion in animals.
Proteins are essential building components for all of the major tissues and organs in cattle. The primary function of proteins in animal diet is tissue growth and repair.
Cattle that are young, growing, or in late pregnancy or lactation may have increased protein requirements. High-RUP diets, such as alfalfa dried pellets, distillers’ grain, or substitute meals such legumes, can supply more protein.
Providing high-quality feed for the herd is essential for maximizing cow nutrition and output.
Energy
Energy gives the body of cattle the ability to perform work. Work involves development, breastfeeding, reproduction, mobility, and digestion of food. Energy is the nutrient that cattle require in the largest quantity. It often accounts for the majority of feed costs.
Obviously, energy is essential to cattle nutrition in order to sustain their key body functions and meet their activity needs. Energy comprises the biggest share of feed expenditures and is, after water, the most essential nutrient for cattle. Typically, energy is derived from cereal grains and their byproducts, such as whole cottonseed.
Carbohydrates and lipids are the components of feed that contribute to its energy content.
Energy shortage resulting from insufficient intake or poor feed quality will limit growth, impair milk production, and body condition, and (depending on timing and length) may have detrimental effects on reproduction.
Vitamins
Vitamins support numerous critical metabolic processes in cattle. They are biological substances necessary in minute quantities. Age and production status will have an effect on vitamin requirements.
Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K are vital vitamins for cow nutrition. The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are stored in the animal’s fat tissue and liver. Therefore, they do not require daily supplementation if the herd has sufficient reserves.
Because these vitamins are available in feed sources and are responsible for essential metabolic processes within the animal, it is crucial to check them to prevent shortages. Fresh leafy forage is an excellent source of Vitamins A, D, and E; however, drought, forage processing, and prolonged storage periods can diminish nutritional levels.
Normal development, reproduction, and maintenance require vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency relates to decreased fertility in both bulls and cows. Vitamin D is necessary for healthy bone formation. Vitamin D deficiency in calves causes leg bones to bend outward (rickets). The bones of aged animals become brittle and readily shattered. Vitamin E and selenium are necessary for healthy muscle tissue development. Vitamin E and/or selenium deficiencies induce nutritional muscular dystrophy, often known as white muscle disease.
It is prevalent in young calves. Injecting calves with Vitamin E/selenium before birth, injecting pregnant cows with Vitamin E/selenium, or feeding cows supplemental Vitamin E and selenium can prevent white muscle disease.
Minerals A variety of minerals are required for optimal rumen function, animal health, and herd well-being. For a balanced diet, cattle require around 17 minerals, which are split into two categories: macrominerals and trace minerals. Trace minerals are required in significantly lesser quantities than macro-minerals.
Potassium (K), sodium (Na), chlorine (Cl), sulphur (S), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and phosphorus are the macrominerals required by cattle (P). Macro-minerals are required in amounts greater than 100 parts per million (ppm) and are frequently stated as a percentage (%) of the animal’s diet’s dry matter (DM).
Cattle require ten trace minerals, often known as micro-minerals. Trace minerals are typically reported in milligrams per kilogram rather than as a percentage of the daily intake. These elements include manganese (Mn), selenium (Se), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iodine (I), and iron (Fe).
Minerals are essential to cow nutrition for the following reasons:
milk production (includes Ca and P) energy, growth, immunity, and reproduction (includes P, Cu, Zn, Mn, Se) nervous system function and carbohydrate metabolism (Mg, K, Na, Cl, S, Co, I, Fe) skeletal development, bone, and tooth formation and maintenance (Mg, K, Na, Cl, S, Co, I, Fe) (includes Ca, P, Mg, Cr)
Would you like to learn more about the diet of cattle? Then send us an email at support@zenithholding.ca, and we will gladly respond to all your inquiries.
