How to increase the fat content of milk in a cow: how to feed for good milk yields at home

Every farmer strives to get high yields of nutritious tasty milk from cows. Therefore, livestock breeders are always interested in how to increase the fat content of milk in a cow. Of course, first of all, you need to choose the right breed of cows. As a rule, complex measures are used to increase fat content (good care, proper diet). At the same time, it should be taken into account that with an increase in fat content, the volume of milk yield decreases.

Scientific approach

Fat content depends on several factors. It is possible to single out the fundamental ones: the age of the cow, breed, seasonality, care and diet. The scientific method of influencing milk quality is selection.

The milk of cows whose breeds are bred in Russia does not have a high fat content (4% on average). Higher rates are demonstrated by cows of European breeds grown in other climatic conditions. Therefore, Russian breeders use bulls of European breeds to breed dairy cows. A promising direction of work is the crossing of the red steppe breed and the Danish red.

Catering service

Selection is a reliable way to breed cows that give full-fat milk, but it does not work quickly. Therefore, farmers are trying to get a better dairy product, making up an appropriate diet for pets. What to focus on:

• brewer's yeast with crushed barley, oatmeal;
• You can increase your fat percentage by feeding fresh hay. Forbs, clover with alfalfa or timothy deserve preference;
• sunflower or linseed meal, cakes.

Feed dairy cows preferably with feed with mineral supplements (calcium, phosphorus), table s alt.

Conditions and milk fat content

In addition to selection work and proper diet, an important component of increasing the fat content of dairy products is the full care of animals. Good results in terms of product quality are obtained by pre-milking massage.

To increase the fat content, you need to completely milk milk, so it is recommended to use machine milking.

The state of he alth of animals directly affects the quality of milk. Cattle are kept in dry pens that are cleaned regularly.It is important to ensure the ventilation of the premises, but to exclude drafts. Sawdust and straw are used as bedding. To increase lactation, regular walking is organized for animals, even in the cold season. Exceptions are ice, strong wind with rain, snowfall and deep snow cover.

Why might milk fat drop?

Sometimes there are cases when, with careful care and properly selected feeds, fat content decreases rather than increases. Liquid milk in a cow can be for several reasons:

• sulfur deficiency occurs with a diet containing rotten haylage and a large amount of silage;
• lack of protein provokes slow digestion of fiber (observed when feeding silage in large volumes);
• lack of roughage in the diet;
• summer season;
• reduced percentage of fiber in the diet (the recommended parameter is not less than 1.1-1.3% relative to the animal's weight).

Milking technology plays an important role. The fat content of milk will decrease with strong fluctuations of the liquid in the pipeline.

A balanced diet, proper care, compliance with the milking schedule - all these factors increase milk yield and quality of milk. Breed plays a decisive role. Although cows kept in the same herd may produce milk of different fat content.

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