Dairy Husbandry Flashcards
1
Q
First Dairy settlement was in:
A
1788, with first fleet of settlers
2
Q
Most important rural industries in Australia:
A
1) Beef
2) Wheat
3) Dairy
3
Q
Dairy Industry Key Points (4)
A
1) 3rd largest diary exporter
2) export 45% of production
3) produce: Milk, milk powder, yoghurt, butter, cheese
4) AU and NZ only produce 4% of worlds milk but account for 45% of worlds milk trade
4
Q
In AUSTRALIA:
Average Herd Size
Average Hectares
Family or Commercial
A
273 cows per herd
200 hectares
Family owned
5
Q
Highest Milk Production in AUS
A
South Eastern Australia (Melbourne, Tasmania, Adelaide area)
6
Q
(%) of dairy cattle are (Breed)
A
75% of dairy cattle are Holstein Friesian
7
Q
Which state has the highest milk production in Australia?
A
Victoria
Over 4000 dairy farms
8
Q
2 types of Dairy Products
A
1) Market Milk
2) Manufacture Milk
9
Q
Market Milk
A
Short shelf-life
processed immediately for drinking
QLD is 100% market milk
Not sustaining own milk production
Brings up milk from NSW
10
Q
Manufacture Milk
A
Longer lasting milk
Cheese, butter, powder
11
Q
Utilization of Australian milk
A
highest: 34% Cheese
Lowest: 11% Powder
12
Q
Deregulated Australian Milk Market
A
1) no legislative control of price paid to farmers
2) Prices based on milk fat and protein solids
3) Incentive/penalties payment scheme
4) Price received varies between states
13
Q
Trends of australian dairy farms since deregulated market
A
number of farms has decreases
number of cows has increases
production of milk per farm has increased
14
Q
Temperate Australian Breeds
A
BAG-HIJ
Brown Swiss Ayrshire Guernsey Holstein Illawarra Jersey
15
Q
Tropical Australian Breeds
A
Af-SZ
Australian Friesian
Sahiwall
Australian Milking Zebu
16
Q
Holstein Friesian
A
75% of dairy cows
Most numerous and popular breed
High milk volume
Low solid components (fat/protein)
17
Q
Jersey
A
Second most important breed
Used in cross-breed herds
Low milk volume High components (fat/protein)
18
Q
Brown Swiss
A
Adapt to different conditions
Average milk production High components (fat/proteins)
19
Q
Illawarra
A
Developed in Australia
Average milk production Average components (fat/protein)
20
Q
Ayrshire
A
Average milk production Average components (fat/protein)
21
Q
Guernsey
A
Average milk production Average components (fat/protein)
22
Q
Calf
A
young male or female
23
Q
Bobby calfs
A
young male calf usually destined for veal
24
Q
Heifer
A
young female that has not yet had calf
25
First Calf Heifer
female after giving birth to first calf
26
Cow
female after second calving
27
Bull
Sexually mature uncastrated male
28
Fresh Cow
cow that has recently calved
29
Colostrum
First milk following calving
30
Lactation
Period of milk production
31
Gestation
Length of pregnancy (283 days)
32
Dry Cow
Non-lactating cow (dried off, dry cow therapy)
33
Dam
female parent in a pedigree
34
Sire
male parent in a pedigree
35
Cull Cow
cow to be removed from herd
36
Downer Cow
Cow unable to rise
37
Bulk milk tank
on farm refrigerated, stainless steel storage vessel in which milk is cooled quickly to 2-4 degrees
38
Milking parlour
Specialized are of the farm where milking is performed
39
Mastitis
Inflammatory (infection) of mammary gland
40
Somatic Cell Count
(SCC)
| Number of white blood cells per ml of milk
41
optimal milking period (days)
305
42
optimal gestation period (days)
283
43
Optimal dry off period (days)
60
44
Lactation protocol
Remove calf 12-24 hours after birth
Withhold milk for first 8 milkings
Milked 2-3 times per day
45
Dry period
Stop milking cow prior to calving
Dry period 50-60 days
Given intramammary antibiotics
Regeneration of milk secretory tissue in udder
- leads to increased production next lactation
<30 days = less milk next lactation
>70 days = contribute to obesity
46
Ideal Cow (timing)
```
60 day dry period
40-60 day voluntary waiting period
20 day mating period
283 day Gestation
60 day dry period
```
47
3 types of calving patters
1) Seasonal
2) Split/Batch
3) Year Round
48
Seasonal Calving Pattern
Aim to match pear milk production with peak pasture growth
Most common production system
All periods (dry off, mating, etc) occur at the same time for all cows
49
Split/Batch Calving Pattern
Aim is to maximize production through spring and summer
Done to meet demands of consumers
Generally 2 batches per year
*can have problems with pasture maturity
50
Year Round Calving Pattern
Aim to supply even amounts of milk all year round
Aimed more at market/white milk
Dominant in QLD, WA, and NSW
51
Typical Feeding structures for Dairy Cattle
Primarily grazing
| Some are feedlot
52
Grass (pro's and cons)
Pro:
Cheapest, cows designed to eat grass, less disease
Cons:
Hard to control intake, limited water resource, dependent of weather, still require supplements
DONT MAKE A LOT OF MILK WITH GRASS
53
Types of Supplements (3)
1) Grain
2) Hay/Silage
3) By-products
54
Examples of by-products (4)
1) Cotton seed
2) Brewers grain
3) Cannery Waste
4) Bread
55
Pro's of Supplements (4)
1) Less reliance on rainfall
2) Control over intake
3) By-products usually relatively cheap
4) Allow increased production over grass alone
56
Con's of Supplements (3)
1) Fluctuating supplies
2) Variable feed price
3) Increased Acidosis
57
Feedlot Pro's (3)
1) Better nutritional control
2) More milk per cow
3) Not reliant on local weather
58
Feedlot Cons
1) Increased costs
2) Feed costs will fluctuate
3) Increased risk of diseases (4)
59
4 diseases associated with feedlots
1) Mastitis
2) LDA/RDA
3) Acidosis
4) Lameness
60
Colostrum
Antibodies provided in mothers milk
| Absorpion decreases exponentially for the calf
61
Colostrum management (2)
1) remove calf 2-3 hours after birth
| 2) Feed 4 litres of colostrum within 6 hours
62
Umbilicus/naval spraying
Umbilicus should be sprayed with 7% iodine solution right after birth to prevent infection of the joints
- bacteria can infect umbilicus and affect joints
63
Feeding for ruminant development
- 1st month calf needs 4 litres per day with 500g solids
- water needs to always be available
- dry forage is critical for rumen development
- calf starters from day 3 in the form of pellets
64
Calf Housing
Calves are poor regulators of temp.
- protect against rain, shine, cold
- shelter with grass available is best
- no contact with other animals
- clear regularly
65
Calf health diseases and infections (6)
1) Scours (diarrhoea)
2) Pneumonia
3) Umbilical infection/naval infection
4) Joint infection/joint ill
5) Internal parasites
6) External parasites
66
Calf Diarrhoea
```
Calves less than 6 weeks
Combination
- environment
- challenge
- poor immunity
Bacterial or viral
```
67
Diarrhoea management in calves (3)
1) Hydration (gastric tube, intravenous)
2) Metabolit imbalances (Electrolytes)
3) Antibiotics
68
Diarrhoea prevention in calves (3)
1) Colostrum
2) Reduce pathogen exposure
3) Reduce stress
69
Pneumonia in calves; causes (6)
```
Calves after weaning
Combination
1) - Stress
2) - Pathogen
3) - Poor ventilation
4) - Poor hygiene
5) Virus
6) Bacteria
```
70
Calf husbandry procedures (4)
1) Identification
2) Disbudding/Dehorning
3) Castration
4) Vaccination
71
Types of identification (6)
1) ear marking/notching
2) ear tattooing
3) Freeze branding
4) Photography
5) Ear-tagging
6) Radio frequency identification device (RFID)
72
Ear tattooing
Stud procedure
| Difficult to read
73
Freeze Branding
Leaves white marks on black coats
Liquid nitrogen expense
Easier to read than fire brand
74
RFID
```
National Livestock Identification System (NLIS)
Traceability for
1) biosecurity
2) Meat Safety
3) Product Integrity
4) Market Acces
```
75
Uses for NLIS (5)
1) Backup if other tag is lost
2) Herd recording
3) Automatic drafting
4) Computer controlled feeding
5) Recording milk production in automated systems
76
Disbudding
Removal of horn producing cells
Calves less than 2 months
Buds are not attached to bone yet
77
Dehorning
Removal of horn and horn producing cells
Horn attached to skull
Creates sinus exposure to environment
Most painful procedure for cattle
78
Types of castration (2)
1) Surgical castration
| 2) Non-surgical castration
79
Surgical Castration (2)
1) Knife
| 2) Scalpel + Emasculator
80
Non-surgical castration (2)
1) Burdizzo
| 2) Elastrator
81
Types of Diseases that can be vaccinated against: (5)
1) Clostridial diseases
2) Leptospirosis
3) Botulism
4) Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF)
5) Tick Fever
82
Types of Clostridial Diseases (5)
Caused by anaerobic bacteria in the environment
1) Tetanus
2) Malignant oedema
3) Blackleg
4) Enterotoxaemia
5) Black Disease
83
Vaccination procedure (4)
(DSSE)
1) Dose
2) Site
3) Storage
4) Expiry date
84
Cow Body Score
Most common: 1-5
| Dairy Australia: 1-8
85
Why use the body score?
Body condition affects
1) Milk production
2) Reproductive performance
86
Thin cows
Repro effects: Lower conception rates
Milking effects:
- use more energy for weight gain than milk production
- lower lactation persistency
87
Fat cows at calving
More problems
Lower dry matter
Metabolic disease
Not as bad compared to too skinny
88
Body score at calving and at mating
At calving: 4.5-5.5
| At mating: 4.0-5.0
89
Signs of mastitis
Pain
Swelling
Redness
Milk Changes
90
Lameness
```
Multifactorial Aetiology
- environmental
- management
- animal
High grain diets can cause lameness
Can affect reproduction
```
91
Downer Cow Differential (4)
1) Traumatic
2) Metabolic
3) Neurological
4) Toxic Infections
92
How to dry-off a cow? (4)
- needs to be below 12 litres per day
- reduce concentrate feeding
1) Completely milk out
2) Insert dry cow antibiotic
3) Apply teat drip
4) Don't milk again
