Dairy Nutrition Flashcards
What are the stages of life for a dairy cow?
-Newborn calf (0-60 days)
-Growing Heifer (2-13 months)
-Breeding Heifers (13-15 months)
-Pregnant Heifers (14-23 months)
-Lactating Cow (>23 months)
When would you start breeding a heifr?
-Start breeding a heifer when she is the proper size
What does DIM stand for?
Days in Milk
What does ECD stand for?
expected calving date
What are the stages of a lactating cow?
-Fresh cow (0-21 DIM)
-Early lactation (21 to 150 DIM)
-Late lactation (151 to ~305 DIM)
-Dry cow / Far off (45-60 days ECD)
-Dry cow / Close up (21 days to ECD)
When is a cow a transition cow?
Between being a dry cow/close up and a fresh cow
What is a fresh cow?
-First 3 weeks of lactating
Does an early or late lactation cow new higher requiements?
Eary lactation cow
In what stage does a cow get bred again?
-Early Lactation
-around day 70
In what stage does milk production decrease?
-Late lactation
In what stage should a cow be pregnant again?
-Late lactation
What is a dry cow?
-not producing milk
-2 months off
What does close up mean?
Within three weeks of calving
By what day should a cow get pregnant?
Day 117
How low do cows gestate for?
283 Days
What days should a cow be in estrus?
-Day 75
-Day 96
-Day 117
What day should a cow be calving?
Day 400
Between day 10-21 during lactation what is milk production doing?
rapidly increasing
Between day 21-150 during lactation what is milk production doing?
-increase to peak milk production
-Then slowly decrease
Between day 150-440 during lactation what is milk production doing?
-decreasing till around day 400
-Around day 400 milk production increases
During what days of lactation do requirements rapidly increase?
day 21-150
What are the nutrient classifications?
-Dry Matter
-H2O
What categories make up dry matter?
-Ash
-Organic matter
What makes up ash?
Minerals and some vitamins
What categories make up organic matter?
-Crude protein
-Ether extract (EE)
-NDF
-NFC
What does NDF stand for?
Neutral Detergent Fiber
What makes up NDF?
-Hemicellulose
-Cellulose
-Lignin
What does NFC stand for?
Non-fiber Carbohydrates
What makes up NFC?
-Pectin
-Sugars
-Starch/Fructans
-Organic Acids
Is lignin a carbohydrate?
No
What is pectin? is it fermented? where? what does it act as?
-structural carbohydrate (part of the cell wall)
-Rapid fermentability in the rumen
-nutritionally, it behaves as a sugar
Is NFC highly fermentable and digestible?
Yes
When should newborn calves get colostrum? how much? what is in colostrum?
-within 6 hours of life
-should get 1 gallon; average 2 quarts, but depends on calf size
-get passive immunity (immunoglobulins)
Why should calves get colostrum within 6 hours of life?
-Tigh junctions start to tighten up after 24 hours
What is specific to calves?
esophageal groove
What are pre-weaned calves feed?
-Whole milk (saleable milk)
-Milk Replacers
-Waste milk
Why is feeding whole milk not a great option?
-The nutrients is not stable
What is milk replacer made up of?
-28:20 milk replacer: 28% crude protein and 20% fat, DM basis
-20:20 milk replacer: 20% crude protein and 20% fat, DM basis
What is waste milk?
Come from animals who were sick/ animals that got antibiotics
What is pre-weaned calves the transition between? what are the transitions?
-Feed types
-from milk/milk replacers > starter > hay > grower > TMR
How long are calves on milk/milk replacer?
-day 1-56
How long are calves on starter? what is started made of? form?
-day 7-70
->20% crude protein
-pellet
How long are calves on hay? Is the hay good or bad quality?
-day 57-84
-good quality
How long are claves on grower feed? what is it made up of?
-day 71-84+
-16-18% crude protein
How long are claves on TMR? what is TMR?
->84 days
-Total mix ration
Are replacement heifers a small or large expense of resources?
Large
What does the diet of a replacement heifer look like?
-relatively low energy and protein requirements
-generally high forage diets (>50%)
-grazing
What is manipulate in a replacement heifers diet? why?
-dietary energy
-to target different ADG
Why are replacement heifers feed cheap, grain, and cheap overall diet?
Bc the producer is putting in money, but not yet receiving product
What is a good ADG for a replacement heifer?
1.75lb -2lb
Characteristics of a Fresh Cow
-Low DIM
<38% NFC (avoid acidosis)
What type of diet is a fresh cow fed? what are you feeding to improve?
-Transition diet, more concentrated
-still feeding to improve DIM and reduce incidences of metabolic disorders
What does the diet for Early Lactation look like?
-High quality forage
-28-30% NDF
~40% NFC (avoid acidosis)
-supplement fat: extra energy
-most efficient use of additives
-feeding the most, high quality and easy digestible
Early lactation also know as…
“Full power”
Characteristics of Late Lactation
-Persistency: steady slow decline of milk over the days
-decrease DIM and MY
-Recovering body reserves: manage BCS
-production decrease
What does a Late Lactation diet look like?
-Less efficient use of expensive feed additives
-increase forage (30-35% NDF)
-Decrease concentrate (< or equal to 16% crude protein)
-lower quality forages
What type of energy balance does a late lactation cow have?
-negative
-mobilizing body fat
What does the diet of a dry cow: far off (60-45 days ECD) look like?
-“slow down diet”
-high forage
-little concentrate
-lower energy
-lower quality forage
-grazing
What diet is dry cow: far off similar to?
Replacement heifers
What is a dry cow: close up (21 days ECD) intermediate of?
Of a far-off cow and lactating cows
What type of diet does a dry cow: close up have? what does it do?
Transition diet
-improve DIM and reduce incidences of metabolic disorders
What do you have to make sure for an animal to eat a feed?
Make sure its palatable
What is the transition period?
The 3 weeks before and 3 weeks after calving
Who are at most risk of a metabolic disease?
Transition cows
What are the 3 greatest most common risk of metabolic disease?
-hypocalcemia
-ketosis and fatty liver
-acidosis
What are 3 more risks of metabolic disease that can be secondary of the first three?
-Laminitis
-Displaced abomasum
-retained placenta
What is Hypocalcemia?
-Also know as “milk fever”
-sudden and drastic decease in serum (Ca) following the onset of lactation, “downed cow”
-low Ca
What is a downed cow?
-laying down, not getting up
-risk of death
-not producing
What can hypocalcemia impact?
-health
-future lower milk production
-decrease reproductive performance
-gateway to other post-partum metabolic diseases
How can you prevent hypocalcemia?
-preparing for Ca mobilization during dry periods
-low calcium diets during dry periods
-low potassium diets during dry periods (avoid alfalfa)
-Anionic salts: close up diets (DCAD 100-200 mEq/kg), increase salts and ions
-calcium bolus after calving
What is ketosis and fatty liver (symptoms)?
-Build up of fat in the liver
-nutrient partitioning and fat mobilization
-Low blood glucose
-excess ketone bodies
-weight loss
-depressed milk production
-lethargy
What is ketosis and fatty liver caused by?
-Negative energy balance (NEB)
-naturally reduced DIM
-Late fetal development uses ~46% maternal glucose
-onset of lactation (lactose)
How can you prevent ketosis and fatty liver?
-Prevention is dependent on maintaining good BCS
-feed palatable and nutritious to maintain DIM
-Management is also a key factor
What is Acidosis?
Excess production and accumulation of acids in the rumen (low rumen pH)
What is acidosis caused by?
-low NDF
-High NFC and digestible starch: fermented to fast and now build up of VFAs
What might acidosis seem like?
-milk fat depression
-reduced efficiency
-liquidly manure
-laminitis and hoof problems
How is acidosis treated?
-more NDF and peNDF
What is used to prevent acidosis?
-buffers are typically included in the diets of lactating cows
How do we decide what to feed cows?
-locality
-seasonality
-economics
-land-use
-quality
-availability
