Feeding Dairy Cattle Questions and Answers
What kind of animals are dairy cattle
ruminant
major differences between feeding dairy cattle and feeding beef cattle
from dairy cattle we want high milk production
the beef cattle lives all year long to produce one healthy calfe and for that ...
95-96% of the dairy cattle are this breed in the US because they produce more milk
compared to other breeds
other breeds produced milk of different composition that contains more milk fat
Dairy cow selected for - answer tremendous productivity
average production of DHI (Dairy Herd Improvement) cows - answer > 18,000 lbs of
milk per year
Dairy Herd Improvement Association - answer is available for farmers to participate
and subscribe to, and purchase surfaces from
help dairymen manage their dairy operations
Many good herds produce - answer >25,000 lbs of milk per cow per year
Record setting cows produce - answer 67,914 lbs of milk per year
Cycle of a dairy cow - answer 1 year has 365 days
a cow can milk for various lengths of time (for 400-500 days), but it is more productive if
refreshened
,much better if cow is dried off, allowed to have another calf, and come into milk
production again
- this is called freshening (when she comes into a calf)
365-60 = 305 days
- allow 60 days off for good behavior
- allow for body condition to get back in shape
- allow for mammary gland to stop producing and get ready to start producing again
305 day (average) adjusted lactation for comparisons of cows (except record setters)
- that would have each cow produce one calf per year
Feeding the high producing Dairy cow is a great challenge why? - answer Great
challenge bc if the cow doesn't have the genetic potential to produce as much milk then
the challenge is easier to feed the cow but the principles remain the same
Feeding the high producing Dairy cow requires great amounts of energy why - answer
milk has milk sugar and milk fat
if they give a lot of milk they have a very large energy drain so they need a lot of feed
and energy
Feeding the high producing Dairy Cattle requires a lot of grain - answer but you can't
just continue to increase the grain in the diet without any forage
Feeding the high producing Dairy is restricted in - answer the amount of grain
thumb rule: no more than 60% of ration can be concentrates (40% forages)
most good dairy rations will be in the range from 40% concentrate and 60% forages to
60% concentrate and 40% forages
For good producing average cows a ration of 50-50 works pretty well
Dynamics of what's going on in the dairy cow --- very large - answer cow has a calf
and begins to lactate (tremendous body changes)
cow goes from dry (producing no milk)
calves and comes into milk at high levels
creates a need for lots of energy
she might not be able to eat enough feed to meet the energy need
, reminder: should not change diet drastically for any ruminant animal .THEY ALWAYS
NEED TIME TO ACCOMODATE
at the time that the cow calves her feed intake may fall off - right when an animal has a
baby they have a low appetite but milk production begins anyway
6 weeks after calving she is at the peak lactation
feed intake lags but will catch eventually cow uses body stores initially, lose some body
condition, use fat storage she has... do not want her using fat storage too much or she
will get ketosis
feed the cow a higher nutritional plane when her needs are high
when she is milking less we will cut back some on concentrate and feed lower percent
protein
when she is dry we won't feed her as much grain or protein but we won't drastically
change everything
will not switch from good quality feeds to low quality feeds
will not feed crop residue feeds anytime in production phase because she needs good
quality feeds so she will eat a lot and get a lot of nutrition from it
Feeding Dairy Cattle - forage portion - answer the foundation of a good diet is quality
forage
forage alone can't meet the energy needs for lactation
BUT quality forage can stimulate feed intake and dry matter intake is crucial
DM intake is crucial
good quality forage can contribute to needed protein
milk production potential of forages
The foundation of a good diet is quality forage why? - answer needs a lot of protein -
good if forage provides a lot of that so we don't have to buy as much SBM
needs a certain level of forage in the diet to keep rumen functioning well and to keep
her from getting acidosis
Needs to be palatable because we want her to eat a tremendous amount of feed, easily
2x as much a beef cattle would
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