The Management of Dairy Cattle - A Collection of Articles on the Management of the Dairy Farm

By Read Books Ltd.

This book contains a wealth of classic material on the subject of dairy farming. It includes concise and comprehensive information of feeding, feeding cows, bulls and calves, grass and arable farms, and housing. Provides detailed knowledge on the sex cycle, mating, fertility, calving and lactation and details on frequency of milking, milk composition, butter and cream. A must for any dairy farmer or anyone interested in managing a dairy herd.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: May 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9781473391116

Book preview

MANAGEMENT.

MANAGEMENT OF STORES

FROM the age of six months until they become productive, dairy heifers and fattening stock (except when the latter are to be finished for baby beef at 15—18 months) are considered as stores. During this period, the animals should make no more than steady growth and in order to achieve this and at the same time to ensure the maximum development of the digestive tract, generous quantities of bulky, home grown foods are given. Feeding costs may be kept low at this time, provided sufficient nutrients for the animals’ needs are contained within the ration. Underfeeding of stores is too common, with the result that their growth is checked and, as adults, they are unable to reach their true productive potential.

The methods of running stores vary throughout the country. They are the most adaptable of all classes, but a certain minimum of consideration must be given if optimum results are to be achieved.

Those under one year old are usually housed from October—March. Courts are very suitable for stores of all ages as they permit exercise and reduce labour costs. Groups of 10—15 animals are easily handled and should be matched for size so that bullying by larger ones is avoided. It is the usual practice to group the spring and autumn born animals separately.

On typically dairy farms, courts are not available and young animals are penned in loose boxes or tied in byres. Care must be taken to see that tied animals are given the opportunity of exercise, and if this is attended to, the system is quite good in that bedding is saved and, so far as dairy stock is concerned, the beasts are trained to tying at an early age.

In their second winter, Red Poll, Ayrshire, Kerry and Shorthorn stirks may be outwintered if the situation is reasonably sheltered. Free draining, light land is suitable, but on heavy land which poaches in wet weather, the stock is better housed.

Outwintering has the advantages of lower labour costs and usually permits of larger numbers being carried. The animals require more food than housed stock, but as a proportion is gained from the pasture, feeding costs are not necessarily increased. Outwintered animals do particularly well at grass in the following summer and because of this ready progress, outwintered beef stores (as shown by the heavy winter coat) fetch better prices from feeders than those housed in winter.

This is illustrated by an exceptionally well controlled Irish experiment, conducted over a period of 4 years. The animals were carefully grouped for breed and sex and were as follows:—

1st year—10 Shorthorn bullocks in each lot.

2nd year—10 Aberdeen Angus cross bred heifers in each lot.

3rd and 4th years—8 Aberdeen Angus cross bred bullocks in each lot.

In each year, 3 groups were run on different principles and the combined results were as follows:—

The costs shown are calculated at selling prices ruling at the time of writing and are higher than would obtain on a normal costings basis. Nevertheless, the relative cost of each group is unaltered by price of feeding stuffs.

Assuming that each of the animals progressed at the same rate, the following are the gains made in each period:—

These findings are specially useful to dual-purpose owners running on their own beef stores.

When animals are to be turned out in winter, the pasture should be closed to stock from early autumn, so that it carries more grass. Very bare pasture would necessitate more hand feeding. Winter grazing by stirks is also useful in that coarse grasses which have survived summer grazing are eaten down, and if the animals are withdrawn in spring, the better plants have a chance to develop.

One point, however, animals naturally select the driest part of the field to bed down in and the consequent dung accumulation promotes the growth of rank, hard grasses. If these are not cut, a derelict area will result.

The loss of dung to arable crops is a drawback to outwintering. The best dung is made in courts. Two year old animals produce about 1 ton of dung per month.

In many areas, two year old heifers are housed from December to February or March, being allowed out daily for exercise. It is essential that heifers become accustomed to the conditions of the milk herd, and if these animals are tied, then the heifers should be introduced to the system before they are due to calve. The second winter is a good opportunity for training if the stock has been previously run loose.

Houses must be light and well ventilated, and if kept in courts, yearling animals should have 30 sq. ft. of space each, while older stock require 50 sq. ft. To keep the animals warm and clean and to absorb the urine, 14 lbs. of straw per head should be put down daily for bedding. The courts should not be cleaned until the animals go to grass, when the dung is carted to the fields and ploughed in. In this way, losses of plant foods are minimised.

THE FEEDING OF STORES IN WINTER

Although the requirements of young animals change rapidly, the following standards may be taken as a guide on which to base feeding:—

When feeding to these standards, careful watch must be kept on the stock and feeding adjusted to needs. A useful guide for their application is:—

1 lb. fodder per month of age. Hay only up to 12 months.

2 lbs. roots or equivalent in silage or green crops per month of age plus sufficient concentrates to bring the ration to the correct balance.

The concentrate ration may be taken from any of the mixtures given for milk production (Chapter X) or may consist of simple mixtures such as:—(3 rations)

3 parts Oats

1 part Fish Meal

4 parts Dried Sugar Beet Pulp

4 parts Oats

3 parts Decorticated Ground Nut Cake

Decorticated Ground Nut Cake as the sole concentrate.

Suitable rations for housed dairy stores making average liveweight gains of about 1 1/4 lbs. per day are:—

If heifers are to be pushed on for early mating, the concentrates should be increased and bulky foods reduced accordingly. To these animals, and young bulls, no straw should be given.

For those in courts, individual rationing of fodder and roots is not necessary as, if they are well matched for size, each will satisfy its requirements from a general supply. Concentrates must be fed individually and given before the bulky foods.

For two year olds outwintered on poor grass, a full ration will probably be necessary, though with close observation, a limited feed of hay may maintain growth satisfactorily. In snow and frost it is better to give some concentrates. If the grass is good, it will probably suffice without additional feeding, but progress must be watched and extra food given if necessary. Old pasture should be used for wintering, as young grass is badly cut up in wet weather and the root systems may be damaged.

As they approach their second winter, stores wanted fat for Christmas should be penned and fed fattening rations.

SUMMER FEEDING

In summer, stores are easier to feed, as average pasture is ample for their needs and provides sufficient margin to permit liveweight of 1 1/2—2 lbs. per day. This may be illustrated as follows:—

Thus 100 lbs. grass which is comfortably within the appetite of hungry and active 2 year old heifers, supplies the nutrients necessary for an economical rate of gain. First class pasture should not be used for dairy stores, but is suitable for beef cattle of this age, when substantially larger gains may be made.

When housed in winter, animals should be changed over to grazing gradually by turning them out for an hour or two daily at first, increasing the grazing time so that they are out for the full 24 hours in about 10 days. In early spring, the protein content of the grass may be considerably higher than that shown and this, coupled with the high moisture content, makes it very laxative. To prevent scouring, a feed of hay or straw, or 3 lbs. cotton cake or