Dairy Cow Life Cycle and Management (Mod. 5)

What is the trend for the dairy industry in general?

Everything is going up (i.e. milk production, # of cows, milk products)

BUT the number of farms is going DOWN

• Small number of larger facilities holding more cows

What are the top 3 components of COST of dairy production?

1) Feed

2) Labor (for the farm)

3) Heifer rearing !!!

Describe the general message of this graph:

Shows us the general timeline of the dairy cow cycle. Note:

• Males are sold right away for veal or beef; little to no value to the dairy industry

• Heifer calves take 2 YEARS to rear and care for before THEY can calve, to bring in more profit

• Cows lactate for a majority of the year, but have a DRY PERIOD during gestation… during that time, they are NOT MAKING PROFIT

  • DRY PERIOD = LAST 2 MONTHS OF GESTATION

When does a calf become a heifer? When does a heifer become a cow?

Calf is a calf up to 6 months (should be weaned)

Heifer is a heifer until it calves itself

Heifer becomes a cow once it gives birth

What is the length of gestation for a cow? What about a cow with twins?

Avg. Gestation = 280 d

SHORTER with twins.. 270 d

What should a farmer do with a calf within its first few hours of life?

Move to a dry, clean pen (snatch from mom)

FEED COLOSTRUM ASAP

Dip navel with iodine (sterilize it to prevent infection)

What is the rule of 3 Qs?? What’s the magic number?

About feeding colostrum…

1) Quantity - 4 liters

2) Quickness - fed within 4 hours

3) Quality - milked from mother in 4 hours

MAGIC NUMBER IS 4!!!!

How long are calves fed milk for until they are weaned? How are they fed this milk?

Calves fed milk for 50-80 days

Fed in a BUCKET (with or without teat)

How much milk should we be feeding our calves per day?

8-10 L per day!!! (or 20% BW/day)

Take note… biggest problem in dairy industry is CALF STARVATION… many farmers feed 6 L per day to cut costs

When should you introduce “calf starters” (cakes, concentrates) and roughage into the calf diet?

Introduced together with milk AT 2 WEEKS OF AGE

• Improves growth rate

• Better transition from milk to solid feeding

What should the growth rate of a calf be?

850 g/day !!!!!!

What is important to remember about weaning in calves? What “method” is used?

Weaning is VERY STRESSFUL for the calves… DON’T DO ANYTHING ELSE to them during this time (castration, dehorning, etc.)

Should use the “step down method”…

• Gradually decrease milk intake over the course of 60 days, while introducing more and more concentrate (+1 kg/day)

What are the most common health problems that a calf is susceptible to from the birth-weaning periods? (name 4)

1) Diarrhea

2) Pneumonia

3) Navel ill - Joint ill

4) Septicemia (sepsis), meningitis

Summarize what happens in the post-weaning (growth period) stage of the calf cycle. What is important to maintain?

Basically, just need to make sure that they are fed well and minimize their disease exposure.

MAINTAIN THE GROWTH RATE OF 850 g/d!!

What are some diseases that can affect calves AFTER weaning? (during the growth period)

• Pneumonia

• GI nematodes

• Liver fluke

• Lungworm

• Dermatophytosis

• Clostridial disease

• Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis

When should a heifer be bred?

When the heifer is at 50-60% BODY WEIGHT!!!! Going based off of age is not ideal… is unfortunately what most farmers do anyway

At what age do most heifers “calve down” (give birth) by?

GIVE BIRTH

2 YEARS

Summarize the gestation stage… what is the most important component of this stage?

NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS NEED TO BE MET!!!!!

• Requirements will increase, but don’t overfeed

• will see a 50% increase during late gestation

Monitor BCS…

2-3 weeks before parturition, move into calving pen… PREP FOR LACTATION BY INCREASING CALCIUM INTAKE

How many times per year do we want a cow to calve down?

Once a year

Unfortunately… the breeding stage is only 35 days, while a cow’s ovulation is only 21 days… most farmers don’t achieve a calf a year from a cow

How many days in a year can a cow be lactating? Why not every day of the year?

Lactate 305 days

Have a DRY PERIOD in the last 2 months of gestation… so not lactating for 60 days of the year

Why do we move the dry cows away from the milking herd?

Helps them settle into the drying period… if they’re with the milking herd and are still a part of the milking routine, they won’t dry off

What is the most critical period in a cow’s life?

THE POST PARTUM PERIOD!!!!!

High risk for disease contraction (immune response still somewhat suppressed from progesterone)

• At risk of developing milk fever, ketosis, RFM, and metritis

What is the average milk yield of a dairy farm? What is the peak?

Average: 35-40 L

Peak: 60-80 L

• Happens within the first 2 months AFTER parturition

• First time lactators have a much smaller yield, but its more consistent throughout the year

DESCRIBE THIS GRAPH

Black line: Lactation curve.. reaches peak at 2-3 months

Red line: Dry Matter Intake (DMI) of our cows

• Reaches peak at 4-5 months

• Creates an ENERY GAP, wherein the cows aren’t eating enough to maintain energy output produced by peak lactation

• Can be shortened depending on how the farm is managed… the smaller the gap, the better off the cows are

Green line: BCS of the cow throughout lactation

How long after calving should we wait to breed our cows again?

AT LEAST 50 DAYS

• Need to go through postpartum first. Allow them to start lactating and have their first ovulation (allow for uterine involution)

When do we want the cow to become pregnant by? How does this relate to milk production?

Between 50 - 100 days

• Maximal milk production coincides with this timeline… so we want the cow to be pregnant by the time it reaches max milk production

Why is the drying off period so important?

The drying off period gives the mammary glands rest, allows the pregnant cows to not have to stress about food competition, and they have less nutritional demand in the first place (don’t need to constantly be replacing energy expenditure from milking)

What is the difference between mortality and culling in a dairy farm?

Dead cows are a HUGE loss…

Culled cow saves money, since its not productive anymore