Dairy Cattle Nutrition: Methods of Feeding Dairy Cows Flashcards
What is the goal of challenge or lead feeding?
Practice of feeding higher levels of concentrate to challenge the cow to reach maximum potential milk production
In traditional feeding, how often are roughages and concentrates generally fed?
Roughages and concentrates are generally fed at choice (Ad libitum) but fed separately
What are 3 types of Automatic Concentrate Feeders?
1) Magnetic
2) Electronic
3) Transponder
What is the goal of Total Mixed Rations (TMR)?
TMR has all or almost all the ingredients blended together.
Ration is then fed free choice to all the cows in the group
4 major advantages of traditional feeding
1) Less specialized equipment
2) In theory, each cow feeds according to individual needs based on production
3) Allows adjusting concentrate feeding to the stage of lactation
4) Allows individual feeding for each cow
Which type of feeding is becoming very popular in modern dairy farms?
Total Mixed Rations (TMR)
8 Disadvantages of Total Mixed Rations (TMR)
1) Special equipment for weighing and mixing ration needed
2) Cows may not want to enter the parlour if no feed is there
3) Hay is hard to include in TMR (very light)
4) Works better with silage
5) If hay is fed separately may not be balanced for some cows
6) Low-producers tend to get too fat
7) Cows have to be divided into groups (production level and production stage) to be more efficient
8) More complex management
6 Common Mistakes in Total Mixed Rations (TMR)
1) Errors in mixing and scales
2) Top Dress
3) Free Choice (hay)
4) Wet Ingredient Testing
5) Error in Mixing Time
6) Changing Batch Sizes
4 methods of feeding dairy cows
1) Traditional
2) Challenge or lead feeding
3) Total mixed rations
4) Automatic concentrate feeders
11 major disadvantages of traditional feeding
1) Low producing cows are frequently overfed
2) High producing cows are frequently underfed on concentrates
3) Grain feeding equipment and facilities needed at milking parlour
4) Dust in milking parlour increases (hygiene issues)
5) Cleanup of uneaten grain in the milking parlour is needed
6) Milking may be delayed because animals are still eatting
7) Cows are restless during milking
8) More labour is necessary
9) Less control over the total feeding program
10) Higher cost of equipment
11) Careful records of individual production and continuous adjustment of concentrate to match production levels are needed
In challenge or lead feeding at maximum milk production, how often concentrate feeding should be done?
At maximum milk production concentrate feeding should be constant
(When production drops, start gradually to diminish the amount of concentrate fed)
What type of farms is traditional feeding most common?
More common on older, smaller farms
What are 2 types of equipment used for feeding Total Mixed Rations (TMR)?
1) Mixed Blender Unit
2) Weighing Device
When using Total Mixed Rations (TMR), it is not important to weigh the amount of hay
True or False?
False
How are cows in large herds with Total Mixed Rations (TMR) divided?
In large herds, cows are divided into groups
according to production levels and fed with different diets
