IFAD Partner Logo Nutritional management of dairy animals Y. Ramana Reddy Milk IT Project Nainital, Uttarakhand, India November, 2014

Physiological stages- Dairy cattle Calf Heifer Pregnancy Lactation

Calf feeding

Colostrum feeding Give with in mts 2.0 kg with in few hours 10% of B. wt. for 30 kg calf - 3 l/d

Why colostrum feeding At birth A calf has no defense against infectious agents Colostrum feeding increases the chances of survival.

Effects of amounts of colostrum fed and time of feeding relative to birth on the transfer of IgG

Colostrum composition Item Colostrum Protein 4X Minerals 3X Energy 2 X Vitamins 10X Immunogl 6X

Colostrum and calf diseases (first 12 h of birth) Amount fed (kg) Mortality (%)* 2 to to to * Average mortality from 1 wk to 6 m of age

Liquid feeding program for dairy calves

Milk temperature 37 o C

Pneumonia in calves

 Individual housing (floor pens or hutches) helps keep the calf healthy

Calf starter Offer at one week of age Contains high level of coarse grains

Advantages of calf starter Early weaning Wean at low cost Faster rumen development

Development of ruminant stomach Milk fed up to 12 wks Calf starter fed

Composition of grain starter Ingredient% of total ration Maize50.0 Soybean meal12.8 Wheat bran10.0 Linseed meal10.0 Distillers grain10.0 Molasses5.0 Limestone1.9 Trace mineral premix0.20 Vitamin supplement0.05 Others ( Coccidiostat, buffer) As needed

Nutrient composition of calf starter Nutrient % in the ration Crude protein 20.7 TDN80.0 Ca0.94 P0.52 Trace minerals 0.28

Water Offer at 4 days of age Limit water for calves <3 wks of age

Calf - forage feeding When can we feed forage (hay) At 1 month of age

What type of forage Avoid high quality hay (bloat) Quality hay when consuming 3-5 lb calf starter Avoid high moisture forages/grains for calves < 3 months old

Feeding of a palatable grain starter and water allows rapid development of the rumen and early weaning

When would I wean my calf from milk/milk replacer? > 700 g of calf starter in addition to hay and milk replacer

Growth trend in calves

Feed conversion in calves

Planned heifer rearingBreedBirthwt(kg)BreedingCalvingADG(kg)AdultWt(kg)Wt(kg)Age(mo.)Wt(kg)Age(mo.) HF Jersey

Concentrate mixture for young calves IngredientProportion Maize38 GNC32 Wheat bran 20 Molasses7 Mineral Mix. 2 Salt1

Housing heifers

Age of calving – milk production

Feeding during pregnancy Last 2 months of pregnancy critical Follow challenge feeding Start with 0.5kg grain and increase gradually to kg/d

Body condition score BCS 1.5 BCS 3.0BCS 4.5

Recommended body condition scores at various stages of lactation Calving3.0 to 3.5 Breeding2.5 Late lactation3.0 to 3.5 Dry period3.0 to 3.5

Effect of body condition score (BCS) losses in early lactation on conception rate Loss in BCS Conception rate Less than 1 unit 50% From 1 to 2 units 34% More than 2 units 21%

Feeding during lactation

Energy gap in dairy cows

Impact of negative energy balance

Effects of a cow’s condition on conception rate Cow’s condition Total No. of services Total No. of pregnant Services/conception Conception rate (%) Gaining weight Loosing weight

Feeding program for high yielding dairy cows Total Daily Ration Feeding Program 15 kg silage 4 kg hay 3 kg brewers grain 2.7 kg sugar beet pulp 1.8 kg barley 3.6 kg dairy compound 5.00 a.m. Dairy compound feed while milking 6.00 a.m. SBP and Hay in yards a.m. Barley and silage in yards 4.30 a.m. Dairy compound feed while milking 5.00 p.m. Brewers grain in yards 9.00 p.m. Dairy compound feed and hay in yards

Concentrate feeding for various milk production levels by dairy cows fed Forages of low medium and high quality (500 kg cow) Milk production when forage quality is Conc. Mix (BF 4%) PoorMediumHigh

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