PROTEIN & COWS

Nutrients change constantly depending on the animal’s state of health, sex, age, breed, level of activity, parasite numbers and of course the environment.  The very basic nutrients are supplied by the environment via extensive grazing.  A seasonal strategy must be developed by farmers in order to ensure that the animals receive optimum nutrition by supplementation.

 Cattle grazing...

  Herd on licks

Protein is necessary for growth.  It is used for building body tissues and cells.  Sources of proteins are licks which are made from raw ingredients that contain proteins like cotton seed, sunflower and fish meal perhaps.  During the rainy months, the grass in the veld is plentiful and green.  Thus, protein levels are high in pastures.  Little to no supplementation is needed. During the winter months, when the veld is dry and yellow, the opposite arises.

Symptoms of protein deficiency in animals

• The hair stands up and skin is hard
• The body condition and weight worsen.
• The animal walks with curved backs
• The stop of grazing arises
• The animals are constantly thirsty, lie down next to water troughs and drink a lot of water.
• The animals manure is dry, black and hard.
• The animals intestines can be clogged easily.

Protein is an important requirement, especially in cows.  An animal stresses the most when calving.  This is when the protein requirements increase drastically because the milk is full of protein to sustain the calve and help it grow. Supplementation is necessary during this time.  In addition the animal also needs to maintain body condition because within three months after calving, the cows are on the bull again.  The closer the cow comes to her target weight, the sooner she will be pregnant and the earlier she will calve.

XoXo

WINTER SUPPLEMENTATION OUTCOME

The interactive breakfast meeting was a great success.  A large audience attended this meeting held on the 27 June at Agra/Bank Windhoek Ring.  The meeting was facilitated by an Agra member, Dagmar Honsbein. Presentations were done by teams from the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Affairs, Feedmaster and from Agra.

It was noted that animals need food for reproduction, growth and survival.  The animal breeders need their cattle herds to be optimized for income from sales, milk and meat.  The animals need protein, energy, water, vitamins, minerals and vaccines. The cheapest and most effective way of feeding animals is directly from the rangeland.  But obviously, the quality of rangeland changes with seasons.   In winter, the rangeland becomes depleted in protein, minerals and vitamins. Thus it is recommended to supplement what is 'lacking' in the rangeland.  An important aspect discussed was deficiency symptoms in animals.  Below are the deficiencies of various food groups and their symptoms.

1. Protein
Loss of weight, weakness and/or no energy.
2.Minerals
Joint problems
3. Phosphate
Eating of objects with no nutritional value such as bones, and plastics.  Lack of phosphate also results to Botalism (Ombindu in otjiherero)
4.Vitamin A
Eye infections, abortions, and retained placentas.

The sources of nutrients was discussed.  These sources of proteins are  fishmeal, lucerne and urea respectively.  The yellow maize and molasses provide energy. Lastly, vitamin A is from injectables and maize.

Alot of research was done by the Feedmaster group inorder to enhance the quality of 'licks'.  The research was done based on difference areas of Namibia (sandy and hardeveld areas). Feedmaster also discussed the differences in their licks and how they are mixed.  It is very important to read labels and ask for advice before purchasing licks from suppliers.  The licks that are already mixed (ready to use) are cattle lick 40, cow and calf lick and eco-grassveld lick.  The cattle mix 4:1:5 and dry veld concentrate require mixing.

Overall, the meeting was very informative.  Attached below is the link to the presentations.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-pU5Z4-HX23cHdPRVZxZDI5TDA/edit?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-pU5Z4-HX23Y2lTb1FpUTgteHM/edit?usp=sharing