Animal, Plant

1
Animal, Plant Soil Science

• Lesson C7-4
• Feeding and Managing Dairy Cattle

2
Interest Approach

• Have students brainstorm the steps a dairy
  producer must take each day to ensure a healthy,
  productive dairy cow herd. What are the common
  tasks required for feeding and managing a dairy
  herd? Once students have a well-developed list,
  post some of their ideas on the board.

3
Interest Approach

• Discuss the importance of feeding. What are
  common dairy operation feedstuffs? How do
  producers know what type and/or amounts of feed
  to use? Bring in some feedstuff samples (grain
  concentrates, high-quality legume forages, and
  corn silage), and allow students to see and feel
  the samples. Then discuss the importance of
  energy levels for milk production.

4
Objectives

• Analyze the production practices involved in the
  care of dairy calves from birth to weaning.
• Analyze the production practices involved in the
  care of dairy replacement heifers, lactating
  cows, and dry cows.

5
Objectives

• Describe the common dairy feeding systems, such
  as the total mixed ration system.
• Determine the importance of body condition
  scoring, and describe how it is used to modify
  feeding practices.

6
Objectives

• Examine the role of Dairy Herd Improvement
  Associations.
• List and describe the Predicted Transmitting
  Ability (PTA) used in the dairy industry, and
  describe how pedigrees and PTAs are used to
  improve herd quality.

7
Objectives

• Discuss the selection process for dairy cattle,
  and examine the role of artificial insemination
  and other breeding technologies.

8
Terms

• artificial insemination (AI)
• body condition score
• challenge feeding
• colostrometers
• colostrum

• crossbreeding
• culling
• Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI)
• dry cows
• hybrid vigor
• outcrossing

9
Terms

• Predicated Transmitting Ability (PTA)
• purebreeding
• reliability
• total mixed ration

10
What production practices are involved in the
care of dairy calves from birth to weaning?

• Dairy calves need an appropriate environment, a
  quality nutritional program, and a preventive
  health care plan to ensure high-quality care.
• The greatest chance for high mortality within a
  dairy herd is between birth and weaning.

11
What production practices are involved in the
care of dairy calves from birth to weaning?

• A. Dairy calves should be housed in a clean, dry
  environment with little stress and protection
  from heat,
  cold, wind, and rain.
• Calves need adequate
  space and proper ventilation.
• Individual pens and calf
  hutches are the most
  common
  facility type used in the care of dairy calves.
• These facilities should be cleaned and
  disinfected on a regular basis to reduce
  disease-causing pathogens.

12
What production practices are involved in the
care of dairy calves from birth to weaning?

• B. Feeding and nutrition
  are
  important considerations
  in maintaining healthy calves.
• 1. The calves receive
  colostrum (the first milk
  given by the mother, containing
  important nutrients, such as immunoglobulins,
  protein, fat, minerals, and vitamins) during the
  first few days.
• It is important for the producer to collect,
  store, select, and feed colostrum to calves
  within the first 24 hours.

13
What production practices are involved in the
care of dairy calves from birth to weaning?

• 2. Colostrometers are used to select the highest
  quality and to measure the specific gravity of
  colostrum.
• a. The ability to absorb important immunoglobulin
  starts to decline within hours of birth.
  Therefore, it is important for the producer to
  feed calves immediately.
• b. Some cows will produce an excess of colostrum,
  which can be frozen or refrigerated for later use.

14
What production practices are involved in the
care of dairy calves from birth to weaning?

• C. A well-managed health care program will
  decrease death losses.
• 1. Calves should be born in a dry, clean
  environment because this is the best way to
  control infections.
• 2. Equipment used for feeding
  should be
  cleaned and sanitized
  after every use.
• 3. Vaccinations should be used to
  prevent any
  major/common
  diseases within the herd.
• 4. Some heifer calves are born with extra
  teatsmore than four.
• 5. Dehorning is conducted before weaning to
  protect other animals and the handlers and to
  reduce feeder space requirements.

15
What production practices are involved in the
care of dairy calves from birth to weaning?

• D. All calves should be identified.
• 1. Ear tags, neck chains, neck straps, and ankle
  straps are common temporary identification.
• 2. Ear tattoos, hide brands, and computer chips
  are common permanent identification methods.

16
What are the production practices involved in the
care of dairy replacement heifers, lactating
cows, and dry cows?

• Several common production practices occur during
  the different stages of heifers/cows.
• The quality of care the animals have received
  during various life stages affects lactating cow
  performance.
• Over the past 20 years, the dairy industry has
  made improvements in genetics, nutrition, milking
  systems, facility design, health programs, care,
  and management.
• These changes have attributed to an increase in
  milk production.
• Dairy animal welfare is critical to dairy success
  and to providing high-quality, safe, and
  wholesome dairy products.

17
What are the production practices involved in the
care of dairy replacement heifers, lactating
cows, and dry cows?

• A. Replacement heifer care
  starts at weaning and
  continues onto the
  first
  calving period.
• 1. Calves should be weaned
  gradually to allow for adjustments in
  feeding before joining a group of growing calves.
  
• 2. Careful management decisions will prevent
  health problems and maintain growth schedules.
• 3. Clean and fresh water should be provided at
  all times.
• 4. Calf pens should be designed to drain well and
  should provide ample amounts of shade.

18
What are the production practices involved in the
care of dairy replacement heifers, lactating
cows, and dry cows?

• 5. As heifer calves grow, group
  sizes may increase.
• 6. Providing appropriate housing, proper feed and
  management, and weather stress attention will
  help producers maintain a healthy replacement
  herd.
• 7. Vaccinations are recommended for heifer
  calves.
• 8. Other good health production practices include
  parasite and fly control.

19
What are the production practices involved in the
care of dairy replacement heifers, lactating
cows, and dry cows?

• B. Lactating dairy cow care starts with
  proper facility design to
  provide comfort as
  well as a
  clean and safe
  environment.
• 1. Comfortable
  environments reduce stress.
• 2. Clean and safe environments reduce the risk of
  disease or injury.

20
What are the production practices involved in the
care of dairy replacement heifers, lactating
cows, and dry cows?

• C. Dry cows are cows that are not producing milk.
  
• The dry stage usually
  occurs 40 to 60 days
  prior to the next
  calving
  period.
• This allows the cow to
  prepare itself for the
  new calf and for the
  production of colostrum.

21
What are the production practices involved in the
care of dairy replacement heifers, lactating
cows, and dry cows?

• 1. Dry cows are usually housed within groups and
  should be protected from the weather in one of
  several types of facilities.
• 2. Proper feeding and
  attention to body
  condition are critical
  production practices
  for dry cows.

22
What are the common dairy feeding systems?

• Feeding and nutrition practices are essential in
  maintaining healthy, well-conditioned cows within
  a dairy herd.
• Nutrition starts at the point of colostrum
  management and continues as the animal grows and
  prepares for milk production.
• A. Feeding practices for birth to weaning include
  the use of colostrum, whole milk or milk
  replacer, and a calf starter feed.

23
What are the common dairy feeding systems?

• 1. Calves are fed colostrum for the first four
  days of life.
• 2. Fresh whole milk
  or milk replacer is
  used until
  weaning.
• Milk replacers
  should provide a
  
  minimum of 20
  percent crude protein and should be
  mixed with fresh, clean water.

24
What are the common dairy feeding systems?

• 3. The calf should also receive a calf starter
  feed and quality hay.
• The feed should be palatable, easily digested,
  and high in protein.
• Calves can consume 2 to 5 gallons of water until
  6 months of age.
• It is important for calves to have access to
  fresh, clean water at all times.

25
What are the common dairy feeding systems?

• B. Feeding practices from weaning to calving for
  heifers include
  fresh, clean water starter
  and grower feeds and
  high-quality hay.
• 1. Calves usually stop
  milk feeding within a few days before
  weaning.
• 2. Calves should continue on the same starter
  ration.

26
What are the common dairy feeding systems?

• C. Feeding practices for lactating dairy cattle
  should include energy, protein, fiber, vitamins,
  and minerals.
• 1. Body fat is necessary as an energy source for
  lactation.
  However, excessive
  body fat can cause
  metabolic diseases
  
  and calving
  problems.

27
What are the common dairy feeding systems?

• 2. Regularly evaluating the body condition of
  cows should be part of the management practices
  so feeding can be altered as needed.

28
What are the common dairy feeding systems?

• D. Feeding dry cows aims at
  stopping milk production by
  eliminating grain
  
  concentrates, high-quality
  legume forages, and corn
  silage at the early part of the
  dry period.
• These feedstuffs are replaced with lower energy,
  high-fiber forage (e.g., grass or oats).
• The feeding program for dry cows will vary and
  should be appropriate for the body condition,
  provide growth for the fetus, and prepare for
  lactation.

29
What are the common dairy feeding systems?

• 1. Forages (e.g., hay) serve as the primary
  feedstuff for dry cows, but protein and minerals
  are essential.
• a. All dry cow rations should contain at least 15
  percent crude protein.
• b. Calcium, phosphorus, and potassium intake are
  important during the dry period.

30
What are the common dairy feeding systems?

• 2. The body condition determines appropriate feed
  rations.
• a. Dry cows in the proper body
  condition should gain 1 to 1.5
  pounds per day for
  fetus growth.
• b. Thin cows should be grouped
  separately and should receive higher
  energy rations.
• c. Oversized cows should be grouped separately
  and should receive low-quality forages with
  protein supplements.

31
Why is body condition scoring important? How is
it used to modify feeding practices?

• Body condition score is used to evaluate cows in
  relationship to the ideals for a specific stage
  of lactation.
• This score indicates the
  energy status and fat
  cover of each cow.
• Certain scores are
  assigned to the amount of fat observed on
  several skeletal areas of the dairy cow.

32
Why is body condition scoring important? How is
it used to modify feeding practices?

• A. Different point systems are used to score the
  cows.
• The most commonly used system has a range from
  1.0 to 5.0 in increments of 0.1 to 0.25.
• As the dairy cows experience lactation, changes
  in body condition scores will occur.
• Dairy cows are expected to lose body weight
  during peak production.
• These changes in body condition due to fat cover
  will shift the energy balance.

33
Why is body condition scoring important? How is
it used to modify feeding practices?

• A negative energy balance will
  not allow cows to perform at
  maximum capacity for the
  herd.
• Therefore, lactating cows should
  be fed well-balanced rations to
  put on fat
  before the animal
  moves into the dry period.
• Ideal cows should enter the dry period with a
  body condition score of 3.5 to 4.0.
• This will allow for the cow to reserve
  energy/tissue that will enable more milk
  production in early lactation.

34
Why is body condition scoring important? How is
it used to modify feeding practices?

• B. Body condition scores will greatly influence
  feeding practices.
• This scoring should be used as a management tool
  for producers to establish an ideal nutrition
  plan for the herd.
• Improvements made in nutrition will greatly
  improve milk production as well as the
  reproductive performance and health of the dairy
  cows.
• 1. Cows that are too thin will have metabolic
  problems and decreased milk production.
• 2. Cows that are obese will also have metabolic
  problems and calving trouble.

35
Why is body condition scoring important? How is
it used to modify feeding practices?

• C. Body condition scores should be gathered at
  various times first breeding, calving, and
  throughout lactation.
• These scores should be
  recorded to help monitor
  cows.
• For consistency, it is important for the same
  person to score
  the animals.

36
What is the role of Dairy Herd Improvement
Associations?

• Performance data is used in dairy and beef
  cattle, swine, and sheep production industries.
• A. The dairy industry utilizes Dairy Herd
  Improvement (DHI) programs and records to promote
  accuracy, credibility, and uniformity in the
  industry.
• The Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) program is a
  national dairy testing and record-keeping program
  through which a herd is tested and compared to
  other herds across the nation.

37
What is the role of Dairy Herd Improvement
Associations?

• 1. Records are compared
  within a herd and with
  
  other herds on a local,
  state, and national level.
• 2. Producers can use
  several testing plans to improve
  herd efficiency.
• 3. Purebred associations have U.S. registries for
  each dairy cattle breed.
• These registries promote outstanding production
  performance and maintain pedigree records.

38
What is the role of Dairy Herd Improvement
Associations?

• B. The dairy goat industry taps into the National
  Cooperative Dairy Herd Improvement Program
  (NCDHIP) with dairy producers.
• Cows and goats are treated uniformly and are
  tested similarly.
• Dairy goat owners enjoy the privileges of testing
  listed in the National Dairy Herd Improvement
  Association (NDHIA).

39
What are the PTA values? How are these PTAs and
pedigrees used to improve herd quality?

• In dairy cattle, the Expected Progeny Differences
  (EPDs) are called the Predicated Transmitting
  Ability (PTA).
• Predicated Transmitting Ability (PTA) measures
  the bulls ability to transmit milk-producing
  capacity to daughters.
• A. PTAs can be positive or negative.
• These values depend on whether the bulls
  daughter yields more or less milk than daughters
  of another bull under the same environmental
  conditions.
• The USDA calculates and publishes data on cows in
  testing programs to show the relationship to the
  bulls.

40
What are the PTA values? How are these PTAs and
pedigrees used to improve herd quality?

• Common PTA values used to estimate the sire or
  dams potential are the following PTA value for
  dollars (PTA), milk (PTAM), fat (PTAF), protein
  (PTAP), cheese yield dollars (PTAcheese),
  percentage of fat (PTA percentF), and percentage
  of protein (PTA percentP).
• Other breed associations calculate a PTA for a
  specific type.
• Reliability is another term used in the dairy
  industry.
• Reliability refers to the confidence in the PTA
  value.

41
What are the PTA values? How are these PTAs and
pedigrees used to improve herd quality?

• B. Pedigrees are used to evaluate the performance
  of past generations and to compare genetic traits
  through the use of PTAs.
• The use of performance or production data is
  crucial in animal quality improvement.
• Selection of animals should be based upon
  pedigrees, individual appearance, individual
  performance, and progeny testing.
• These selection components are herd improvement
  tools.
• Pedigree knowledge can be a useful tool in
  assessing genetic abnormalities and traits.

42
What is the role of artificial insemination and
other breeding technologies? What is the
selection process for dairy cattle?

• The ability to recognize desirable and
  undesirable traits is important in herd
  improvement.
• Breeding techniques should be used to continually
  improve a herd while removing animals based on
  set criteria or other situations that may arise.
• Culling is the practice of removing animals in
  poor condition or animals that do not express the
  desirable characteristics of the herd.

43
What is the role of artificial insemination and
other breeding technologies? What is the
selection process for dairy cattle?

• A. Using the Dairy Herd Improvement program, also
  known as DHI, can help with herd improvement.
• B. Permanently
  removing or culling
  animals from the
  herd is a way to
  
  create space for
  more profitable
  animals.

44
What is the role of artificial insemination and
other breeding technologies? What is the
selection process for dairy cattle?

• C. Breeding may involve a
  bull or artificial insemination.
• Artificial insemination (AI)
  is a method, other than
  natural
  mating, used to bring
  sperm in contact with eggs.
• D. Purebreeding is another means of herd
  improvement.
• Purebreeding is the
  mating of
  a purebred
  animal to another
  purebred animal
  of the
  same breed.

45
What is the role of artificial insemination and
other breeding technologies? What is the
selection process for dairy cattle?

• E. Outcrossing is another useful system of
  breeding.
• Outcrossing is the mating
  of an unrelated
  male and female.
  
• It will increase genetic
  diversity and will help
  produce hybrid vigor in the breed.
• Hybrid vigor increases the strength of different
  characteristics, which is referred to as
  heterosis.

46
What is the role of artificial insemination and
other breeding technologies? What is the
selection process for dairy cattle?

• F. Crossbreeding is mating one breed of cattle to
  a recognized but different breed.
• For example, a Holstein could mate with a Jersey
  animal.
• Crossbreeding advantages include higher
  production and more disease resistance.
• Disadvantages include not being able to register
  the animals because they are not purebred and
  difficulty predicting offspring appearance.

47
Review

• What production practices are involved in the
  care of dairy calves from birth to weaning?
• What are the production practices involved in the
  care of dairy replacement heifers, lactating
  cows, and dry cows?
• What are the common dairy feeding systems?

48
Review

• Why is body condition scoring important? How is
  it used to modify feeding practices?
• What is the role of Dairy Herd Improvement
  Associations?

49
Review

• What are the PTA values? How are these PTAs and
  pedigrees used to improve herd quality?
• What is the role of artificial insemination and
  other breeding technologies? What is the
  selection process for dairy cattle?