The Bagpipe - American Highland Cattle Association

MANAGEMENT
BASICS FOR HIGHLAND OWNERS
Tom Field, Ph.D., John Scanga, Ph.D.,
Celina Johnson, Ph.D., Brett Kaysen & Michael Hays
William Danforth, the founder of Purina Mills, advocated that there were four fundamental factors required for
successful livestock production:
1. Good feeding
2. Good breeding
3. Proper sanitation
4. Sound management and husbandry
This philosophy is still appropriate in today’s environment.
Good feeding requires that producers recognize the unique attributes of ruminant animals. The compartments of
the bovine stomach include the omasum, abomasum, reticulum, and rumen. The rumen is the largest compartment that
contains a dynamic microbial population of approximately 10 billion bacteria, 1 million protozoa and 10 thousand fungi
per ml. of fluid. These microbes are responsible for digesting the cellulose and hemi-cellulose that comprise the
structure of high roughage feedstuffs. The microbes of the rumen are the unique feature that allows cattle and other
ruminant animals the competitive advantage of having a diet centered on the use of high fiber feeds. The microbes in
the rumen produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as a result of their own digestive activity. Cattle then use these VFAs as
a primary energy source. This symbiotic relationship between cattle and the microbes in the rumen provide the basis
for the ruminant’s role in grazing ecosystems.
Accurate ration formulation requires the following information:
1. Precise description of the class of cattle (gender, age, weight, frame size, body condition, stage of production
and desired rate of gain)
2. Accurate description of the nutrient content of the available feeds as verified by laboratory analysis
3. Knowledge of the effects of climatic and environmental stressors on the nutritional requirements of animals
4. Knowledge of the impacts of other management protocols such as animal health, usage of feed additives
and/or implants, etc. on nutrition
One of the keys to nutritional management is monitoring body condition of animals. Body condition scores can be
assigned to individuals based on a visual assessment of the animal’s composition. The scoring system ranges from 1 to
9 with 1 equal to severely emaciated and 9 equal to extremely obese. The target body condition score at weaning is a
4+ to 5, at calving is a 5+ to 6 and a rising 5 at the time of breeding (one-half a BCS higher for heifers).
Once body condition scores are assessed they can be coupled with other sorting criteria to establish management
groups that can be fed to the specific needs of the group. For example, at weaning time the cow herd could be sorted
into the following categories and then managed accordingly:
1. Mature cows with a BCS of 4 or lower
2. Mature cows with a BCS of 5 – 6
3. Yearling heifers
A number of digestive disorders may be encountered in cattle but the three most likely are bloat, acidosis and
hardware disease.
Bloat: The functional ruminant animal is able to expel gases created via microbial digestion. However, if the rumen is
blocked or is rendered dysfunctional as a result of the gas accumulation, cattle will experience bloat. Bloat is
characterized by distension of the upper left abdomen as a result of gas build-up. The use of an esophageal tube to
release the gas is often required.
Acidosis occurs when the rumen environment becomes too acidic as a result of excessive grain intake or reduced buffer
production. There are two types of microbial digesters in the rumen – fiber digesters that prefer a pH of greater than
6.2 and starch digesters that thrive in environments with a pH of 5.4 to 7.0. Because of these differences, it is
imperative that as rations move from forage to forage plus grain that the dietary changes are conducted in a
transitional manner to ensure normal rumen function.
35