Nutritional buffering: Do we make the best use of this phenomena
in the breeding cow
A.B. Pleasants, R.A. Barton, D.G. McCall
Whatawhata Research Centre, Private Bag 3089, Hamilton, New
Zealand.
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 1994,
54: 329-332
The nutritional buffering capacity of the beef cow, defined as the
ability to absorb low levels of feeding without compromising productivity, is
reviewed in regard to winter management. It is shown that resistance to
liveweight loss is repeatable for cows within the same herd between years
(correlations 0.4 to 0.8, P<0.01). However this capacity is associated with
lower calf weaning weight (correlations 0.3 to 0.5, P<0.05). There was no
association between the amount of winter liveweight loss and cow liveweight,
calf birth weight or time to first oestrus in the cow. It is shown that these
results are consistent with evidence for the variation of maintenance
requirements between cows.
It is suggested that the buffering capacity of the beef cow could be exploited
through animal breeding or by management of early nutrition. There may be no
one cow type which is optimal for all farming situations, and instead a range of
cow types which are more or less able to buffer feed shortages may be
preferred.
Keywords: NZSAPAB;
beef cow; winter nutrition; maintenance variability.
Download abstract in text format
Last Updated 25-01-1997
