Your cow is at a critical time in the reproductive life as she continues to gain weight primarily due to the foetus.

Your management objectives should, therefore, rotate around better feeding for the cow to calve a strong healthy calf, maintaining good health and staying in a good condition to increase the likelihood of rebreeding after calving, say after about three months.

Since your heifer will calve down in four weeks, you should now feed her on extra dairy meal concentrate at a recommended rate of 2kg per day, which is enough not to result in over-conditioning.

The feeds are high quality and balanced in protein, minerals, and vitamins. The practice is known as steaming up or extra supplementary feeding.

This feeding allows a cow to store some reserves that will be used for milk production from the beginning of the lactation and to adapt rumen microbes in digesting concentrates in early lactation when extra concentrates will be fed.

It also minimises digestive disturbances and ensures that the cow adequately nourishes the unborn calf since the growth rate of the foetus at this time is about 70 per cent and ensures adequate supply of milk for the new-born calf.

The diet should have a higher level of energy to prepare the animal for lactation and protein because the unborn calf largely needs the diets.

Take care not to underfeed as this results in a small bodied animal that will have difficulty in calving (dystocia) and raise chances of other health problems like milk fever and ketosis.

Special minerals such as magnesium is needed to prevent grass tetany (a nutritional disease arising from feeding on grasses high in water content and potassium and low in magnesium), and selenium should be added as needed especially if cereals, straw or weathered hay is a major part of the diet.

The amount of minerals provided such as calcium and phosphorous fed should be restricted to 0.4 per cent and 0.25 per cent respectively to minimise incidences of milk fever.

It is important to note that calf management begins before birth. A few days before the calf is born, prepare calving grounds which should be clean and dry and make a calf pen.

When she calves down, the new-born calf should be given good quality colostrum from the dam within 24 hours.

The nutrition of your heifer before calving plays a big role in getting this quality colostrum. Also, arrange to have the cow transferred to a clean, dry, well protected site away from cows that are yet to calve.

If you experience difficulties during calving, do not hesitate calling a veterinarian. I advise you identify one already to attend to the cow.