Feed and Feeding

Dairy cattle Nutrition

Nutrient Requirements (lactating cow) Water

3-4 units of H2O for each unit of Dry matter 15-25 gallons

Energy
Carbohydrates, dietary fat provide glucose for energy production and milk sugar > half of dry matter intake (> 20 lbs as DM basis!!)

Nutrient Requirements

(lactating cow)
Protein
Supply of amino acids Body growth, repair, hormone , milk proteins ~ 15- 18% of dry matter intake ~ 5-10 lb. Crude protein /day

Minerals and Vitamins

Everything is about dry matter (DM)

Feed fraction that contains all of the nutrients except water
%DM =

Dry Weight
X 100 Wet Weight

Dry matter intake is always less than as fed intake!

How much feed does a cow eat?

-------------- % of the body weight in DM basis for avg milk yield of ----------------lb

Feeding TMR ----------- lb. Feed for

every -----------lb of milk

Dry Matter Intake Guides

1. 1 lb of DM milk yield --------------lb.

2. 13 pounds of DM for maintenance

Typical Cow Ration

Forages:
-------------- or --------------------- -------------------------- Orchard grass hay

Energy feed
Corn grain, oats, barley, oats, beat pulp

Protein feed (concentrate)

Soybean, Linseed meal, Cotton seed

Phase 4 Peak Milk

Phase 5 Peak DMI

Phase 6 Tail End

Dry Matter Intake

Milk Production

Body Weight

Month

Courtesy of Univ. of IL

TMR Diets
Total mixed ration diets
Some long stem hay may be fed separately to stimulate rumen function

Advantages:
Precise definition of the ration consumed Facilitate mechanized feeding -------------------------------------------------------- Masks certain unpalatable feeds

TMR Diets
Disadvantages
--------------------------------------------------- Mismanagement or inadequate numbers of groups can lead to overfeeding
Health problems

First-calf heifers should be grouped separately

Fig 15-7. Portable mixer wagons are used to mix ration ingredients into a total mixed ration (Courtesy of Mark Kirkpatrick)

Fig 15-8. Inside a mixer wagon, augers are used to thoroughly mix feedstuffs prior to feeding (Courtesy of Mark Kirkpatrick)

Nutrient DMI (% BW)

% 3.2 16-18

NEL (Mcal/lb)
Crude Protein (CP) % DM ADF, %

NDF, %
Forage NDF, % NFC, % Max Crude fat, %

Min.-------75 40 6

Forage : Concentrate 60%:40%

Practical Feeding Management

Question to ask?
Feed Intake Are cows actually consuming feed?
amounts fed
----------------------------------------

number of cows per group

 Is the bunk clean to begin with? Is the fresh feed warm/hot?

Question to ask?
Does fresh feed have any "off" odor? Is the feed ------------------------------------?

 Do we have adequate bunk space? Do cows sort the feed and what do they sort for ?
------------------------------------------------------

 What percent of the cows chewing their cuds? How much time cows spend away from the feed bunk?

Feeding a TMR Free Choice

2-4 percent weigh back (orts) Weigh back is uniform Weigh back is not sorted Feed is available > 20 hours a day

Penn State Separator Box

Penn State Separator

Top Corn Silage (1/4) Corn Silage (1/2) Haylage TMR <5 <5 > 20 > 10 Middle Bottom > 50 > 70 > 40 > 30 < 50 < 30 < 40 < 50

FIELD TOOLS
Milk yield changes
Milk component changes

Manure appearance
Grain in manure

Signs of acidosis