Intro/Dairy Cattle Flashcards
What are the breed groups of domestic cattle?
Bos taurus
Bos indicus
Crosses
How can you tell a diary cattle from a beef cattle?
Dairy- triangular in shape
Beef-rectangular
What are the beef breeds?
Bos taurus Angus Hereford Charolais Blonde d-Aquitaine
Bos indicus
Brahman
Nellore
What are the dairy breeds?
Bos Taurus
- Holstein-Friesland
- jersey
Bos indicus
-guernesy
90% of diary cows are of what breed
Holstein-Friesland
What is the smallest diary breed?
Jersey
What breed of cattle is heat tolerant, docile and has a 4% milk fat?
Brown Swiss
Breed of dairy cow originally from Scotland. Has a good grazing ability and a 4% milk fat
Ayrshire
A beef cattle that is all black, smooth haired, and polled. Will have high-quality carcass and marbled meat
Angus
Beef cow with white faces and red bodies. They are docile and easily handled
Hereford
Beef cow originating from Northern England with short horns
Shorthorn/ polled shorthorn
Beef cow that is white haired, large, and heavily muscled. Will have high lean carcass yield
Charolais
A bos indicus breed of beef cow that is grey or red, heat tolerant, and has the ability to forage on poor pastures
Branman
Breed of cattle that is adapted to harsh environments, can survive of sparse rangelands, tolerant to disease and parasites, and has very long horns
Texas longhorn
What are composite breeds?
Intentional crosses of pure breed
-> combine hardiness with productive performance
90-95% of the dairy cattle are what breed?
Holstein-Friesland
How many months of the year are cows milked?
10months
What are the types of nutrition used on diary farms?
Gazing -> pasture and are supplemented with grain/hay
Minimal grazing -> pasture and are “hand fed” on total mixed ration
No grazing -> animals exclusively “hand fed” and have no access to pasture
In dairy cow production, what should occur between the dry period and the breeding period?
Voluntary waiting period
How long is the gestation period of a diary cow?
220 days
How long is the dry period in dairy cow production?
60days
How many times a day are diary cows milked
2x
T/F: milk production is increase but the number of dairy cows is decreasing
True
How are female calves raised on a dairy farm?
Female calves are on artificial milk, weaned at 35-45days
Reared for 420days
How long is the voluntary waiting period?
85days
What is the life span of a dairy cow, how long are they profitable?
20yr lifespan
Only profitable for 3-5yrs for lactation (lameness, mastitis, and infertility)
A heifer inseminated on 15th November 2016 will calve in ________ and will start the dry period in ___________
August 2017 (gestation is 20days); june 2018 (lactation takes 305days after calving, followed by the 60day dry period)
When does peak lactation occur?
Weeks 4-10
Milk production is limited by what two factors?
Genetic (25%)
Environmental (75%)
What are nutrients used for in dairy cattle?
Growth of immature animal Pregnancy Fattening/regaining normal weight lost Maintenance Lactation
T/F: a cow in lactation and fed correctly will used 1/3 of feed for maintenance and 2/3 of feed for milk production
False
1/2 -maintenance
1/2- lactation
In a dairy cow and on the firs 5 weeks of lactation the fat content will ________ and the volume of milk produced will _________
Decrease; increase
What are the types of feed used in dairy cattle?
Roughages - pasture, hay, silage
Concentrate and grains
How is dry matter calculated
Dry weight/ fresh weight * 100
In cattle, _______% of the dry matter should come from roughages, and the rest from concentrates and/or grain
60-80
The feeding value of a hay is dependent on what factors?
Kind of hay / botanical composition
Stage of maturity when cut
Harvesting method
What is green chop? What is the moisture content?
Forage is harvested and chopped daily
Moisture content and nutritional value changes considerably throughout the year
What is silage
Anaerobic preservation
Preserved in silos
What is the most popular roughages for dairy cattle
Corn silage
Corn silage is made when the kernels have reached _______ stage
Dent
Is supplementation needed if you are feeding corn silage?
Yes
Only 8%DM is protein
Low on minerals
Straw is added to diet for?
Fiber
Low energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins (little nutritional value)
Pasture is fed to lactating cows, what may this cause?
Drop in milk production Drop in milk fat Bloat Flavors in milk Reduced grain intake Watery feces Difficult to get cows into milking parlour
lactating cows rarely get enough dry matter if pasture is the major source of roughage
What pasture management practices should be used to reduce problems in lactating cattle?
Limit grazing time
Feed dry forage before allowing cows on pasture
Bring cows into barn several hours before feeding
Feed silage/hay at this time
Grains contain ________% total digestible nutrients
70-80
T/F: processed grains are more digestible
True
EXCPET grains that are ground too fine–> lower digestibility and lower %milkfat
-grinding, rolling, pelleting
What cereals are commonly used in dairy cow feed?
Corn
Oat
Barley
Which has the best protein content? Corn, oat, barley?
Barley > oat > corn
Barely or oats should not make up more than _____ of the grain ration
Half
T/F: quality of the protein is more important than quantity for dairy cows
False
Quantity is more important than quality
What protein supplements can be used in dairy cattle
Corn gluten meal Distillers dried grains Soybean meal Sunflower meal Linseed meal Cottonseed meal
Corn gluten meal is added as a protein supplement for dairy catte, but should be limited to ___lbs per head/day
5
Does corn gluten meal or distilled dried grain have more protein ?
Corn gluten meal 40-60%
Distillers dried grain 20-30%
What is a good source of protein and phosphorus for dairy cattle but is less palatable
Sunflower meal
What protein supplement will also add shine to the hair coat, is palatable, but can act as a laxative?
Linseed meal
What protein supplement would we be concerned about gossypol poisoning with?
Cottonseed meal
What non-protein nitrogen source is useful in boosting protein levels in ruminants?
Feed grade urea
Beet, citrus, or tomato pulps can be added to a ration to increase?
Energy
-highly palatable but slight laxatives
Why is molasses used in cattle feed?
Increase palatability of the ration
Whole cottonseed can be used to increase _______ and ___________ in the diet
Fiber; energy
What are good calcium sources for dairy cows?
Limestone
Dicalcium phosphate
What type of cow needs the most water of any farm animal
Lactating cows -> milk is 85% water
What do microorganisms secrete that allows them to digest fibrous plant compounds like cellulose and hemicellulose?
Cellulase
Hemicellulase
Fibrous plant compounds are fermented to _____________ by microorganisms in the rumen
Volatile fatty acids (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) which can be absorbed by he animal and used for energy
T/F: cattle can make their own vitB
True
Vit B produced by microorganisms
(Eg microorganisms can produce thiamine, if rumen is poorly functioning you can develop thiamine deficiency leading to brain swelling)
What is the normal pH of the rumen of a dairy cow?
6.5
In early lactation, nor more than_______ % DM should be CP. this should be gradually reduced to ____% in middle to late lactation
18-19; 13
What type of forage should be provided in early lactation
High quality!
1.5-2.8 pounds of forage per 100pounds of cow
__________ in the ration is needed to maintain milkfat
Fiber
Minimum 15% crude fiber in the diet
Early lactation -18% min
Late lactation- 21% min
What would be the most adequate forage for high-yield lactating dairy cows?
A. Straw B. Prairie grass hay C. Prairie grass silage D. Corn silage E. Pasture
Corn silage
A high level of soluble carbohydrates can cause?
Acidosis
Low milk fat
Soluble carbohydrates are recommended at a level of _________% in dairy cows
30-35
Concentrate mix should contain _______% salt and ___% calcium-phosphorus
0.5-1; 1
What is the most critical feeding period in dairy cows? What are the feeding requirements?
Phase 1
- first 70days of lactation
- highest milk production
Grains should be increased by 1-1.5lbs per day for the first 10weeks of lactation and fiber kept above 15%
Grain will be 50-55% of ration
19% CP
1-1.5lb of fat to avoid weight loss
What feeding phase of dairy cows has the thighs DM intake?
What are the feeding requirements?
Phase 2
- 70-140 days after lactation
- decreasing milk production
Grain 2.3% of BW
Forage 1.5% of BW
50-60% of ration should be digestible fiber
What are likely problems associated with cows in phase 2
Low milk production
Low fat test
Ketosis
What feeding phase is characterized by a continual decrease in milk production and grain should be fed according to this production
Phase 3
Diary cow feeding can be divided into 4 different phases, according to production status. Peak production occurs in phase _____, while highest DM intake occurs in phase ___.
Phase 1; phase 2
What should be limited when feeding dry cows?
Amount of corn silage
If you overfeed-> increase BW and fat cows
