It’s commonly said among producers that feeding in the afternoon or evening means cows will calve during the day, making it easier to manage. Finding what works best for your operation is crucial to a successful calving season.
Rumen Activity’s Role in Calving Time
To ensure females are adjusted to this cycle, UNL Beef’s Rick Rasby and Kaci McCarthy say producers should start feeding at dusk two to three weeks before calving season starts.
It’s unclear what truly prompts cows to calve, other than a hormonal connection. Rasby and McCarthy explain studies show rumen contractions increase in frequency after feeding and then lessen a few hours before a cow calves. Rumen pressure drops in the last two weeks of gestation and continues to decline during calving.
Therefore, it’s concluded calving can be triggered by low rumen pressure. So, in this instance, feeding at night increases the pressure, and then by daytime it has declined, meaning cows are more likely to calve.
Originally, Gus Konefal, a rancher in Mantioba, Canada, developed and reported observations of this method in the 1970s, and this method of feeding is named after him.
Results of the Konefal Feeding Method
South Dakota State University Extension cow-calf field specialist Adele Harty explains research supports the Konefal feeding method. A study from Iowa State University used this system, feeding one time per day at 4 p.m. starting two weeks before expected calving. Results showed 82% of cows calved between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., and 91% of calves were born between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m.
In this project, first-calf heifers were separated from the data set, resulting in 90% of them calving in this same time frame.
Further studies among 15 producers in Iowa and Missouri concluded feeding once a day between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. resulted in 85% of cows calving between 5 a.m. and midnight. Data provided by UNL Beef from Canadian and British studies shows 79% of cows calved during the day when fed later. Other field trials by cattlemen showed 74.5% of calves born between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Combining results from 15 farms in Iowa, 85% of cows calved between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. when fed at dusk.
Points for Success
As a producer, you must do what works best for your operation. Harty provides some key points to consider when and if producers choose to implement the Konefal feeding system.
- For this method to be most effective, it should be implemented one month prior to calving, but a shorter duration before the start of calving will have a similar effect.
- Stay as close to the same feeding schedule and feed amount as possible every day. Deviating more than 15 minutes in the schedule or feeding too much will affect the results.
- Still maintain regular night checks — implementing this system only means there is less calves born during the night.
- It works best in a drylot setting where all feed is regulated and provided. Results may not be as effective in a grazing situation if grazing is unregulated.
- Weather can temporarily change the effects, as with most systems.
- Other research shows that if a first-calf heifer calves during the day, she will tend to calve during the day throughout her productive years.
Calving season is a stressful time for producers, often having longer hours. With the Konefal feeding system, producers can ensure more cows calve during the daylight hours, reducing workload and stress.
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