Dairy Cattle Flashcards
How many calves per year per cow is the objective
1 calf/cow per year
T/F: Milk is produced year round and cows are milked year round
FALSE
- Milk is produced year round
- COWS ARE MILKED 10 MONTH/YR
Define grazing
Animals feed on pasture and are supplemented with grain/hay during winter
-low yield animals
How often should cows be milked?
q12 hrs
Four factors of quality in milk (affects price)
- volume
- fat content
- protein content
- Somatic Cell Count
What percent of dairy farms are family owned
97%
Average size of dairy herd
179 cows
How much milk will a dairy cow produce on average per day
6.5 gallows (24-25 L)
Gestation period for dairy cattle
280 days
Lactation period for dairy cattle
304 days, milking begins when calf is born
Dry period after cow’s lactation period
60 days
How many days after parturition is a dairy cow inseminated again?
85 days
What happens at the end of the dry period
Parturition
Female calves are kept on ____artificial/mother’s_____ milk
female calves are kept on artificial milk
Female calves are weaned at _________ days and reared for another _____ days
Female calves are weaned at 35-45 days and reared for another 420 days
Why would every cow lose weight during their FIRST lactation phase?
In a negative energy balance
Life span of dairy cattle and profitable for how many lactations?
Life span of 20 years
profitable for 3-5 lactations
After the profitable lactation period, what CS will you likely see
Lameness, Mastitis, Infertility
A cow in lactation fed correctly will use what percent feed for maintenance and what percent feed for milk production?
50/50
Lactation peaks at ___ - ____ weeks
4 to 10 weeks
Fat and protein content _____ until week 10 and then _______
Decrease until week 10, then stabilize
T/F: Milk production is always limited by genetic and environmental components (25% genetic, 75% environment)
True
What are nutrients used for in dairy cows
- growth (immature animals)
- Pregnancy (esp last 3 months)
- Fattening
- Regaining weight lost in lactation
- Maintenance
- Lactation and milk production
T/F: Dairy cattle are fed only roughages (pasture, hay, silage)
False,
because milk production is very demanding, dairy cattle have to be supplemented w/ concentrate feeding and/or grains
What percent of dry matter should come from roughages (and the rest from concentrates or grain)
60-80%
Ideal to produce hay around:
mid-spring
Moisture content of hay when bailed
20% or less
As crops mature cows will eat ___more/less___ of the green chop
LESS
leads to lower energy intake
What feed type is preserved in low oxygen concentrations (anaerobic)?
Silage
Also more moisture content
T/F: Corn silage is NOT very palatable
false, corn silage IS very palatable
T/F: corn silage must be supplemented because it is low in protein and minerals
True;
8% protein
Low mineral
also contains 50% grain in a DM basis
______ is the non-grain part of crop of wheat or oats
straw
________ is:
- low in energy, protein, minerals, vitamins
- cows must be supplemented with concentrates
- little nutritional value
- mainly used to add fiber
- Cheap alternative for feeding dry cows and old heifers
STRAW
Pasture is ideal for:
dry cows and old heifers
Feeding pasture to lactating cows may cause:
- Decrease in milk production, milk fat, grain intake
- bloat
- flavors in milk
- watery feces after heavy rainfall
- difficulty getting cows into milking parlor
Limit grazing time to _____ hours a day
Limit grazing to 1 to 2 hours per day
- feed dry forage before allowing cows on pasture
- bring cows to barn several hours before feeding, feed silage/hay at same time
T/F: energy content of cereals (if low) is the LIMITING FACTOR in milk production
TRUE
Cereal grains contain ______% TDN (total digestible nutrients)
70 to 80
T/F: processed grains are more digestible if rolled, ground, or pelleted
true
Consequences of feeding fine grains
- lower digestibility –> lower milk fat
- may lead to acidosis because digested much faster
_____% TDN for corn and corn cob meal
90%
T/F cows feed better when corn is used in rations
True
Compare oats to corn
- Energy content
- Protein
- Digestibility
- lower energy
- higher protein
- lower digestibility
should not replace more than half of corn in the ration
Barley has the same overall energy value for dairy cattle as ______ but has a ____ protein content
Corn
Higher protein content
T/F: Wheat is used in dairy rations because it is low in price
FALSE; high in price not used for dairy rations
What is the expensive part of ration
Protein supplements
Hold as low as possible to keep costs low
Six protein sources
- corn gluten meal
- distillers dried grains (DDG)
- soybean meal
- sunflower meal
- linseed meal
- cottonseed meal
Which protein source is most palatable
Soybean meal
limit corn gluten meal to ____ lbs per head/day
5 lbs
Which protein source has highest crude protein content
Corn Gluten (40-60%)
Cottonseed is also high
Which protein source is a laxative
Linseed meal
Which protein source may constipate
cottonseed meal
Too much urea is toxic, you want no more that ___ lb/head/day
0.4 lb
Which calcium source is no longer legal
steamed bone meal
Two sources of calcium
Dicalcium phosphate
limestone
Ca:P ratio should be
Anywhere from 1.2 : 1.0 to 1.2 : 2.1
Milk is ___% water
85%
___________ need water in relation to size more than any other farm animal
Lactating cows
Dairy cows suffer more from lack of _____ than from lack of any other nutrients
water
pH of rumen
6.5
Four basic groups that can survive in rumen
bacteria
protozoa
fungi
viruses
How is cellulose and hemicellulose digested to extract energy
Microorganisms secrete enzymes allowing digestion
3 VFA that can be absorbed by animal and used as energy
Acetate
Propionate
Butyrate
T/F: Microorganisms can convert inexpensive N sources to protein, can make their own B vitamins, and can breakdown toxins from plants
True
