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Basis of Animal Production > Dairy Cattle > Flashcards

Dairy Cattle Flashcards

1
Q

What are the advantages of Dairy production?

A

• Cattle use roughages that would otherwise be wasted
• Dairying provides a steady income throughout the year
• May have high degree of mechanization but uses labour throughout
the year
• With good management, losses and mortality are usually low

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2
Q

What are the disadvantages of dairy production?

A

High Capital investment needed
• High Labour requirements
• Regular scheduling in milking
• Needs high availability from owner and workers (heat detection, milking, IA, calving, etc)
• Requires training and experience
• Takes time to develop a high-producing dairy herd

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3
Q

What percentage of dairy farms are family owned?

A

97%

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4
Q

What is the average size of a dairy herd?

A

179 cows

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5
Q

On average, how much milk will one dairy cow produce a day?

A

24-25L or 6.5 gallons

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6
Q

True or false? Milk production is increasing but the number of dairy cows is decreasing.

A

True

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7
Q

True or false? Larger dairy farms have higher profits and higher costs.

A

False - they have higher profits and lower costs

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8
Q

What breeds of cattle have been bred to specialize in milk production?

A
  • Ayrshire
  • Brown Swiss
  • Guernsey
  • Holstein-Friesland (HF)
  • Jersey
  • Milking Shorthorn
  • Red and white
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9
Q

What are other breeds of interest in the dairy industry?

A
  • Simmentaller
  • Normande
  • Montbéliarde
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10
Q

Where does the Ayrshire originate?

A

• Origin County Ayr (SW
Scotland) 19th Century
• Imported to the US 1820’s
from Scotland and Canada

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11
Q

What are the characteristics of ayrshire?

A 
• Have good grazing ability
• Cow: 1200lbs; Bull: 1800lbs
• Average production:
17,230 pounds/year
• 4% milk fat
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12
Q

Where does the Brown Swiss originate?

A

• Developed in the Alps
(Switzerland)
• Imported to the US in 1869 (25
bulls and 130 cows)

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13
Q

Where does the Guernsey originate?

A

• Isle of Guernsey (Channel Islands, UK)
• Developed by monks over 1000 years ago
from French breeds from Normandy
• Imported to the USA started in 1831

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14
Q

Where does the Jersey originate?

A

• Isle of Jersey (Channel Islands, UK)
• No known origin in other breeds but
suspected French origin
• Imports to the US started in 1815

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15
Q

Where does the Milking Shorthorn originate?

A
  • Origin in NE England

* Brought to the US first in 1753

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16
Q

Where does the Holstein-Friesland originate?

A

• Origin in the Netherlands (Friesland),
neighbouring German state of SchleswigHolstein
• Holstein (US & Canada), Friesland (rest of
the world)
• Imported to the US by Dutch settlers 1620s
and more recently 1850s

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17
Q

Where does the Red and White originate?

A 
• Recessive gene: red colour
instead of black
• Very similar to HF
• Recent breed – established
(US) in 1960s
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18
Q

What are the characteristics of Brown Swiss?

A 
• Cows: 1,500lbs; Bulls: 2,000lbs
• Good grazers very docile
• Heat tolerance
• Average production:
22,252pounds/year
• 4% milk fat
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19
Q

What are the characteristics of Guernsey?

A 
• Early maturing breed, adaptable, gentle
behaviour
• Cows: 1,100lbs, Bulls: 1,800lbs
• Average production: 16,000pounds/year
• 4.5% milk fat
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20
Q

What are the characteristics of Jersey?

A
  • Characteristic light fawn to almost black
  • Smallest dairy breed
  • Cows: 1,000 lbs and Bulls: 1,600 lbs
  • Good grazing ability
  • Cows can be nervous and bulls aggressive
  • Average production: 16,431 pounds/year
  • 4.9% milk fat (#1)
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21
Q

What are the characteristics of Milking Shorthorn?

A 
• Red, red-white, Roan
• Dual purpose breed
• Average production:
15,000pounds/year
• 3.8% milk fat
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22
Q

What are the characteristics of Holstein-Friesland?

A 
• 90% of dairy cows, 1,500,000 registered
herdbook
• Cows: 1,500lbs, Bulls: 2,200lbs
• Average production: 23,151pounds/year
• 2.5-3.5% milk fat
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23
Q

What are the characteristics of Red and White?

A

• Similar productive
performance as HF
(Average production: 23,151pounds/year,
2.5-3.5% milk fat)

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24
Q

Which breed produces the most milk per year?

A

Holstein-Friesland (23,151 pounds/year)

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25
Q

What cow produces milk with the highest fat content?

A

Jersey (4.9%)

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26
Q

What is the smallest dairy breed?

A

Jersey (1,000lbs cows)

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27
Q

Which dairy breed produces milk with the lowest fat content?

A

Holstein-Friesland

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28
Q

What other cattle breeds are found on IA catalogues and where were they developed?

A 
• Simmentaller – dual purpose breed
(Austria)
• Normande – Normandy and
Brittany (France)
• Montbeliarde - France
29
Q

What are the ideal characteristics of a dairy cow?

A 
• Triangular shaped body
• Well developed and placed
udder
• Able to walk and stand normally
• Calve without assistance
• Good production records
    • Volume
    • Fat %
• Dairy Cow Unified score card
    • Frame
    • Dairy strength
    • Rear Feet and legs
    • Udder characteristics
30
Q

What is the gestation period of dairy cows?

A

~ 280days

31
Q

How long do dairy cows lactate for?

A

~305 days

32
Q

How long is the dry period?

A

~60days

33
Q

How long after parturition are cows inseminated?

A

~85 days

34
Q

When are female calves weaned?

A

35-45 days

35
Q

How long are female dairy calves reared for?

A

35-45 days until weaned + 420 days = 455-465 days

36
Q

What is the dairy cow production cycle?

A 
• Heifers/cows inseminated (AI)
• Gestation period: 280 days
• At calving, milking begins
• Lactation takes 305 days
• Followed by 60 days of dry period
• Animals are inseminated again 85 days
after parturition and will calve at the
end of the dry period
• Female calves are kept on artificial milk,
weaned at 35-45 days and reared for
another 420 days
37
Q

True or false? Dairy farms have births year round and have cows in different stages of the production cycle.

A

True

38
Q

When does lactation peak?

A

about 4-10 weeks

39
Q

Fat and protein content decreases until what week?

A

10 and then stabilizes

40
Q

Does the Dry matter intake (DMI) increase or decrease with lactation?

A

increase

41
Q

When does body weight and BCS increase and when does it decrease?

A

• Body weight and BCS decreases during peak
lactation, increases afterwards (less milk but
gestation)

42
Q

What is the lifespan of dairy cows?

A

20 years

43
Q

How many lactations will a dairy cow be profitable for and why?

A

3-5 lactations
• Lameness
• Mastitis
• Infertility

44
Q

When are dairy cows culled?

A

after 3-5 lactations (when they are no longer profitable)

45
Q

What are the signs of heat in dairy cows?

A

• Mounting other cows
• Red swollen vulva & clear mucous discharge
• Increased activity and vocalization
• Dirty flanks and sides from being mounted by
other cows
• Standing to be mounted

46
Q

What are the advantages of artificial insemination?

A

• No need for bull maintenance
• Disease control
• The semen of a sire can be used even after death of that particular sire.
• It makes possible the mating of animals with great differences in size without injury
• It is helpful to inseminate the animals that are refuse to stands or accept the male at
the time of oestrum.
• It helps in maintaining accurate breeding records.
• It increases the rate of conception.
• Old, heavy and injured sires can be used
• Genetic Improvement

47
Q

What are the disadvantages of artificial insemination?

A
  • Trained personnel and expensive equipment

* If not done correctly – fertility problems and productivity problems

48
Q

How often is artificial insemination used?

A

in 90-95% of pregnancies

49
Q

What happens to male calves?

A

they are usually culled and used for meat production

50
Q

Why might a dairy farmer inseminate a % of the dairy herd with beef breeds semen?

A 
• Male calves are usually culled
and used for meat production
• Not all females are used as
replacement heifers
• Improve carcass and meat
characteristics of the animals
• Increase profitability
51
Q

What are the characteristics of stall barns?

A

Small scale
• Cow is fastened by a neck chain
• More labour required

52
Q

What are the characteristics of free stall barns?

A 
• Most common housing
• Cows are not fasted to the stalls
• Cows may enter/leave the stalls
• Typically has resting and feeding
area
• Cows stay cleaner
• Easier to use with milking
parlour, automatic feeding
53
Q

How are calves and heifers (replacement cows) housed?

A
  • Calves up to 2 months: individual portable hutches or confined calf barns
  • Heifers – group in pens/free stall and if weather allows, on pasture
54
Q

What are calves fed for their first 1-2 months?

A

replacement milk

55
Q

What are cows fed after being weaned?

A

• Animals are later weaned and
grown on pasture
• Sometimes with supplementation

56
Q

True or false? Dairy cows have frequence negative energy balances during lactation.

A

True

57
Q

What are important feedstuffs for dairy cows?

A
  • Corn silage
  • Hay
  • Food industry by products
58
Q

When are the diets of dairy cows supplemented and by what?

A

during lactation with commercial pellets

59
Q

How often are cows milked?

A

twice a day (11-13hr interval)

60
Q

What is the milking routine?

A
  • Prewash with hose
  • Wash udder: warm water with sanitizing agent
  • Dry with towel (one per animal)
  • Milk 2-3 squirts (high bacterial count)
  • Attach milking machine
  • Remove milking machine gently (all teats at once)
  • Dip teats – reduce mastitis
61
Q

In what order are cows milked?

A

heifers, cows early lactation and normal cows first;

w/udder infections last (different tank)

62
Q

What are the three main types of milking parlours?

A
  • Parallel
  • Herringbone
  • Rotary
63
Q

What causes variation in milk prices?

A

• Milk price varies with %

Fat and % Protein, SCC

64
Q

What is the ideal temperature for dairy cows?

A

5-15 C

65
Q

Why is temperature a concern with dairy cows?

A 
• Dairy cows are very susceptible to
heat stress
• High temperatures and humidity
lowers milk production and
conception rates
66
Q

What are some methods of keeping cows cool?

A
  • Shade
  • Provide fresh water ad libitum
  • Fly control
  • Water sprinkling
67
Q

What cattle breeds are adapted to heat stress?

A 
Gir (India/Brazil)
Guzerat (India/Brazil)
Sahiwal (India)
Girolando (Brazil)
Slick hair gene (US)
68
Q

What are the characteristics /pros and cons of pasture based dairy systems?

A 
• Cows produce less milk
• Does not use selected breeds
• Animals are fed on pasture
exclusively
• Less inputs (animals, feed)
• Births are concentrated in one time
of the year
• Most of the milk produced is turned
into powdered milk and exported
• Welfare friendly

Basis of Animal Production (6 decks)

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