Adult Dairy Cattle Husbandry Flashcards
Flight zones?
herd animals face a potential threat within a certain distance when the threat enters the flight zone the animal move away
cows point of balance?
shoulder
move in front of point of balance?
will make them go backwards
move behind point of balance?
moves the cattle forward
age of breeding?
15 months
age at calving?
24 months
pregnancy?
9 months long
Calving to conception?
85 days plus
calving to calving interval?
365-420 days
average life?
6 years
average number of calves and lactations:
3
length of lactation?
10 months
Dry period?
2 months
Yield from cow?
Jersey: 5,000L/year
Holstein: 10,000L/year
feed?
77% variable cost
33% of total costs of milk production
2nd biggest cost?
labour
consumption of average lactating dairy cow?
concentrate: 1 tonne
silage: 10 tonnes or 1-2 tonnes hay
major minerals?
Ca, P, Mg
good diet?
energy - fibre and starch
protein
major minerals
vitamins
trace element
in parlour feeding?
concentrate
straights? (feed)
cereal, oats maize wheat barley
lots of concentrate?
acidosis - fermentation of flora
dairy cow feeding stages?
lactation, dry and transition
describe lactation feeding stage?
calving and lactation, very high energy needs in early lactation (14-100 DM)
describe ‘dry’ feeding stage?
last 60 days gestation keep BCS 3 / enable rapid increase in DMI after calving
reduce/eliminate concentrates to decrease milk production and avoid over-conditioning in the 2 weeks before drying
describe the ‘transition’ feeding stage?
last 3 weeks pre-calving + 1st 2 weeks lactations
negative energy balance?
need to minimise as much as possible however it is normal - need to feed properly afterwards so she can recooperate after lactation - can cope with deficit for a while
DMI?
dry matter intake
BCS?
body conditioning scoring
what to feed dry cows?
recommended hay, straw and low D value stalky forages to maintain rumen fill without providing excess energy
low potassium forage (<1.5%)
low calcium, high magnesium
D value?
measure of digestibility
what to feed cows that are transitioning from dry to lactating?
support growth of calf & compensate for reduced DMI
(increased energy requirements)
weight of rumen can increase by 50%
(2-5kg of conc - same feed as the milking cows
low potassium forages - ideally the same as the milking cows
Adjust DCAB
Urine pH should be 6.5-7)
rumen buffer?
bicarb, buffer to counteract acid takes away of giving affects of high energy feed
Dry matter intake ability?
(kg) is 2.5% of BW + 10% milk yield
min. forage 40% (50% needs to be 2.6cm to stimulate cudding)
Concentrates 60%
How much do you feed a 700kg cow at peak lactation?
2.5% body weigh = 17.5kg DM
+ 10% milk production = 5kg DM
Total food/day = 22.5kg DM
* Minimum forage 40% = 9kg
* Concentrates 60% = 13.5kg
Maximum size meal? = 3kg
3-4kg per meal/ 4-5 meals per day
Peripartum milk fever?
caused by the insufficient speed of adaptation (not nutritional deficiency of Ca)
calcium homeostasis?
spring grass is high in water, postassium and low in calcium
diet contains too many +(ve) ions e.g. sodium&potassium
not enough negative ions (chloride and sulphur)
Calcium cannot be mobilised from the bones
how do we manipulate the diet to combat calcium homeostasis?
either provide a low calcium diet pre-calving OR reduce potassium OR ensure adequate magnesium is being given (higher mag) OR maximising milk production/minimising metabolic disease (do separate slides on each of these, final slide is 18/40)
common health problems?
poor fertility
mastitis
lameness
nutritional problems –> energy (metabolic problems)]
ALL INITIATE IN TRANSITION PERIOD
when do we increase magnesium?
during transition
Signs of oestrus?
in heat - when a cow is mounted
sometimes walk a lot more
Ask - ‘Does she stand to be mounted?’
cow mounted?
12 hours after you see that, you inseminate them
estrus alert device?
like a lottery card
as they are mounted it rubs and spread redness over the card
Timed AI?
use hormones and manipulate cycles of cows to inseminate on a timely manner
Reproductive management?
servicing protocol
synchronisation (prostaglandin, intra-vaginal progesterone implant)
pregnancy diagnosis
scrotal circumference?
34 cm - breed specific
electroejaculator?
vet only as can be harmful
sources of infection - mastitus?
mammary gland/contagious organsisms
environmental
mastitis treatment?
antibiotics (intra-mammary and/or systemic)
Withdrawal periods –> milk must be discarded + meat withold
Economic impact of mastitis?
direct costs - discarded milk, drug and veterinary costs
Indirect costs - decreased milk yield, penalties or reduced income from changes in milk composition
slides 33,34,35, 37 (2nd lect)
Identification of mastitis?
clinical signs
foremilk all quarters (time-cost benefit)
in-line filters
rapid milk test
conductivity
milk recording every 5 weeks
somatic cell count, Bactoscan, Protein, Fat, Volume
Lameness causes?
environmental - infectious or nutritional
Genetic
Management (crushes)
