I have often read these kind of conversations but never joined in, so hopefully will not say the wrong thing/explain what I mean clearly!! I am also dyslexic so hope you will excuss the spelling.
Oh this is a hard one as it is very complicated. Feeding is hard enough but then add Shetlands in who have never read the rule book!!!
I suppose part of feeding cattle or any stock for that matter is stockman's eye (Just being able to look and know) - fine but that does take years to gain the experience to just know what the correct feeding is.
We started as small holders 25 years ago so have learned the hard way!!
I got a shock 10 years ago when starting with Quarter horses, had to go back to the drawing board and learn the stockman's job again, fortunatly the retired stockman that bred my stallion was there to advise.
I would split them down into at least 5 groups in my mind,
1) heifer calves post weaning up to bulling/5 months post service.
2) Cows/heifers 3/4 months from calving
3) Cows with calves at foot
4) Othe dry cows
5) ill/fat/thin or mineral deficient females
So Bex your cattle seem to fit into 3) above,
Now this is one occasion when Shetlands can need careful feeding, the reason is that A good cow - well good in my eyes will milk hard and will milk off her back, so a very good one can go from fat to wreck in 6 weeks with just adlib silage and no hard feeding having said that I am talking about a cow that will give 5/6 gallons a day, then the bigger problem comes of how to feed to stop the cow becoming a wreck but not feed as even a Simmental calf will not take all that milk at such a young age.
Hence the question about breeding - to try and establish the milkyness of the cattle.
Having said that most Shetlands are not bred to be that milky, pity as we could loose the greatest asset the breed has, so if they are the dry beefier sort then there is less need. I certainly would be giving them some type of concentrate feeding/block. The problem with blocks is that they are around £4/500 per ton yet concentrate feeds £210/250. I would be wanting to get a high energy (ME) feed yes for milk, protien is needed but if the cows are reasonable sorts then they should not need to higher protien.
In a mineral deficient area I would say mineral buckets a must but then on a good place I supose they could get staggers hence need extra Mag. Again a milky sort will need this more than a beefier cow.
If there is grass in the spring and summer then I would not see the need for feed blocks/buckets - I am unsure if the crysatllix are feed or mineral buckets? Very important to be clear about the difference. One feeds the other tempt them to take the minerals. We always use mollased mineral buckets, never feed buckets.
We also use boluses as well but then our place is very like Shetland in ground conditions. Copper/Cobalt/Selenium deficient.
"Did they dramatically increase the amount of forage the cows consumed?"
Shetlands can eat most/all breeds "under the table" remember they evolved "on a diet of controlled malnutrition" so if its eadible they will eat it - now give them sweets instead yes they will eat those by preference!!
Remember the inlifting? ie. the winters when cattle became so thin they collapsed and had to be put in slings, in the spring they where carried out to the grazings. They where bred to get fat when the going is good to help tied them over the bad.
Little wonder they are real tough beasties - they constantly amaze us compared with "normal breeds"!!!!
(No do not get me going on that one!!!!)
not sure about yours Rosemary3) or 4) ?
Did you say the vet suggested they get weight off???!!! Why ? (Assuming they are breeding regularly ofcourse)
"The book" would say that a cow will not get in calf if fat I would say Shetlands are less likely to get in calf if slimmer.
Trouble is vets tend to be book people. We have had great fun with them over the years!!! Called living and learning. It seems to take us about two years to train them into the Shetland's way of thinking!!!
It is possibly worth remembering that Shetland's have not read the native cattle book either, as they can act very differently to other native breeds.
I suspect that some lines clamp down - anesterous if the going gets tough, in normal terms that can mean they have lesser fertility than other lines that can be super fertile. Again an important thing to breed in or out for the future of the breed -depends on your view point which you choose.
I would have though that cows without calves and no access to any grazing would need more than just straw to last a winter. IF they need it I would have thought they would eat the blocks a plenty.
Hope that helps?, seems a lot of rambling??
Linda