Cows Need High Energy Wanda To Mitigate Cold Stress
Cattle feels most comfortable when temperatures are neither too cold nor too warm. During the winter season cattle may experience cold stress, when the effective ambient temperature drops below the Lower Critical Temperature (LCT). Lower critical temperature is the lowest body temperature that an organism can tolerate. The organisms cannot maintain their usual body functions below this temperature. The lower critical temperature may vary greatly. Many animals have different lower critical temperature according to their environmental conditions, health and body condition score. Usually cattle begin to shiver blow this point (LCT). This is the time, when
Cow need daily supply of essential nutrients required for their maintenance, growth, pregnancy and production specially in winter to mitigate cold stress. Quantitatively any type of nutrient can limit performance levels, but the most likely to be in short supply are energy and protein, this is especially true for high and average yielding cows to maintain normal body functions that is known as their ‘maintenance’ requirement. A dairy cow feed needs to be balanced to achieve milk production, body condition and reproduction targets.
During winter, provide your animals high energy nutrition to avoid cold stress and you must be well aware of body condition score of your herd as when body condition score is low the cows have more chances to suffer from cold stress.