 | Dr. William Morland graduated from Kansas State University in 1970 with a doctorate in veterinary medicine. He and his wife, Dr. Laura Morland, founded the hospital in 1974. Dr. Morland is a large-animal practitioner. He also owns the Flying M Ranch. He enjoys working with his own cattle and back grounding calves. His pets other than his cattle include two Cairn terrier named Bandit and Dandy. |
Veterinary
2012-08-01 16:03:31
How can I prevent grass tetany in my cows this spring?
Q- How can I prevent grass tetany in my cows this spring?
A- Grass tetany is a common problem in the spring when pastures are greening up and calving season has started. Some ways to prevent this disease are as follows:
Be sure cows have free choice access to a salt-mineral mix with added magnesium (Mg). Most feed companies have a "high-mag" mineral. Make sure it also has about 25% salt in the mix. If you mix your own, a good mix is 25% of each of these: TM salt, Di-cal, Mag oxide, finely ground corn. Mag oxide tastes terrible and you need the corn to force intake.
If you feed corn gluten or DDGS, you will likely not have concerns with grass tetany as both products are high in Magnesium. About 5# of dry product/head/day will supply about half the cows Mg requirement each day.
Do not graze small grain (cereal grain) pastures with cows with young calves unless you are force feeding Mg and salt. These pastures are very low in Mg and the highest risk pastures.
If you fertilized the pasture with potash this spring, do not graze with cows with calves. High potassium in the forage is one of the highest risk factors for grass tetany. Never fertilize grass or mostly grass pastures with potash in the spring. Do it in fall if needed. Fertilizing with nitrogen in the spring is also a risk factor.
If you have some legume hay, feed some every day to the cows on mostly grass pasture. Adding legumes to the pasture mix is a great way to decrease the chance of having grass tetany, but it is not fool-proof. Grass grows faster than legumes in the early spring and early mixed pastures are still mostly grass.
I hope these suggestions will be helpful- just remember to check those cows at least once daily.
