Take a Look at Pre-calving Mineral

Having your cows on a good mineral program throughout the year is essential. Supplying a good vitamin package before calving and through breeding becomes even more critical. Calves who don’t want to get up and suck or just act dumb and delayed may be experiencing a vitamin A deficiency. Because vitamins are quickly lost due to weather conditions, feeding old hay or silage can result in vitamin-deficient calves.

In my area near Kimball, SD, I like to use a high vitamin A, D, and E package in my custom mix mineral thirty days before calving and through the breeding season. During fall and early winter, I back off the high vitamin package. This practice has helped my customers avoid the issue of slow and dumb-acting calves.