Unit 9: Dairy Cattle

Feeding
Chapter 9

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Unit

9 Objectives:

Discuss

life-cycle feeding programs for dairy

Identify nutrient needs and additives used
Understand nutrition related
diseases/disorders

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Feeding

for Milk Production

General
What

types of systems are in use for milk

production in todays industry?
What influences which system is utilized?
Feeding is often the determining factor in
productivity of lactating dairy cows
Represents

Nutrient

50% of the total cost of production

requirements for lactation are several

times that of maintenance requirement

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Things

to remember:

There

is more variation in protein content and quality and

energy in forages & concentrates
Primarily concerned with NEl, CP, DP, RUP, & AA
contents of the ration
Mineral content and interactions are becoming much
more important and manipulated

Forage

Consumption

Estimated

daily intake of forages is based on body

weight and forage quality
What

does forage quality have to do with it?

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Forage

intake must be restricted somewhat to

allow for sufficient grain supplementation to
support milk production
Silage can replace hay at a ratio of 3:1
Pasture intake will usually exceed silage intake
Some evidence that increased feeding times can
increase total forage consumption
Increasing

forage variety can also help increase

consumption

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Concentrates
Concentrate
Grains,

for Dairy Cattle

mixture

milled feeds, protein supplements, min/vit

Mixture will vary with the forage program
Consider availability and cost of nutrients
Level of concentrate fed depends:
Amount of forage consumed
Milk production
Milk fat composition
NEVER feed over 60% concentrate in the diet
drastically changes VFA composition in the rumen
what health problems does it cause?

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Intake

is affected by:

Palatability
Time

they have access to feed

How has feed access changes over the years?
How did we used to offer feeds?

Concentrate

feeding levels should be appropriate

for each operation
No

book-value is very accurate

Can underfeed the high producer and overfeed the low
producer

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Steps

Cattle

in Ration Balancing for Lactating Dairy

Establish

needs

Maintenance

Determine

plus milk production & reproductive needs

feeds available

Forages
Kind

& quality
Concentrate Mix
Kind & amount
Establish

feeding levels

Forage
Appropriate

for quality and production

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Concentrate
Supply

additional nutritional needs

Balance
Make

sure protein & energy needs are met

Evaluate forage : concentrate ratio
Check protein sources and amino acid levels
Ensure proper min/vit supplementation

Feeding

Guidelines

Groups

can be separated based on:

Stage

of lactation

Age
Dry

period
What groups can/should we have?

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Early

Lactation or Post-fresh Group

0 60 or 70 DIM
Milk production increases rapidly, peaks 6-8wks
post-calving
Avoid excessive levels of grain
Encourage forage intake
Keep it palatable
High dietary protein
Limit urea content
Increase energy density (increase fat content)

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Peak

Milk
Highest DMIs
60 140 DIM
Maximal DMI during peak milk increases total milk
production each 1# peak milk = 300#s milk in
lactation
Feed several times/d
Maximize ration forage content without
compromising energy, protein, and amino acids
Mid to Late Lactation
140 DIM to dry period
Milk production declines, cow is pregnant

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Match

grain intake to milk production be careful not

to waste feed and over-condition cows
Dry period (Far-Off)
21 60d prepartum
High forage content
Maintain body condition dont lose weight, maybe
slight weight gain
Enough grain and supplement to support CP, energy,
and min/vit requirements
Drop Ca supplementation levels

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Dry

Period (Pre-fresh)
0 21d prepartum
Increase ration energy & protein content
Make ration more energy dense
DMIs reduced greatly prior to calving
Manipulate ration min/vit concentrations to help with
post-calving problems what are the target
problems
DCAD
Increase feed palatability
Decrease stocking rate
Maintain pen cleanliness

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Things

to Remember

Feed

young growing cows for growth, as well as,

milk production
What

about a separate first calf heifer group?

More

cows are usually underfed on energy than

protein
Balancing

for amino acid content can help minimize

overfeeding of protein

Limit

finely ground feedstuffs (except for grain) to

prevent drop in milk fat test
Inclusion of hay is recommended

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Have

water available at all times

3-5

lbs of water/lb milk/d

Adding

fat

Adding

fat helps in early lactation to improve energy

density
Avoid excessive fat levels due to unpalatability and feed
freshness problems
bST

use

Begin

at 9th week of lactation

Increases milk production by 8-10lbs/d
Does increase DMI

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Feed

for Dairy Calves

Common

Feed for Calves

Colostrum
Remove

calf from cow immediately

Try to get 2 quarts on colostrum in within 30 min to 1 hr
Milk

replacer

Various

programs
20/20
Accelerated growth
Antibiotics usually included

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Calf

Starters

Usually

16-20% CP
Must be extremely palatable
Antibiotic is recommended to help w/ respiratory and
scour problems
Encourage starter intake ASAP
Wean when they eat 3 lbs/d for 3 consecutive days
Calves with growth faster and more efficiently on dry
feed
Do not feed hay

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Heifers

4-12 mos of Age

Need

to supplement grain to help meet energy

needs
Rumen

capacity isnt sufficient to get all needs from

forages alone

Include

an ionophore for improved rate of gain &

feed efficiency
DO NOT let them get over conditioned
Decreases

reproductive performance
Decreases milk production capability

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Heifers

12 mos to calving

Forage

should be able to support their nutritional

requirements
Supplement

enough grain to include min/vit and

ionophores
Target
550

breeding weight is 800 lbs

for Jerseys
Heifers must gain 1.75lbs/d to reach target wt by 15 mos
Breed by weight
Goal should be to have average first calving <24 mos
Avoid over conditioning
Some producers include straw or other high fiber
components to slow down growth

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Mix

with dry cow 60d prior to calving

Minimum of 21d in a pre-fresh group
Keep

DMI and energy levels up

Adjust to higher grain content and better quality forages