HANDOUT CNR, LOBESA
DAIRY PRODUCTION
3.
Exercise:
Dairy cows need only a limited amount
of exercise. The work that they do in
eating and chewing and digesting their
feed gives them considerable activity.
They do their rumination while standing
but most of their rumination is done
while lying down. While cows are
housed in loose housing system the
freedom of movement will suffice.
Some herds that are producing well are
kept in stanchion sheds throughout the
winter. In general however, it seems
desirable to give the animals some
exercise and see a little more thrift and
maintain a better appetite when they
are allowed to exercise. A general
routine is to turn them out for as much
of the day as the weather will permit.
Usually they can be turned out for at
least an hour or two while the shed is
being cleaned. This enables the
dairymen to do the cleaning to better
advantage and at the same time gives
the animals certain amount of regular
exercise. This will help them from
getting stiff and possibly lame from
being confined too long.
Turning them outside is also important
to detect those in heat. Crossbred
animals have the tendency of showing
silent heat. If they are let out animals in
heat will mount other animals. It is
possible for a dairy cow to have so
much exercise that she will use up
energy unnecessarily. This is true when
she is driven too far to pasture or when
the pasture is poor that she must cover
too much ground to get feed.
MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY
COWS
HANDLING THE HERD:
1.
Regularity of Care:
The dairy cow is a creature of habit.
The same routine of feeding, milking
and caring for her should be used each
day. It is desirable that the cow has
approximately the same amount of
exercise and that she be fed and
milked at the same hour in the same
manner daily. A change of milker or
even a strange feeder or other persons
in the shed has an effect upon some of
the more sensitive cows. Most cows
however, become accustomed to
certain amount of change.
2.
Kindness In Handling:
A cow must always be treated with
kindness if she is to maintain
production. The beating of a cow
should never be tolerated under any
circumstances. It is not only cruel but it
reduces production. A man who cannot
control his temper will not make a good
dairyman. Many herd men can go into
the field where the cattle are loose and
pet or catch them without trouble. But
when the animals are handled roughly
they will run away from their caretaker.
When they are handled gently and
quietly they will go in and out of the
shed slowly with less disturbance or
danger of injury. Dogs at the cattle
shed during milking time may disturb
the herd to such an extent that not only
the quantity of milk but also its
composition will be affected.
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4.
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Grooming Dairy Cows:
Milking cows should be kept clean
especially when bedding is insufficient.
It is necessary to groom cows for clean
milk production. The appearance of the
cow should be in keeping with good
care of the cattle and sanitary milk
HANDOUT CNR, LOBESA
DAIRY PRODUCTION
production methods. Grooming keeps
the skin clean and stimulates
circulation, which makes hide and hair
smoother and pliable. This causes the
animal to show more quality and better
condition. The equipment needed for
grooming is blunt currycomb for
removing coarse material or manure
from the cow and the heavy bristle
brush for the main grooming job. The
comb should be used gently so as not
to irritate the hide.
5.
large amount of water is necessary
even for dry cows. The importance of
having water before the cows at all
times can be seen easily.
A cow will not drink all the water she
needs for the most profitable
production of milk unless she can get it
frequently without discomfort and at a
suitable temperature.
If the weather is warm more water is
required than in moderate or cold
weather. Cows will drink up to twice as
much water in hot weather as in cold
winter weather. Since cows do not
sweat, if so relatively little, they
eliminate more water as urine in hot
weather in order to cool the body. If the
feed is succulent in nature, the cow will
consume less water than if she were
fed dry feed. In an experiment it has
been shown that average producing
cows were watered once a day, twice a
day and at will. The cows watered once
a day drank less and produced less
than those watered twice a day and the
cows watered twice drank as much but
produced less than those watered at
will. It was thus found out that higher
the production the greater the benefit
derived from frequent watering. The
cows consumed about 4 pounds of
water for each pound of dry matter
consumed. Availability of abundant
water is more important than it is in
winter.
Clipping:
One of the greatest aids in keeping
milch cows clean is to clip the belly
portion, udder and rear portions of the
animals. Bedding and manure will not
adhere to short hair to the same extent
as to long hair. Even if it does so it is
easily removed. This type of clipping is
different from that used for fitting cattle
for show or sale. The purpose is
different and the area to be clipped is
determined by the parts of the cow that
have to be cleaned the most.
6.
Watering:
Dairy cows must consume large
quantities of water for the production of
milk. The amount that a cow will drink
depends largely on the outside
temperature, the kind of feed eaten, the
amount of milk the cow is producing
and the temperature and cleanliness of
water. A large cow producing 25 - 30
pounds of milk daily and eating both
succulent and dry feeds will easily drink
as much as 100 pounds of water per
day. It was found out that under
ordinary climatic condition dry cows
consumed 73 pounds of water per day.
Medium producing cow consumed 107
pounds of water per day and heavy
producing cow consumed 191 pounds
of water per day. It is apparent that the
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Culling of Dairy Animals
On a well-organised dairy farm number
of animals goes on increasing which
provides a basis of selection by culling
the undesirable ones. The following
categories of the animals ought to be
culled from the herd.
1.
2.
3.
2
Animals which are suffering from
contagious disease
Animals having stunted growth
Problem breeders
HANDOUT CNR, LOBESA
DAIRY PRODUCTION
4.
5.
Low yielders
Long inter-calving interval, short
lactation and longer dry period
such hairs, balls continue to grow in
size and lead to serious disorders
which may be transmitted to other
calves. One of the precautionary
methods is to rub a pinch of salt or
mineral mixture on the tongue of the
calf after each feeding. Repetition of
this system will enable the calf to forget
Control of Bad Habits
Certain bad habits are prevalent among
the cattle such as suckling another cow
or herself, kicking during milking, fence
and rope breaking, etc. Unless they are
properly treated from the first
observation, it becomes a difficult
problem to get rid of such practices in
later stages. Some of the common bad
habits are discussed below:
this habit. Some use rope-net or wire
gauze muzzle to control this vice.
Young calves of this nature can best be
kept in individual pens or tied so that
they cannot reach others.
Kicking: Many heifers or cows kick
when they are milked. It may be mainly
because of handling by an unskilled
milker or may be by nature vicious.
Before applying any remedial measure,
it will be wise to search for the reasons
of such habit. It may be possible that
the cow is suffering from some disease
of the udder or teats. Sometimes bad
milking method may compel the animal
to do so. In such cases proper
treatment will bring the cow in order.
But when the cow by nature is vicious,
in that case one method is to tie the
head high. Another is to tie a rope
around the body of the cow just in front
of the udder. In severe cases, antilinking chains can be used. A clamp fits
over each hock and a chain fastens
them together. Sometimes a piece of
rope is used to tie the hocks by making
a loop like the figure “8”. Unless
crossed between the two hocks, the
strap will slip down when the cow
struggles.
Suckling: Every dairyman has had
experience with cows that suck
themselves or other cows, thus causing
losses of milk, contamination of the
udder and sometimes indigestion of the
animal concerned. There seems to be
no satisfactory explanation of why they
do so, Th prevent this perversion, the
cow should be separated from the rest
of the herd. A cradle or a bull ring is put
in the cow’s nose and then two or three
other rings are attached to it. A special
ring that has some sharp prongs
soldered on to it, is very effective. This
system does not interfere with the
animal’s normal eating.
Licking: Some animals, especially
calves, get into the habit of licking other
calves during the milk feeding period.
This ultimately leads to the indigestion
of hair which get entangled with the
curdled milk in the stomach and forms
hair balls. On further accumulation of
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HANDOUT CNR, LOBESA
DAIRY PRODUCTION
Fence Breaking: Some animals have the habit breaking their fence of the enclosure
in which they are grazed on jumping over the fences. The habit is formed due to the
feeling that on the other side of the fence the grasses are more green or plenty. There
is little that will stop a roughish cow except proper hitching arrangement and good
fences.
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