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Dairy cattle - Management practices
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i need guidness about Ov-synch. i have cows which have passed 200 days of lactation but still open. please guide me about the breeding of these cows ...
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Hello,
if I have a stable with 500 holstein cows and I add 200 jersey, which is my production goal and which is the mortality in the stable?
Thank you
Benjamin Finn
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Often farmers are plagued with the reality of poor reproductive performance in their herds. Heat detection generally is the single greatest reason for poor reproductive performance in dairy herds today. But what about those farms that are out three times a day watching for heats? Why is their reproductive program still failing? The answer may lie in nutritional deficiencies or imbalances. Outside of diseases or poor management a close look at a farmer’s...
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Dr. Glenn Selk, Professor-Animal Reproduction Specialist Animal Science - Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
Many new technologies have been made available to the beef industry over the last 50 years. Few technologies have the potential return on investment as do growth promoting implants for nursing calves. The term "implant" is used to refer to a group of products used in the cattle industry that increase rate of growth by placing an absorbable product under the...
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Today most dairy producers planning new facilities will at least consider sand bedding as an option. They will talk to other producers, salesmen and other experts and discover a love/hate relationship toward this particular technology. The one thing all do agree on is that sand is definitely different. It has some clear benefits and a definite downside as well.
Benefits
One benefit claimed by...
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Given a choice, cows much prefer a mechanical brush to scratching themselves on walls or watering bowls
When you see your cattle rubbing themselves against water bowls, walls or fences, they are just doing what comes naturally. Grooming is a daily ritual for many farm animals and dairy cows are no exception.
About 20 years ago, dairy equipment manufacturers introduced mechanical brush-on-demand devices that help cows groom themselves. Since then, many new free-stall dairy...
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New dual-chamber model overcomes previous deficiencies to provide a comfortable option for free-stall operations
During the search for the ideal free-stall base over the last 20 years, one option-waterbeds-has never gained much favour in Ontario. However, it's now attracting interest resulting from recently published research.
Cow waterbeds, first developed in Europe 15 years ago, never caught on in our market for several reasons. The original version had a...
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Wisconsin study identifies key management considerations to help keep young animals healthy in calf barns
If you house your calves in hutches like most dairy farmers and you've fed them during a January snowstorm, you may have wondered about moving them into a well-protected barn. If so, you're not alone.
Although individual hutches have long been the standard housing recommendation for raising healthy calves, the number of requests for practical calf barn plans have...
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This year I have spent many days at dairies in Minnesota and South Dakota collecting data for an observational study on dairy housing systems (including low profile cross-ventilated freestall barns) and well-being. A lot of the time I am 'stationed' by the return alley scoring cows for locomotion, as well as making observations related to cow movement, behavior, fear of humans and 'contentment.' Certain times during the day, my graduate students and I need to go into the pens to collect...
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There have been numerous scientific studies that have shown exposing lactating dairy cows to a long-day photoperiod (LDPP -- 16-18 hours of light and 6-8 hours of dark) in a 24-hour period improves milk production and reproduction performance, that this response persists through an entire lactation, perhaps increasing milk yield as much as 8-10%. This management practice, called photoperiod manipulation, uses a designed lighting system to artificially extend the...
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The little things we do during milking time have a profound effect on udder health and milk quality. It is important to remember that every quarter of every cow must be prepped for milking the same way by every milker at every milking. Specifics of milking procedures may vary from farm to farm. For example, one farm may prep cows in sets of 4 cows, while the next farm preps in sets of 6. However, the basics of timing should ideally be the same or similar on every farm. The first...
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Dairy cow milk production peaks six to eight weeks after calving and then declines throughout the remaining 12 to 14 month milking period. Understanding the intricate timing in the reproductive system of dairy cattle is important not only to induce lactation, but also to maximize the percentage of cows at the peak of milk production and thereby increase profits by as much as 10 percent. With funding from USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES), a...
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Stray, tingle or neutral to earth voltage has been implicated as a problem for dairy and other livestock herds for approximately twenty years. For the livestock producer, awareness of and concern for tingle voltage should be one small component of the overall concern for the management and profitability of the herd, and the well being and productivity of the animals. Recent research has focused on measuring the tolerance for and economic impact of exposure to low levels of tingle voltage. These...
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Most dairy cows were grazed during summer and pasture forage was the primary source of nutrients until the 1950’s when low cost grain began to replace forage. The method of “lead feeding” was developed. Over the next 30 years the grain was fed separately two or three times a day, not blended with forage as in modern total mixed rations (TMR). Finally, TMR was adopted with grain dry matter normally representing 40-60% of the diet. All this time the use grazing for milk cows declined – it was no...
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Accelerated-growth feeding programs are the newest buzz word in calf rearing. Accelerated programs require a milk replacer containing more crude protein and less fat content than traditional milk replacers. These programs are generally phase-feeding programs that increase the amount of milk replacer as the calf advances in age. In addition, changes in the calf starter are necessary to achieve optimal performance. These programs increase weight gain during the liquid-feeding period and may...
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With all the increases in feed cost, it is time to reevaluate the proper level of milk production at which to dry off or sell a cull cow. The two most important factors to consider when making this decision are feed costs and milk price. Other contributing factors are forage availability and overcrowding. If you are short on forage then it may be more beneficial to dry off or sell cows earlier than the breakeven milk production to avoid running out of feed. If the dairy is overcrowded,...
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Time for planning doesn’t just happen by itself on most farms. A manager has to establish his or her own planning time. To accomplish the goal of planning time, consider the following points from the “Dairy On Time” project: • Select the best time for you to work on the important tasks, not urgent ones. • Clearly define your planning time. Don’t leave planning to when you have time or need to do it. • Make planning a priority. This may require you to set...
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Now is the time to prepare for the long hot summer. I’m going to repeat this thing until you do these tasks: 1. Clean out high organic matter dirt (MUD) in lots and add new dirt, especially in calving areas. 2. Clean out cooling ponds – pump out the water, and clean out the sludge and spread it someplace where the cows do not have access to it. 3. Let ponds sit dry for the sun to work on the bacteria. Mycoplasma and other...
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We are coming into the summer months when the incidence of mastitis and the bulk tank somatic cell count tend to rise. These are due, in part, to the additional stressors placed on the cows. However, there are steps we can take to reduce the impact these summer months have on milk quality. Of paramount importance is maintaining a clean and dry environment for all cows. New mastitis infections predominantly occur in the early dry period, around the time of calving and into early...
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Comfortable stalls positively impact your cows but what happens when they step out for a stroll to the feed bunk? Considerable research and observation have been invested in better stall designs for free-stall barns. Well-documented evidence shows stalls that promote greater resting time positively impact production, health and growth. However, resting time spent lying in a stall is only part of a cow's day-normally 10 to 12 hours. Providing sure, comfortable flooring in the rest...
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