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ANS 41 > Dairy Cattle > Flashcards

Dairy Cattle Flashcards

1
Q

CA

A
  • leading state for dairy production (Wisconsin 2nd)
  • mostly in San Joaquin Valley
  • 1500 lactating cows = 3000 total cattle (half milking, half are heifers and dry cows)
  • CA provides 19% of total US milk supply
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2
Q

Tulare

A
  • 27% of CA milk produced in Tulare County
  • top 1 out of 5 counties that produce 72.4% of CA milk
  • has more cows than PA
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3
Q

Industry Trends

A
  • increase in herd size and decrease in number of dairies (economy of scale – need to drop fixed costs by having fewer cattle that are more efficient at milk production)
  • 97% dairy farms are family-owned
  • Dutch and Portuguese (Azores) run 90% of the dairy farms in CA? US?
  • decrease in consumption of fluid milk, but demand for other dairy products has incr, so total demand remained the same
  • 10% US milk is exported, esp to China (milk powder)
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4
Q

Dairy Cow Features

A
  • highly adaptable
  • intelligent, curious
  • like predictable routine
  • gregarious (groups)
  • grazers (ruminants)
  • 1500 lbs weight
  • bulls (esp Jersey bulls) are really mean, which is why most dairies have AI, not running bull
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5
Q

Robotic Milking

A
  • cows like routine
  • when they need to be milked, they go into milking parlor, robot milks them, and then they leave
  • probably going to replace hand-milking bcs of high labor demand that the latter requires
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6
Q

Dairy vs. Beef Cattle

A
  • beef: more energy to muscle
  • dairy: more energy to milk production
  • beef: only enough milk for calves (1-2 gal)
  • dairy: 6-7 gal of milk
  • beef: stouter, more muscled
  • dairy: longer, thinner
  • beef: less maintenance and labor
  • dairy: more maintenance and labor
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7
Q

Bull Calves

A
  • sold to calf ranch for 4 mo, then to feedlots
  • lot of feedlots w/ Holsteins (black and white)
  • not different in taste; Holsteins are high-grade meat
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8
Q

Feedlot

A
  • steers (castrated males)
  • heifers (females before first calf)
  • NOT COWS (mature females that have had calves)
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9
Q

Lactating Cows

A
  • mature cows that have given birth and are lactating
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10
Q

Dry Cows

A
  • mature cows in between lactation cycles
  • of 365 days, 60 days are run dry
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11
Q

Bulls

A
  • intact males
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12
Q

Confinement: Intensive Production System

A
  • tie stall: cows attached to pole (not common)
  • free stall: 1 spot for ea cow, but they can sit where they want
  • cow comfort is priority bcs they lay down for half the day
  • free stall barns have roof but no walls to allow air flow
  • 3/4 dairies in CA are free stall
  • free stall bedding
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13
Q

Dry Lot

A
  • 1/4 dairies in CA
  • may or may not include free stalls
  • they don’t have concrete floors, but dirt floored corrals
  • manure is deposited and then scraped out
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14
Q

Dried Manure

A
  • manure falls on floor, accumulates, and is scraped away and placed in pile in sun during summer
  • heating manure kills bacteria
  • sun kills bacteria outside of pile
  • microbes heat inside of pile and kill bacteria inside; microbes also die
  • can be used as bedding in dry lot corrals or free stall barns (for lactating cows)
  • ORGANIC bedding – means microbes can grow in there
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15
Q

Liquid Manure

A
  • flushed out of barns
  • goes into lagoon
  • lagoon is 98% water and 2% total solids
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16
Q

Sand

A
  • gold standard for bedding
  • INORGANIC – microbes won’t grow
  • disadvantages: heavy, finite, abrasive to equipment and metal, expensive
  • only 10% of dairies use sand
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17
Q

Water Beds

A
  • very rare
  • advantage: water in the water bed can be temperature adjusted and facilitate cooling/warming of the cow
  • cows have to get used to it
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18
Q

Rubber Mats

A
  • used to connect freestall barns to milking barn/parlor
  • dairy cows have to walk ~200 yds 3-4 times a day for milking
  • if they walk on concrete, hooves will have issues and cow may slip, quickly becoming non-ambulatory
  • need flooring that provides traction and prevents slipping, aka rubber mats
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19
Q

Measure J in Sonoma County

A
  • only dairy farms in CA with extensive management pasture production system are in Sonoma County
  • Measure J is a ballot measure about getting rid of concentrated animal feeding operations
  • really about ending animal agriculture in Sonoma County
  • other dairy pasture production systems are in Oregon
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20
Q

Organic Dairies

A
  • pasture-raised (major source of forage)
  • continuous grazing and exercise
  • cannot use pharmaceuticals (chemicals, antibiotics)
  • when infected, might have to be sold to non-organic dairies to get animal treated and ensure welfare
  • one organic standard for entire US which does not account for different climates, soil conditions, etc.
  • standard states that cows have to be on pasture 110 days, which doesn’t work for CA (cows don’t have enough grass to eat for certain periods of time)
  • no manure management on pasture
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21
Q

Calf Hutches

A
  • 8 ft wide, 5 ft deep
  • 3 separated calves in hutch for 2 mo
  • too much space or too little space for calves is bad, need happy medium
  • they get stressed w/ too much space
  • high level of care can lower mortality rates to as little as 2% in 80,000-calf farm
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22
Q

Why Not Group Calves?

A
  • when grouped, dominant calf gets most of the milk
  • submissive animals don’t get food they need and die
  • thus, grouphousing doesn’t work out well
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23
Q

Bull Calves

A
  • shipped to calf ranch once born
  • raised in calf ranch for 4 mo
  • sent to beef feedlots in SoCal
  • lot of Holsteins in beef feedlots in SoCal for this reason
  • no bulls at most dairy farms, including UCD Dairy, bcs dairy bulls are mean
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24
Q

Replacement Heifers

A
  • usually raised off-farm/contract-reared
  • they are raised on separate ranch and returned when grown so dairy farmers don’t need to incur the cost of non-lactating young cattle
  • some families will keep the heifers and raise them themselves
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25
Q

Calf Facilities’ Environment

A
  • also applies to all dairies in general
  • need to be clean, dry, comfortable, safe environment
  • free of pathogens
  • provide relief from environmental stressors (extreme temps)
  • provide fresh air: low in dust and gasses
  • be well-lit for cow performance and safety
  • have flooring that provides traction and prevents slipping
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26
Q

Homeostasis

A
  • maintaining body temperature
  • 2/3 of energy consumed daily goes into this
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27
Q

Heat Stress

A
  • body temp of cow is less than ambient/outside temperatures
  • cows are bad at sweating, so they rely on dissipating heat to the environment
  • in heat, cows find shade, wind, water, eat less, lie down on cooler ground
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28
Q

Ideal Temps for Cows

A
  • 20-70 degrees F
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29
Q

Heat Stress Results

A
  • reduces feed intake
  • this is bad bcs less milk production, meat/muscle production
  • losing money
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30
Q

Solutions to Heat Stress

A
  • use fans or sprinklers
  • sprinklers have to hit the skin, so can’t use fine misters that just hit cow’s coat
  • in emergency, drench with water
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31
Q

Cutaneous Evaporation

A
  • water evaporating off from the skin
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32
Q

Worst Heat Conditions

A
  • humid, warm weather is most stressful
  • much harder to lower body temp
  • dry heat less stressful than more moderate heat w/ high humidity
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33
Q

Heat Exchange

A
  • circulating air cools using convection processes (can gain or lose heat)
  • cows radiate heat to sky, esp at night
  • heat lost from lungs or thru sweat away from the animal
  • heat transfer to ground through conduction (can gain or lose heat)
  • cows radiate heat to ground (can gain or lose heat)
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34
Q

2006 Heatwave

A
  • bunch of cows died bcs it didn’t cool down enough at night for cows to lose heat to sky thru radiation
  • malfunction in rendering plant that caused cow carcasses to go to landfills for the first time
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35
Q

Rendering Plants

A
  • places where cow body parts not used are made into byproducts
  • recycle every body part
  • no waste in cow production
  • 400+ byproducts
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36
Q

Social Environment

A
  • social/herd animals kept in group
  • need constant visual contact w/ rest of herd
  • overcrowding can be negative
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37
Q

Observing Social Interactions

A
  • for signs of estrus (esp lordosis)
  • for aggression (aggressive animals may need to be culled)
  • to ensure adequate feed intake
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38
Q

Normal Cow

A
  • alert; interested in surroundings
  • normal grooming activities
  • chewing cud while resting
  • eating
  • lying a lot
  • moving easily w/ normal gait
  • calm while milking
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39
Q

Ruminating

A
  • can ruminate while lying or standing
  • the more roughage that’s in the diet, the more rumination occurs (why pasture-raised animals ruminate more)
  • the more roughage is in the diet, the more methane is produced bcs methane-producing microbes in the rumen like roughage
  • more concentrate = less rumination
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40
Q

Lying Down

A
  • dairy cows lie down for 12-14 hrs
  • need proper resting places to keep cows in high welfare
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41
Q

Limping, Back Hunched

A
  • cows try to hide their issues bcs they’re prey and don’t want the predators (us) to know their weaknesses
  • limping and hunched back suggest hoof problem, stylus, metal they’ve ingested
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42
Q

Milking

A
  • comfortable situation
  • relieves pressure in udder
  • cows go voluntarily to be milked 2-4 times a day
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43
Q

Grazing

A
  • grazing does not mean organic
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44
Q

Freestall Barns (Final)

A
  • no walls, just roof
  • concrete base, sand/manure bedding
  • most dairies have freestall barns for lactating cows in CA
  • remove manure thru flushing into lagoon or piling up thru scraping
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45
Q

Dry Lot Corrals

A
  • where dry cows stay, bcs most health issues occur in transition btwn lactating to dry –> easier to keep an eye on individuals in dry lot corrals
  • 1/4 of dairies keep both lactating and dry cows in dry lot corrals
  • dirt floors
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46
Q

Signs of Pain and Distress

A
  • lethargy (inactive, droopy ears; sunken eyes; cold ears)
  • restlessness; increased activity
  • lack of appetite
  • lack of cud chewing
  • abnormal defecation/urination
  • incr vocalizations
  • they usually don’t want to make themselves noticeable
  • tonal quality of vocalizations
  • intense rubbing, licking, or scratching of skin
  • incr or shallow breathing panting
  • guarded posture; abnormal appearance or behavior
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47
Q

Indicators of Poor Welfare/Management

A
  • high incidence of retained placenta or footrot
  • vet knows conditions of dairy w/out seeing it
  • each dairy has a health score
  • well-run dairy will have good welfare and few incidences of retained placentas, footrot, etc.
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48
Q

Retain Placenta

A
  • calf is born, but placenta is kept inside
  • shot of oxytocin given to cow and placenta comes out
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49
Q

Potential Sources of Pain

A
  • foot/conformation problems (from hard floors, for ex.)
  • arthritic conditions
  • calving difficulty (dystocia)
  • physical injuries; rough handling (rare, but needs to be reported)
  • standard dairy practices (freeze branding for dairies or ear tags; dehorning)
50
Q

Animal Handling

A
  • consistent and predictable (cows like routine and are easy to handle as long as we do things they’re used to)
  • non-aversive handling practices are best, rough handling always bad
  • avoid shouting, using electric prods
  • don’t rush cows, let them explore new environments
51
Q

Flight Zone

A
  • critical distance btwn animal and handler
  • dairies have smaller flight zone (you can get closer) bcs they’re used to handling
52
Q

Point of Balance

A
  • cow’s shoulder
  • can use POB to move cows where you want them (to a chute, esp)
  • in front of POB, cow moves back
  • behind POB, cow moves forward
  • never stand directly behind cow; they kick
53
Q

Vision

A
  • monocular vision (one eye on each side of the head) – signature build of prey animals
  • eyes can see about 320 degrees total
  • (humans have bifocal vision - better depth perception)
  • cows’ only blind spot is directly behind them
  • good distance vision
  • poor depth perception
  • some color vision
54
Q

Calves Right After Birth

A
  • can stand, turn around, and find mom’s udders and suckle
  • humans have to be guided to breast, only know how to suckle and cry
  • cows finding the udder is not a learned behavior, it is innate
  • humans are useless in comparison
55
Q

Squeeze Chutes

A
  • minimize distractions – that makes cow handling really difficult
  • minimize shadows, too dark or too bright, miscellaneous items left in view
  • Temple Grandin figured this out
  • she was autistic, understood how cows felt
  • people didn’t trust her, but she redesigned some facilities and cow handling became really easy
  • now, entire dairy industry still uses those designs
  • avoid reaching in between rails and bars
56
Q

Transport

A
  • restrict movement w/in vehicle
  • minimize exposure to extreme conditions (heat stress, wind chill)
  • make floor non-slip or covered w/ sand and grit
  • don’t transport non-ambulatory animals – those either need to be treated or euthanized
57
Q

Calves and Colostrum

A
  • feed w/in 5 hrs of birth, so immunoglobulins can pass thru openings in gut
  • gut openings close in 5 hrs so that other pathogens don’t enter
  • still need to feed colostrum for 2-3 days because colostrum has different nutritive value than regular milk
  • calves don’t need colostrum from their own mother
  • older cows have better colostrum because they’ve been exposed/developed immunity to more pathogens than younger cows – more antibodies to pass down and calf gets greater transfer of passive immunity
58
Q

Calf Handling

A
  • dry the hair coat and navel cord
  • calves are strong enough to walk without assistance
  • avoid transport before 3 days old
  • take calves away from the mom; if you leave them with the mom, greater morbidity and mortality rates of calves
  • beef calves can be kept with moms w/out negative consequences, but dairy cattle cannot
59
Q

Udder

A
  • milk produced inside alveoli
  • branches/ducts connect alveoli to teats
60
Q

Mammary Function

A
  • 2 main hormones:
  • oxytocin
  • prolactin
61
Q

Oxytocin

A
  • from posterior pituitary gland (the master hormonal gland in the body; size of a bean)
  • smooth muscle contraction = parturition (why retained placenta treatment is shot of oxytocin, and why humans are given oxytocin when dystocia occurs
  • causes contraction of myoepithelial cells
  • incr in oxytocin after cervical distension and suckling
  • high progesterone inhibits oxytocin (during pregnancy)
62
Q

Prolactin

A
  • from anterior pituitary gland
  • synthesis of milk proteins
  • growth of mammary glands
  • inhibited by stress and dopamine
  • people that say dairy cows are under stress are wrong, bcs stress reduces milk output
63
Q

Milk Letdown: Neural Pathway and Oxytocin

A
  • teats stimulated by suckling of calf, or by stripping done by milker
  • teats send neural impulse to brain/hypothalamus
  • hypothalamus signals posterior pituitary gland
  • posterior pituitary gland releases oxytocin
  • oxytocin causes myoepithelial cells in alveoli to contract and release the milk
  • milking machines don’t suck out the milk, but milk is let down and just comes out
64
Q

Milking a Cow

A
  • takes 5 minutes
  • 2-3 times per day
  • sometimes 80-100 lbs of milk per cow per day = 45+ L
  • in Columbia, due to different management, nutrition, welfare, etc., milk output is 5 L per cow per day
  • CA has optimized cow needs and output
65
Q

Bovine Somatotropin (bST)

A
  • synthetic bovine growth hormone
  • produced/occurs naturally in any cow from anterior pituitary gland
  • 20% more milk
  • no differences in milk composition
  • if cows aren’t fed adequate diets and are stressed, bST may cause health and reproductive problems
66
Q

rbST

A
  • recombinant bST developed by scientists that has same chemical structure as bST
  • used to be fed to all cows to counteract decrease in milk production that occurs during lactation cycle of the cow
  • milk production peaks on day 60 of lactation, then decr
  • rbST was supposed to minimize that decrease
  • milk must be free of hormones in CA/be rbST-free by law
67
Q

rBST Controversy

A
  • organic dairies advocated hormone-free milk
  • despite FDA, WHO, ADA, and National Institutes of Health reassurances, propaganda resulted in rBST being banned in cows whose milk would be sold as fluid milk
  • still rBST-treated cows for cheese, butter, other dairy products’ production
  • growth hormone does nothing to us bcs we ingest it orally, and those peptides are broken down in our stomachs
  • cows get it injected in order for the growth hormone to work
68
Q

Dairy Cattle Stats

A
  • 21-day estrous cycle
  • 285-day gestation length (similar to humans)
  • ovulation 28-32 hrs after estrus, so need semen on hand at time of ovulation
69
Q

Estrus Period

A
  • 2.5-28 hrs
  • 25% of cows have estrus periods of less than 8 hrs
70
Q

Heat Detection

A
  • standing heat
  • rumination collar
  • observation (not feasible for dairies w/ hundreds or thousands of cows)
  • Kamar: attach to tail head, breaks and spreads red paint over white strip when mounted
  • tail chalk: easy and cheap; also spreads when mounted
  • pedometers: measures cow activity (4x more activity in estrus cow)
  • heat watch: 95% heat detection rate
71
Q

Rumination Collar

A
  • tracks rumination times and durations and activity of the cow
  • usually rumination and activity equal
  • during estrus, rumination decreases and activity increases
  • cows are restless, looking for a mate
  • $100 per collar, but useful investment
72
Q

Synchronization

A
  • use hormones to synch cows’ estrous cycles so that herd is in heat during the same times
  • makes detecting/predicting estrus easier and deciding when to breed
  • don’t have to keep vet techs on hand all the time, only when estrus period starts
  • labor restricts heat detection success on larger dairies
  • benefits the cow
73
Q

PGF2a

A
  • prostaglandin shots help clear any uterine infections
  • PGF2a and GnRH can treat cystic ovaries
74
Q

Cystic Ovaries

A
  • either:
  • Corpus luteum (empty follicle) does not regress and results in no signs of heat
  • or, dominant follicle does not ovulate (estrus behavior every few days)
75
Q

Combination

A
  • of heat detection and synchronization to optimize reproduction management
76
Q

Estrous Cycle Hormones

A
  • when animal produces estrogen/estradiol, that estrogen is impetus for estrus to occur
  • when estrogen peaks, estrus is initiated
  • progesterone/pregnancy hormone while pregnant (no estrogen surge)
77
Q

Insemination

A
  • right after estrus is optimal time to inseminate
  • if you miss estrus signs, you wouldn’t know to inseminate her
  • sperm is viable in cattle for 24-30 hrs (longer in humans)
  • ova viable for 6-12 hrs after ovulation
  • very short time period during which there is viable egg and viable sperm at same location and time
  • estrus, then insemination (sperm viable for a day), then ovulation, then ova (viable for 6-12 hrs)
78
Q

PTAs (Predicted Transmitting Abilities)

A
  • producer selects semen by traits needed
  • very expensive
  • uses indices (Net Merit, TPI)
79
Q

Sexed Semen

A
  • use sperm that leads mainly to XX offspring (don’t want male offspring)
  • more expensive
  • less viable than regular semen
  • lower conception rate
  • mainly used in heifers
80
Q

Bulls

A
  • proven sires are in the thousands
  • can get catalog and pick from bulls w/ different traits
  • chosen based on focal areas that need improvement
81
Q

Dairy Cows, Horses, Dogs and Cats

A
  • from 25M dairy cows to 9.2M cows in the US
  • 60% more milk production
  • cow carbon footprint has decr by 2/3
  • 9.5M horses and 180M dogs and cats
  • all have environmental footprints
  • dogs and cats eat 1/3 of all animal-sourced food produced in the US
82
Q

Checking For Pregnancy

A
  • rectal palpation (35-40 d)
  • ultrasound (>= 26 d)
  • cows that aren’t pregnant are losing money
83
Q

Pregnancy Rates

A
  • 10 eligible cows
  • 60% of the cows’ heat detected (6 cows)
  • 50% conception rate (3 cows pregnant)
  • pregnancy rate is 30%
  • one of the main culling reasons is failure to get pregnant
  • services per conception:
  • less than or equal to 2 is a good amount, but sometimes more services required
84
Q

Calving Interval

A
  • period from one calving to the next
  • includes:
  • lactation for 305 days + 60 d dry period
  • voluntary waiting period before breeding cow again
  • gestation period of 9 mo
85
Q

Milking

A
  • could milk continuously for years, but milk production goes so low that it’s not worth it
  • better to have dry period
86
Q

Milk Production Cycle

A
  • calving: day 0
  • lactation period: 305 days
  • day 60: peak milk
  • during lactation period, there is a voluntary waiting period, after which the cow is bred
  • 60 d before next calving, dry off period begins
87
Q

Dry Period

A
  • stop milking in order to dry off
  • at first, udders swell
  • then, milk production stops w/ cessation of stimulus initiating milk letdown
  • milk is reabsorbed into cow
88
Q

Transition Period

A
  • from dry to lactating
  • cow undergoes physiological (from dry to lactating state), environmental/social (several pen moves), and nutritional (diet change, incr in dry matter intake (DMI) ) changes
  • this is a period when a lot of cows can get ill
89
Q

Transition Period Possible Issues

A
  • milk fever
  • retained placenta
  • ketosis
  • displaced abomasums
  • farms w/ excellent transition programs are often the most successful
90
Q

Management

A
  • determines reproductive success based on nutrition, environment (heat stress), social (need stable social groups bcs mixing cows up stresses them out), heat detection, synchronization protocols
  • each facet of management contributes to better reproduction, longer productive life, less environmental impact, and business success
91
Q

Methane Production

A
  • increases with increasing amount of roughage consumed
  • animals on pasture produce the most methane
92
Q

Successful Replacement Program

A
  • living until first lactation (2 yrs)
93
Q

Average Mortality Rate in Calves < 3 mo

A
  • 10-30%
  • affected by disease, nutrition, environmental conditions, management
  • good management: losses = 5%
94
Q

Average Length of Time Cow Stays in Milking Herd

A
  • 2-3 lactations
  • avg lifespan of dairy cows is 4-5 yrs
95
Q

Maternity Pen

A
  • disinfected w/ clean bedding
  • for calving cows
  • low stress, clean, sanitary
  • main time when infections could occur
96
Q

Signs of Approaching Parturition

A
  • 48-72 hrs prior
  • swelling of vulva
  • relaxation of tissue at tail head (tail head up)
  • distended udder (udder starts to fill w/ colostrum and is distended to the side)
  • nervousness and separation from rest of herd
  • muscular exertion (contractions)
97
Q

Delivery

A
  • if longer than 4-6 hrs, provide assistance
  • want as little intervention as possible to prevent pathogen exposure
  • more assistance needed for heifers, bcs they’re 80% the size of mature cow = smaller birth canal
  • if cow doesn’t lick calf, dry calf to stimulate circulation and breathing
  • dry calf to prevent chilling in cold climates
  • paint navel w/ 2-7% tincture of iodine soon after birth to prevent entrance of pathogens
98
Q

Newborns

A
  • most are on their feet w/in 30 mins and nurse w/in 1 hr after birth
  • wash and sanitize teats and udder if calf directly nursing (not standard)
  • if calf doesn’t nurse w/in 1 hr, bottle feed
  • best method is to bottle feed all calves to control intake and make sure they’re getting high-quality colostrum
  • individually house calves to prevent transmission, keep under observation, and manage nutrition
  • feed calf 4-6% body weight as colostrum
  • 4 qts of colostrum in 24 hrs (2 when born, 2 12 hrs after birth)
99
Q

Placenta

A
  • should be passed by 12 hrs postpartum
  • retained placenta (RP) could cause sepsis bcs placenta is organic material that bacteria can get into – direct path into reproductive tract
  • RP infects animals months after, future health and reproductive ability impacted
  • could be caused by immune system being unable to expel placenta
100
Q

Holsteins

A
  • 90% of dairy cattle in US, 92% of CA
101
Q

Holstein Birth Weight

A
  • 95 lbs
102
Q

Brown Swiss Birth Weight

A
  • 90 lbs
103
Q

Ayrshire Birth Weight

A
  • 75 lbs
104
Q

Guernsey Birth Weight

A
  • 70 lbs
  • yellow-golden white color
  • produce more beta-carotene –> produce golden milk
105
Q

Jersey Birth Weight

A
  • 60 lbs
106
Q

Mortality and Morbidity

A
  • 5% death loss if calf removed w/in 2-6 hrs
  • 20% death loss if calf stays w/ dam over 24 hrs
  • caused by inattentive moms and increased exposure to pathogens
  • more time calf spends w/ dam = increased chances of disease
  • mortality based on person caring for calves
  • calves cared for by members of the family had lower death loss than hired labor
  • knowing your animals, their environ, their needs is gonna help w/ long-term health of calves
107
Q

Importance of Colostrum to Newborn Calf

A
  • at birth, calf has little to no resistance to disease
  • colostrum is means of transferring immunity via antibodies secreted into dam’s colostrum (passive immunity)
  • may last for 3-9 mo
  • earlier it’s given, more antibodies absorbed by gut lining
  • helps protect calf until its own immune system produces antibodies
  • calf is capable of absorbing antibodies from colostrum for a short time (~24 hrs)
  • usually 12 hrs
108
Q

Colostrum vs. Milk

A
  • colostrum is highly concentrated, formative nutrition compared to milk
  • more protein (immunoglobulins - antibodies)
  • more total solids
  • more fat
  • less lactose
  • more ash (inorganic substrates, minerals, vitamins)
109
Q

Calf Hutches

A
  • 3 connected w/ walls between
  • slatted floors for feces
  • 2 buckets: milk, water, maybe one for grain
  • tops can be opened for air circulation or closed to trap heat
  • 1.7M dairy cows in CA
  • calves can be raised at calf ranches or heifer raisers and then come back at 1 yr old (primarily used on W Coast)
110
Q

UCD Calves

A
  • studied emissions from calves in hutches vs. group pens
  • calves don’t produce methane bcs they’re not ruminating
  • still producing feces and urine that have emissions
111
Q

Weaning Age

A
  • 56-60 days old
  • risk of mortality decr past 2 mo bcs now they’re able to form their own antibodies; more immunity
  • period of expensive and labor-intensive hand-feeding is done
  • cost of raising animal decreases
112
Q

Normal Growth Rates in Heifers

A
  • double calves’ bodyweight from birth to weaning (2 mo)
  • proper frame structure for lactation performance
  • by puberty (13-15 mo): want 55% of mature bodyweight
  • by first calf (24 mo): want 80% of mature bodyweight
  • dependent on breed
113
Q

Holstein Growth Goals

A
  • 1500-1550 lbs when full-grown at 3 yrs
  • 800 lbs at puberty (55% mature weight)
  • 1300 lbs at first calving (80% mature weight)
114
Q

Replacement Heifers Needed

A
  • dependent on herd culling rate
  • 1/3 of herd removed every year due to death, morbidity, wanting heifers w/ better genetic potential
  • calf and heifer losses
  • need more heifers if calf loss high
  • normally, dairy producers save all heifer calves and raise as replacements
  • currently, heifer price is astronomical, but market changes constantly
115
Q

Reasons Why Cows Leave Dairy Herd

A
  • production
  • reproduction
  • is there a better milk-producing animal coming in?
116
Q

Housing Needs for Calves

A
  • shelter from wind
  • appropriate for season
  • inexpensive to build + economical to operate
  • easy to clean and disinfect
  • individual housing + feeding
  • ventilation to prevent dampness + drafts
117
Q

Breed and ADG Goals

A
  • Holsteins are the biggest, so need to grow the fastest = higher ADG
  • Jerseys are the smallest = lower ADG
118
Q

Managing Milking Herd

A
  • high producing cows w/in 305 days have good persistency thru lactation and good peak production
  • cows freshening at 2 yrs old will normally increase production 25% in peak years
  • average cow milks out in ~5 mins
119
Q

Dry Period Purpose

A
  • allow period of rest before next lactation
  • repair and regeneration of udder secretory cells
  • development of unborn calf
  • leads to increased milk yield in successive lactations
120
Q

Methods of Drying Off

A
  • complete cessation of milking
  • incomplete milking
121
Q

Dry Cow Mastitis (Dry Cow Treatment)

A
  • effective cure period vs. normal lactation period
  • reduces new infections in dry period (42-48% new udder infections occur during dry period)

ANS 41 (7 decks)

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