How to feed a cow: norms per day and year, the right diet at home

The content of cattle is related to the characteristics of animals. Those who keep cows often ask questions about what to feed them, what elements should be included in the diet. Animals that receive a balanced diet give high-quality milk, are not susceptible to infection, and are resistant to various types of epidemics. The habit of planning a diet in advance and buying feed will be the key to successful management for a novice farmer.

What can you feed cows

The content of cattle involves the use of a variety of feeds in the preparation of the diet.So that the animals do not experience hunger, it is necessary to stock up on grain and hay. Young animals are given an increased amount of silage, crushed and concentrates are added. All feeds are calculated on average, with a certain margin for unforeseen circumstances.

Diet of cows depending on the season

The feed calculation is influenced by the current season. The seasonality of walking cows affects the diet. It is much more profitable to keep livestock in summer, but at the same time, the warm season is used to prepare fodder for the winter.

Feeding in winter

When planning a winter diet, cows are guided by the formula: in winter they need 5 kilograms of feed for every 100 kilograms of animal.

Type of feed	Daily allowance (kilogram)
Straw	from 5 to 12
Silos	from 5
Vegetables	5-8
Concentrates	4,5
S alt	60 grams

No matter how much a cow eats, she needs to drink daily. Active animals receive up to 35 liters of water daily. Drinking water should be clean and warm. Drinking bowls are cleaned daily, more thorough cleaning weekly.

Summer Diet

In summer, the diet changes, due to walking on pastures, feeding becomes not completely rationed.

Norm per day (kilogram)Hay8SilosConcentrates Vegetables s alt 60 grams

Type of food
2.5

In the summer, farmers recommend giving animals access to drink and lick s alt. On the run, cows receive the necessary juicy feed, so they do not need additional provision with vegetables and silage.

Pasture allows you to save on feed in the summer, as access to fresh grass contributes to the complete saturation of the animal.

Feeding according to destination

Average indicators when planning a diet change depending on the purpose for which the cow is fed. There are several types of content:

1. For the purpose of obtaining meat. This means that the cows must be plump.
2. For milk yields. Milk-producing cows are kept under special conditions and require nutrition that enhances the quality of their milk.
3. During the dry period, that is, the period when the cow is preparing for calving.

Each period involves a special catering. Cows before calving need to receive minerals and vitamins, and animals intended for meat production need to build muscle mass.

To get milk

The diet of dairy cows is different from that of non-dairy cattle. Dairy cows have a calm disposition, they do not move too much, they chew a lot of hay, they prefer to rest in partial shade on pastures. The task of the farmer when planning to increase milk yield is to formulate a diet that has a milk-producing effect.

One cow can consume up to 100 kilograms of fresh grass daily, but at the same time provide up to 25 liters of milk. Components that include in the diet of a dairy cow:

• high quality plant foods;
• animal-type supplements;
• concentrated feed;
• vitamin and mineral supplements.

A diet for a cow that provides 20 liters of milk:

• hay - 12 kilograms;
• silo - 1 kilogram;
• vegetables - from 8 kilograms;
• bread crumbs - 2 kilos;
• s alt - 100 grams.

Information! During milking, energy feeds are added to the diet.

For getting meat

Meat breeds of bulls are fattened for meat according to one of the options:

1. Traditional option - up to the age of 1.5 years. This is a short period, which involves feeding cattle with high-calorie feed with the addition of bread, boiled vegetables, vitamin complexes.
2. Medium - up to 6 months. Overfeeding with added protein.
3. Expedited - up to 8 months. Moderate feeding of specially selected breeds. This case suggests that by the end of the fattening period, the animal will weigh about 500 kilograms.

The source of proteins are crushed grains, hay, root crops. Crusher is given both dry and diluted with water. This method is used regularly throughout the fattening period. It helps build muscle in a short amount of time.

For feeding meat breeds include fodder vegetables. They are cut into medium-sized pieces, washed thoroughly, some types of vegetables are steamed. Small pieces or too large cuts can provoke indigestion and the absence of a ruminant reflex, which is important for the digestion process.

Meat bull should be given 3 times more water than usual. Warm water is left freely available throughout the day, and the next day the drinker is changed to clean and filled with water.

Gobies are traditionally sent to slaughter when they reach the age of 1.5 years, but if necessary, the dates are shifted and alternative fattening schemes are used.

During the dry season

The dry period is the period that lasts from launch to calving. Pregnancy in cows lasts 285 days, so the diet should be made with great care. At home, it is recommended to approximately calculate the norms and correlate them with the weight and milk yield of the cow:

For a 400 kg cow you will need:

• 6.8 kilograms of staple food;
• 9 kilograms of hay;
• 1 kilo of protein;
• 2.3 kilograms of raw vegetables;
• 500 grams of sugar;
• 100 grams of s alt.

On farms, the calculation is carried out in accordance with the amount of lactation. For example, if the female had 3 lactations, then 2 more kilograms of the main feed are added to the diet.

14 days before the expected calving, the diet is changed in accordance with the following recommendations:

1. Corn silage and haylage are reduced relative to the increase in cereal hay.
2. Cows are given roots, concentrates, wheat bran. For highly productive breeds, the amount of wheat bran should be at least 1 percent of the total daily requirement.
3. Daily consumption of chalk and s alt is kept under control.
4. Characteristics of consumed fats and carbohydrates are being reviewed. Easily digestible elements lead to the accumulation of acetone in the blood, so the type of food should be changed.

Information! Three meals a day are recommended for the animal during the dry period.

Highly productive breeds

Highly productive breeds are distinguished by the fact that they have an accelerated metabolism. To maintain a good level of metabolic processes, the diet consists of the following elements:

• 25 percent vitamins and minerals;
• 25 percent protein;
• 50 percent fat, carbohydrates, various types of nutrients.

The basis of the daily diet is hay, silage, fresh grass. Beets and potatoes are added to these components. Crusher is given weekly, calculating the scheme according to the weight of the animal.

To increase milk yield

Milk is the main product that comes from dairy breeds. Lactation, as a physiological process, can be mobile; an increase in productivity can be predicted and planned. Drawing up a feeding plan helps to calculate costs and planned milk yields.

Feature of the plan designed to increase milk yield:

• daily allowance is from 50 to 80 kilograms of feed;
• include barley, wheat, bagasse, beets, silage, hay, grass;
• dry food is 3.5 percent of live weight;
• juicy feed is added according to the formula: 6 kilograms of feed per 100 kilograms of live weight;
• adding concentrates at the rate of 100 grams per 1 liter of milk;
• three meals a day.

For the production of 1 liter of milk at milk yield, a cow needs 4 to 6 liters of fluid daily, so free access to water is an important component of the scheme, which involves working to increase milk yields.

To increase productivity, it is recommended to use special feed additives. They are prepared on the basis of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Additives help increase milk yields, while improving the quality of milk received.

In addition to feed additives, special probiotics are used, which are responsible for the digestion processes and the state of the animal's gastrointestinal tract. In addition, maintaining a stable milking schedule is important. This means that the cow must be milked at the same time every day. The stress that occurs when an animal reflexively begins to expect milking can reduce the highest rates.

Help! Increasing the amount of liquid drunk per day increases milk yield by 7 percent without additional addition of other components.

For cows after calving

Cows that have calved need a balanced diet. Due to the fact that they have lost a lot of energy, animals feel the need to receive saturated feed. After calving, it is recommended to increase the content of concentrates to 45 percent of the total norm.

Food should be enough for the animal to recover, while milk production and lactation are established.

Bread leftovers are added to the traditional menu, crushed bread is made, vitamin and mineral supplements are mixed in. Feeding is organized from the first day, but they do it gradually so as not to provoke violations. Catering policy:

1. After half an hour after the calving process, the cow is given warm water and high-quality hay in unlimited quantities. The cow is milked up to 6 times during the day during which the calving occurred.
2. Following 48 hours meals are organized from water and mash. Chatterbox is a mixture of warm water and wheat bran.
3. From the third day they don't give a talker. It is replaced with a mixture of oats, bran, flaxseed meal. In one day, the amount of the mixture is increased to 15 kilograms.
4. The amount of compound feed is gradually increased to 2 kilograms. Gradually introduce juicy feed, add silage, vegetables.

Gradual establishment of nutrition helps to avoid various disorders of the cow's gastrointestinal tract. For three days, the milk yield should increase automatically. If this does not happen, then the amount of grain feed consumed should be reduced.

Veterinarians and experienced breeders say that after calving, each animal needs an individual approach that will help you find out which feeds the cow consumes with pleasure and which ones she refuses. During the milking period, the diet plan should be adjusted for animal preferences.

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