Dairy Cattle Farming and Management

Dairy Cattle Terminology

• A male cow is called a bull.
• Colostrum is the first milk produced after calving.

Calves Rearing

• Calves should be removed from their mother within one hour of parturition.
• Calves that don't consume colostrum can be fed using an esophageal feeder.
• The starter is a mixture of grains, protein, and molasses fed to calves after the first week.
• Water is essential for stimulating starter consumption.

Pre-Weaning Diet

• Calves should only be given water, milk, and starter before weaning.
• Hay should not be given to calves before weaning.

Heifer Management

• The objective of a heifer is to become a replacement mother in the future.
• Heifers should be bred at 15 months of age.
• Heifers calving at younger ages are not less productive than those calving at older ages.
• Heifers require a high protein and energy diet after weaning, with 50% concentrate and 50% roughages, for 2-3 months.

Milking and Lactation

• Milking should stop 60 days before parturition.
• A cow is considered "close up" when there are 21 days left until calving.
• NEI stands for Net Energy Lactation.
• Negative energy balance occurs when a cow's body weight decreases due to high milk production.
• This decrease in body weight is because the energy required to produce milk is higher than the energy consumed from the diet.

Dry Cows and Fresh Cows

• Dry cows are those in the 7th month of pregnancy.
• Fresh cows are those in the first 21 days of lactation.

Health and Nutrition

• Consuming large amounts of fat without fully metabolizing it can cause ketosis.
• The lactation period for a cow is 305 days.
• During the peak of milk production, body weight decreases due to high energy demand.