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Pre-Vet 3 > 11. Dairy Industry > Flashcards

11. Dairy Industry Flashcards

1
Q

What are the nutrient priorities for dairy cattle? (9)

A
  1. basal metabolism
  2. foraging and other physical activies
  3. growth
  4. support for energy body reserves
  5. adding to energy reserves
  6. storing excess energy
  7. estrous cycle and initiating pregnancy
  8. maintain existing pregnancy
  9. milk production
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2
Q

Calving: What challenges do first-calf heifers face around the time of calving, and why is energy intake crucial in the first 24 hours?

A
  1. Can be a difficult time, especially for
    first-calf heifers (sire selection
    important).
    - Generally new surroundings and
    new herd mates.
    - Potentially new feeds
    - Low voluntary feed intake due to the reduced rumen space from the fetus
  2. Energy demand can double in first 24 hours
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3
Q

What considerations should be made regarding maternity stalls for calving cows? (4)

A
  1. Dry cows should be separated from milking cows or other groups.
  2. Cows close to calving should be separated and placed in a pen with easy access
  3. Clean and dry bedding is required and access to restraints for assisted calving
  4. Cows fed and watered under close observation
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4
Q

How much colostrum should a calf be fed?

A

Calves should be fed 2 L of colostrum within their first hour

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5
Q

What are the options for managing bull calves? (3)

A
  1. Disposed at birth
  2. Fed for veal production.
  3. Castrated and fed for beef.
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6
Q

What are the objectives during a calf’s life? (2)

A
  1. Develop a strong immune system.
  2. Stimulate rumen development.
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7
Q

What is the typical nutritional management for calves after birth?

A

Calves are removed from the dam within a few hours of birth.

HOW?
1. They are fed milk replacer for 6–8 weeks (milk is the high-value saleable product).
2. Grain and forage are provided to encourage them to start on dry feeds.
- Rumen development
- Fewer digestive upsets.

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8
Q

How can early rumen development be promoted in calves? (4)

A
  1. Offer high-quality calf starter from 3 days of age
    HOW?
    - Change the starter daily to keep it fresh (saliva contamination flies and mold reduces intake).
    - The freshness, texture and palatability of these feeds will help promote intake.
  2. Promote early dry feed intake
    HOW?
    - Place a small amount of starter in the calf’s mouth or bucket after milk feeding
  3. Offer clean, fresh water daily starting at one week of age
  4. Wean the calf when it consumes 0.7 kg of starter per day for two consecutive days This level usually occurs at ~ 60 days of age
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9
Q

What is the nutritional management of heifers from 5 months of age? (5)

A
  1. Good-quality legume/grass-legume pasture/conserved forage (hay/silage).
  2. Supplemental grain is likely necessary to meet needs.
  3. Heifers should be large enough to breed at 15 months of age to calve at 24 months.
  4. Breed at 65% of mature body weight - Birth at 85% mature body weight
  5. Monitor BCS to avoid overfeeding and negative impacts.
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10
Q

Nutritional management of heifers: Why are adequate and balanced diets important for heifers?

A
  1. To achieve target weight.
    - The rate at which heifers grow determines when they can attain puberty.
    - It also influences milk production
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11
Q

What is the weight at calving range and why?

A

1200 – 1250 lb
- Lighter heifers will produce less milk
- Heavier heifers means high cost of rearing that may never be realized

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12
Q

Why is providing adequate nutrients a challenge in lactation cows? (3)

A
  1. There is a complex relationship between productivity and voluntary feed intake.
  2. Nutritional needs vary widely during the production cycle thus diets must be formulated to meet requirements for specific production periods.
  3. This is important in order to meet target breeding dates, achieve milk production potential, prevent metabolic diseases (milk fever, ketosis etc.)
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13
Q

What are the nutritional needs of a cow in early lactation (1–100 days in milk (DIM)? (4)

A
  1. A fresh first-calf heifer requires a lot of extra energy and protein to fulfill her needs.
  2. This cannot be accomplished without high-quality feed ingredients. It is likely she will “take it off her back” and lose body condition until peak production is reached.
  3. Peak production is highly influenced by nutrition.
  4. Most metabolic and infectious diseases occur around calving like ketosis or milk fever
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14
Q

What is the typical lactation duration for a dairy cow? Why?

A
  • Lactation duration is 306 days
  • Leaves a 60 day dry period for the cow to rest and prepare for next lactation
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15
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: What is a key aspect of water management?

A

Provide a constant, high-quality water supply.

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16
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: What are the key aspects of feed management? (4)

A
  • Use high-quality feedstuffs, including high-quality forages like corn silage, barley silage, legume hay (alfalfa), and grass hay.
  • Ensure feed is available 24 hours per day
  • Ensure it is free of mold, debris, other contaminants
  • Maintain consistent high levels of DM intake
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17
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: How should the fiber content in a lactating cow’s diet be managed?

A

Maintain long forage in the diet, with at least 20% of fiber being ≥ 4 cm to support rumen function

18
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: What is important about grain feeding for lactating cows?

A
  • You need to remain an optimal level since rumen pH 6.5-7 for optimum microbial fermentation.
19
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: Is amino acids important?

A

The amino acid profile is important

20
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: How can you assess rumen function in lactating cows?

A

Monitor cud chewing to assess rumen function and sufficient fiber length.

21
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: How can you ensure that there is sufficient bunk space?

A

Ensure that 75% of cows in a group can eat at the same time.

22
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: should you offer free choice ration components?

A

NO, it makes it impossible to control the TMR

23
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: What are the key aspects of the environment?

A

Manage floors, ventilation, stalls, animal handling
practices, and temperature control to assure cow
comfort

24
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: How can you minimize variation in feedstuffs?

A

Monitor the concentrate and forage quality

25
Q

Nutritional management of lactating cows: What is the goal? (2)

A

Optimize performance and minimize metabolic disorders
- Feed testing a diet formulation is essential

26
Q

Nutritional management of dry cows: How to transition into the drying off period (3)

A
  1. Abruptly stop milking cows – works well when production is low.
  2. More gradual for high producers (intermittent milking).
  3. At last milking infuse teat with treatment for preventing mastitis
27
Q

How long is the dry period? What happens if dry period is too long or too short?

A
  1. Dry period must be approximately 60 d
  2. short dry period - future yield will be reduced
    - not enough time to replenish energy reserve
  3. long dry period – cow may become too fat/ over conditioned
    - not making enough milk but eating alot
28
Q

What are the metabolic disorders that need to be monitored for in dry cows, and why is knowledge of these conditions important? (3)

A
  1. Ketosis, Milk fever, Acidosis, Displaced abomasum.
  2. Other diseases such as, mastitis, metritis, retained placenta, laminitis, foot rot, etc.

Knowledge of conditions that promote metabolic disorders is important to reduce their occurrence/impacts on herd health, productivity and cow longevity.

29
Q

Summarize the nutrient density differences in far-off dry period and close-up dry period in dry cow diets

A

far-off dry period - more dry matter intake
close-up dry period - needs more protein, NEL, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A, D, E

30
Q

What is ketosis?

A

A metabolic disease characterized by loss of appetite, poor skin condition, digestive disorders, foul smelling milk or urine

31
Q

What happens if cows do not have adequate glucose in early lactation (4)

A
  1. Leads to rapid mobilization of body fat to free up energy.
  2. Exacerbates glucose shortage because of incomplete breakdown of fats. which results in accumulation of ketone bodies.
  3. High concentrations of ketone bodies toxic – reduces intake.
  4. Mostly occurs within first 2 weeks of lactation.
32
Q

How can ketosis be prevented? How is it treated? (7)

A
  1. Maximize feed intake.
  2. Increase energy intake.
  3. Monitor body condition to prevent excess fatness.
  4. Supplementation with monensin (increases fermentation efficiency and propionate production).
  5. Supplement niacin, calcium propionate, yeast products (2-3 wks prior to calving).
  6. Higher risk with delayed time from calving to conception, ideal to keep this window short
  7. Treatment: Oral administration (drench) of propylene glycol.
33
Q

What is hypocalcemia (milk fever)? What causes this? (4)

A
  1. A partial paralysis that occurs at or near the time of giving birth and beginning lactation.
  2. Milk production needs a huge increase in Ca requirement
    - Excretion of Ca also increases
  3. Dietary Ca intake does not match requirements
  4. Calcium deficiency that leads to low blood calcium can result in milk fever
34
Q

What are the symptoms and treatment of milk fever? (6)

A
  1. Inability to stand
  2. excitability
  3. nervousness
  4. hypersensitivity
  5. weakness
  6. Loss of appetite
35
Q

What is the treatment for milk fever? (2)

A
  1. restore normal serum calcium levels a soon as possible to avoid muscle and nerve damage and recumbency
  2. IV infusion of calcium
36
Q

Prevention of milk fever in cattle (6)

A
  1. Feed low calcium diet in the dry period
    - primes the cow’s metabolism so that she is extracting calcium from her bones at the time she calves.
    - difficult to achieve as many feedstuffs for dairy have high calcium contents
  2. Give vitamin D injections (Must be given within the 7 day period prior to calving)
    - increases the uptake of calcium in the gut, therefore only works if the animal keeps eating
  3. Increase dietary calcium levels at/after calving
    - Dietary calcium is normally higher than dry cow diets
  4. Administer calcium supplements by mouth, post calving.
    - Can cause irritation of the mouth and put animal off feed.
  5. Add anionic salts to prepartum cow diets (from three weeks prior to calving to calving).
    - alters the pH of the blood
    - Helps to make vitamin D receptors more responses to changes in blood calcium.
  6. Calcium injections – usually during recumbency.
37
Q

What is subacute ruminal acidosis? What is the challenge that producers face with this?

A
  1. Result of feeding high grain (starch) diets to dairy cows, characterized by episodes of low ruminal pH (5.2 and 6) for
  2. Maximizing milk production without incurring sub-acute ruminal acidosis is a challenging most dairy producers face
38
Q

What are the symptoms of subacute ruminal acidosis? (6)

A
  1. feed intake depression and fluctation
  2. reduced diet digestibility
  3. reduced milk yield and fat percent
  4. gastrointestinal damage
  5. liver abscesses
  6. lameness
39
Q

What causes sub acute ruminal acidosis (3)

A
  1. Rapid change from high forage to high grain
  2. too small feed particle size
  3. too little effective fiber
40
Q

What is prevention for sub acute ruminal acidosis (4)

A

Diet management
1. Adequate adaptation
2. avoid overfeeding grain
3. sufficient effective fiber
4. minimum NDF of 27-30% with 70-80% of NDF from forage

Pre-Vet 3 (37 decks)

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