B5: Dairy cattle technologies (housing, feeding and milking systems) Flashcards
what happens to male and female calves on dairy farms?
Most dairy farms sell male calves for veal production or breeding (depending on quality) & keep heifers to replace old animals/ increase herd size.
how do dairy farms minimise outgoings?
Most dairy farms also have some arable land –> Production of silage & other feedstuffs to minimize outgoings & maximize profit.
Give an example of a type of housing is used in dairy farms?
ROUNDHOUSE cattle house is stress-free, low disease challenge environment, resulting in longer
lifetime milk production.
A typical Roundhouse has eight compartments and can hold about 80 cattle with cubicles inside where animals are placed according to their age and developmental needs for instance calves, pregnant and nursing cows.
CUBICLE shed: individual cubicles for animals to lie in - lime powder and automatic scraper to remove faeces. Most common in Ireland.
Straw bed housing - rare + expensive
Method to improve semen quality for AI?
Liquid Nitrogen Semen:
* One of the reasons that AI can go wrong is poor semen quality as well as poor semen handling and
thawing.
* Makes it more successful, because of better freezing and handling of semen
Give an example of advanced milking systems
milking robot (automatic): cow is milked at anytime,
automatic feeding systems: certain amount of nuts dropped in fornt of cow during milking (usually 2kg x2 per day),
rotary parlours: takes 10 - 12mins to rotate fully.
advanced technology: pedometer?
Attached to the cow’s leg or collar, pedometers track a cow’s body heat and walking activity.
This information helps to monitor the cow’s health, and most importantly, it helps to determine exactly
when a cow is going into estrus, or heat.
This is essential for increasing pregnancy rates while keeping the cost of breeding low.
Advanced technology: milk meter?
Measure the amount of milk as it is being milked with a high level of accuracy.
This enables dairy farmers to closely monitor milk yield per each cow or goat, an essential step for
managing productivity effectively.
Advanced technology: Milk analyser?
Sometimes built right into milk meters, milk analyzes milk for quality and potential health problems in the stock.
Can sense the warning signs of health issues such as ketosis, mastitis, ruminal acidosis, and nutrition deficiencies.
function of herd management software?
Herd management software compiles data from all dairy farm sensors, including information on fertility, milk production, feeding and health.
It analyzes this information and presents it in an accessible format that helps dairy farmers make
decisions to improve dairy performance, productivity, health, and fertility.
Example: Agrivi
what are Feed management systems ad what is there function?
- To improve health and productivity, it’s best to feed each cow an individualized diet.
- Feed management software calculates feed amounts and supplementation needs based on yield, milk quality, and body weight. This makes it much easier for farmers to manage customized feed and improve production.
