Dry cow feeding is an important part of animal care. However, many novice farmers neglect this rule and continue to feed the cow in the same way as during lactation. As a result of this, the animal receives various diseases, and its productivity does not increase. In our article, we will tell not only about the rules for compiling a diet, but also about other features of dead wood, which any self-respecting farmer should know about.
Definition and wording
If you did not know, then the dry period in cows is all days after lactation until the next calving. At this time, the animal must restore the strength that it spent on childbirth and feeding the calf. The duration of the dry period may vary slightly for cows of different breeds. As a rule, the recovery process takes from 45 to 70 days. During this period, you will have to make a special diet, which would consist only of high-quality feed. This is done in order to avoid a decrease in milk productivity and the quality of milk produced. Proper care is also important, because without it, the animal can simply become ill and stop giving milk. We will describe all this in more detail in the following sections.
Why is it important to feed the cow correctly?
A properly designed diet for a cow during the dry season is of great importance, but not all farmers fully understand why. The thing is that pregnancy intensifies metabolic processes in the animal’s body, resulting in an increased consumption of nutrients throughout the pregnancy and two months after lactation. That is why it is so important to maintain the weight of the cow through proper feeding.
To prevent possible problems, it is necessary to stop the delivery of milk to the calf immediately after it is a little stronger. Starting milking and changes in the diet will allow the cow to accumulate nutrients in order to gain body weight. Well, so that the calf does not simply starve to death, it must be fed colostrum in the first days of life. By the way, if the animal manages to gain 50 kilograms during lactation, this will increase milk yield by about 300 liters.
Dietary requirement
Feeding the cow during the start-up period and the dry period is very important, therefore, the choice of diet should be approached wisely.
Such actions should help the breeder in the following:
- increase cow weight and future milk yield;
- improve the condition of the endocrine, cardiovascular and digestive systems;
- minimize the risk of various complications after calving;
- get healthy offspring in the future.
Most of the diet should consist of protein (110 grams per feed unit). Also, phosphorus and calcium are essential elements, since these substances are almost always lacking in the animal body. Also, such minerals prevent deformation of the bone tissue of the cow and the likelihood of miscarriage. It is highly recommended to reduce the content of fats and carbohydrates in feed, as they adversely affect the recovery of the body.
Feed Rate Criteria
Now you know the significance of the dry period, however, in order to extract the maximum benefit from this knowledge, you must correctly apply them in practice. For example, it is necessary to correctly calculate the feed rate of an animal, using criteria that have been tested over the years:
- feed unit is calculated for every 100 grams of the total weight;
- fatness is increased by increasing the rate of 1 feed unit;
- annual milk yield increases due to an increase of 1 unit per 1 ton of milk.
That is, the average daily feed rate should be from 2.1 to 2.4 kilograms for every 100 kilograms of live weight of a cow. However, dry feed has a much lower content of feed units - from 0.8 to 1 kilogram of feed. For cows with high dairy characteristics, this indicator is about 0.95 units.
The right diet for dead wood
I would also like to note one feature of the nutrition of cows, which can be of great importance for some animal breeds: the diet can be single or divided into two parts. Two-phase feeding allows you to reduce the load on the metabolism and increase the consumption of dry feed, which will give cows much more strength after calving. Also, with such feeding, not only an increase in fatness is observed, but also an improvement in the quality of milk for the next lactation period. As for the nutrition of pregnant animals, it can be two or three times a day - depending on the individual preferences of the farmer. However, do not forget to observe the general norm of feeding.
The first period of feeding (60 days before calving)
During this period, milking stops, which is also called start-up, because most cows with low productivity stop self-milk production. All succulent feeds must be excluded from the diet, as they contribute most to milk production. Particular attention should be paid to root crops and silage - their use is under the strictest ban! The basis of nutrition is hay and various concentrates containing nutrients.
Also at this time, most professional farmers begin to use various medicines to prevent the development of various diseases. However, only an experienced veterinarian can prescribe them, since even a small overdose can lead to side effects. It is also strongly recommended to add a little herbal flour to the feed in order to provide the animal with carotene.
Second feeding period (calving day)
Before calving, you must begin to gradually transfer the animal to a new diet, in which feed intended to increase milk yield predominates. The number of concentrates must be slowly and confidently increased to 3 kilograms per day. Also, at least 13 kilograms of dry matter should be present in the daily diet.
After calving, the volume of feed decreases to 500 grams, and the whole difference is replaced by hay. In the last decade of dead wood, it is necessary to begin to reduce the amount of hay and increase the daily amount of feed to 3-4 kilograms. After that, you can transfer the cow to a normal diet.
Prohibited deadwood feed
As mentioned earlier, the animal must receive high quality feeds that are free from any signs of rot or mold. Also, dry animals should not be given residues from dairy cows. Frozen foods must first be warmed up a little in a warm room, and only then let them feed. In no case should the beer contain grains of grain, bard, meal and cake made of cotton, potato pulp - all this can provoke an abortion or adversely affect the development of the fetus.
Also, professionals recommend excluding salt and sodium bicarbonate from the diet. Alfalfa, sugar beet tops and clover can lead to excess calcium in the body, so you should also refrain from using them. All these actions are carried out in order to prevent birth cuts and postpartum edema, therefore, their observance is fundamentally important.
Dry Cow Care Tips
Now you know everything about how long the dry period of cows lasts. However, in order for the cow to regain all its strength at this time, it is also necessary to adhere to optimal conditions of detention. Such actions are mainly aimed at prevention, but professionals strongly recommend that they be followed.
Just stick to the following rules:
- provide the animal with peace, as being in constant stress can provoke various complications;
- create free access to clean water and provide a two-day daily feed with all the necessary feed;
- follow the hygiene of the animal with periodic exposure from ultraviolet lamps;
- Maintain optimal indoor temperature using a variety of heat sources.
Remember that the correct content of the animal can several times reduce the risk of developing various diseases during the dry season. However, if you experience any complications, immediately contact your veterinarian for help.
Finally
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in feeding a cow during the dry period, however, in order for the animal to regain strength after childbirth, it is necessary to create a balanced diet. If any of the sections of the article seemed incomprehensible to you or you still have some questions, we strongly recommend watching a short video in which the hostess talks about the rules for feeding the cow during the launch.
We hope that now you have answered all your questions and are ready to start caring and feeding the animal. Be sure that if you follow all the above rules and recommendations, the animal will give birth to a healthy calf and restore strength in a fairly short period of time.