Dairy Cattle Flashcards
What is the phylum of dairy cattle?
Chordata
What is the subphylum of dairy cattle?
Vertebrata
What is the class of dairy cattle?
Mammalia
What is the order of dairy cattle?
Artiodactyla
What is the suborder of dairy cattle?
Ruminata
What is the family of dairy cattle?
Bovidae
What is the genus of dairy cattle?
Bos
What is the species of dairy cattle?
Taurus or Indicus
Example of Bos taurus and Bos indicus
Bos taurus: Holstein
Bos indicus: Brahman
Dairy Cattle Breeds
Holstein
Jersey
Guernsey
Ayrshire
Milking Shorthorn
Brown Swiss
True or False: A cow doesn’t have to give birth to produce milk
False. It has to give birth
What is the gestation period of a cow?
282 (avg 279-287)
What is the estrous cycle length?
21 days
What is the range of body temperature of beef cattle?
100.4 - 102.8
What is the average lactation length?
305 days
What is the average number of lactations?
2.5
Varies from farm to farm
What is the dairy cows life cycle?
Heifer calf is born -> Reared on milk replacer for 6-8 weeks then weaned -> Bred at 12-14 month of age -> Gives birth 9 months later -> Milked 2x a day -> Re-bred 40 days post calving -> Dried off for 60 days -> Calves again and begins the cycle again
When do cows peak production?
50-70 days post calving
What is the proper care for dairy cows?
Nutrition
Cleanliness
Cow comfort
Proper reproduction management
Cow health
Proper milking protocols
How much food do dairy cows need?
Require large quantities of feed
How many gallons do dairy cattle cows drink?
30 gallons
How to avoid acidosis in dairy cows?
Maintain proper rumen health and give palatable feed
What pathogen can cause mastitis and is frequently found in an unclean environment?
E.coli
What happens in Mastitis?
Inflammation/infection within the mammary tissue
- Painful udder
- High Somatic Cell Count (Used as an indicator of cow health and milk quality)
- Fever
- Decreased appetite
- Reduced milk production
- Can cause permanent damage
- Treatment: Antibiotics
If cow is infected with mastitis, how many somatic cells will she have?
> 200,000 somatic cells/per
Increases as infection worses
How do create Cow Comfort?
- Have Sand bedstalls
- Stall has to be long enough for them to sit comfortability (Launchspace)
- Fans
- Robotic brushes
- Proper fly control (Less energy -> Lesss milk production)
What happens when milking occurs?
Milked 2x a day
- All equipment MUST be sanitized before AND after milking
Milking parlor
Clean teats before and after milking
Milk is cooled in a refrigerated tank
- Bulk train
Picked up and shipped to a dairy where milk is tested
Is all milk antibiotic free?
YES!
True or False: We like antibiotic free milk?
Milk containing antibiotics is rejected by the dairy
Great care is taken to ensure that milk containing antibiotics does not enter the food system
How do they test milk at the farm?
Somatic Cell Count (SCC)
Pre-incubation count (PI)
PIC
Antibiotics
Fat/Protein content (total solids)
What are different types of fluid milk?
Organic
Pasteurized
Condensed/Powdered
Fluid milk
Raw
Has not been pasteurized (Not legal in US)
What is the pasteurization process?
Ultra Pasteurized milk also called UHT pasteurization is shelf stable for 30-90 days and in some cases up to 6 months
HHST is used to pasteurize milk and extend the shelf life to approximately 50 days in refrigerated conditions
HTST is used for standard fluid milk sold in the grocery
What happens with Milk Fever?
Hypocalcemia: Occurs in cows that have freshened
Cause: Low concentrations of calcium in the cow’s blood
Symptoms: Cold feet, legs and ears, Lethargic, Uncoordinated, Absence of rumination
Treatment: IV Calcium
Will develop other conditions e.g. Subclinical hypocalcemia
Prevention: Need to ensure that the transition cow diet has the correct amounts of calcium and/or help cows mobilize calcium
What happens with Dystocia?
Difficult Birth
Cause: Mal-presentations of the calf, calf is too large, underlying health condition of the dam
Have to reposition the misrepresented calf
If not corrected, the calf will die (dam can die as well)
Prevention: Ensuring proper diet, Breeding cows to bulls that are calving
What happens with Freemartin?
Heifer born twin to a bull calf
Exposed to hormones produced by the male fetus
Cause: Regression (poor development) of the female reproductive tract
Born STERILE
Importance of Calf Health?
Need calves to rear as replacement females or for meat production purposes
Raising young dairy calves for replacement stock or for veal can be challenging
Calves are highly susceptible to disease
Issues with Calf Health?
5.8% of calves die due to causes unrelated to predation
Calf mortality due to digestive issues (30.6%)
Calf mortality due to respiratory issues (36.7%)
- Loss of genetics and replacement animals
- Money lost in labor and treatments needed for sick calves
-Ensure proper colostrum feeding, disease prevention, nutrition, and management
