One of the main reasons why cows are dried-off early is due to body condition scores (BCS) being too low.

The idea behind drying-off these cows early is to allow them to build condition during the dry period.

This will help them to get into the correct condition ahead of calving down next spring.

If these cows fail to get into the correct body condition score it is likely that they will develop issues around calving.

Image source: Teagasc

But cows in too high of a condition score can also develop issue around calving and are more likely to be affected by milk fever or ketosis.

BCS

Ensuring that cows calve down in the correct BCS is important. Because of this, feed intakes should be monitored during the dry period.

Cows should be grouped in the shed and fed accordingly.

Cows in a BCS that is too low should have ad-lib access to high-quality silage while cows with BCS that is too high should have their feed intakes restricted.

Silage dry matter digestibility (DMD)BCS 2.5
(12-14 weeks dry)
BCS 2.75
(8-10 weeks dry)
BCS >3.0
(8 weeks dry)
>72Silage
+1kg of meal
Silage
ad-lib
Silage
restricted
68-72Silage
+2kg of meal
Silage
+1kg of meal
Silage
ad-lib
64-68Silage
+3kg of meal
Silage
+2kg of meal
Silage
+1kg of meal
Table source: Teagasc

The quality of the silage you are feeding the cows will determine what is required, which is why it is important to determine the quality before you start feeding it to cows.

Over-conditioned cows

It is also quite easy for late-calving cows to become over-conditioned during the dry period.

Cows that are later calving need to be closely monitored and feed likely needs to be restricted.

These cows could potentially spend a long period in the shed dry, which will result in them putting on condition.

There is a reason why late-calving cows are often the ones that have issues around calving such as milk fever.

So, along with monitoring cows to ensure they are putting on condition to calve down in the correct BCS, it is important to monitor cows are not becoming over-conditioned.