Feeding dry cows: features of the diet and norms of concentrates

There is no absolutely correct diet for cows, since various factors are taken into account when formulating a diet. Feeding dry cows according to all the rules ensures the he alth and productivity of cattle. A balanced diet includes grass haylage, hay, concentrated feed, vitamin and mineral complex.

The importance of making the right diet

The malnutrition of pregnant cows affects more than just their he alth. Omissions in the diet provoke metabolic disorders in calves, weaken the immune system, increasing susceptibility to diseases.Inadequate feeding adversely affects the udder (development of glandular tissue slows down). This point must be taken into account when compiling the diet of first-calf heifers, since the diet determines the subsequent milk production.

Decrease in milk yield is also a natural result of poor quality feeding. A poor diet can lead to a violation of the sexual cycle, which entails a reduction in the fertility of cows.

How to feed dry cows?

It is important to build on a balanced feed rate of concentrates. With an excess of concentrated feed, the fetus will develop rapidly, which can cause difficult births. Lack of feed increases the risk of giving birth to weak calves. It will be difficult for such newborns to resist infections and gastrointestinal diseases during the growth period. When compiling a diet, several feed parameters are taken into account:

• amount of dry matter - energy source (norm 2.2-2.5 kg of matter per 100 kg of cow weight);
• protein nutrition;
• sugar and starch;
• mineral elements and vitamins.

The diet must include hay, silage, haylage - high-quality grass feed that covers the cow's need for carotene. Well-dried hay satisfies the cow's need for vitamin D.

Daily diet

When drawing up a feeding schedule, several factors are taken into account: the availability of feed on the farm, the type of diet, seasonality.

In wintertime

In the cold season, the basis of the diet is root crops, haylage, silage, hay. A cow is fed 6-10 kg of hay per day. When using silage or haylage, they are guided by indicators per 100 kg of live weight: silage 2-3 kg, haylage - 2-4 kg. The mass of concentrates in the diet ranges from one to three kilograms.The feed rate is divided into 2-3 doses.

During the stall period

Especial attention should be paid to the composition of the cow's diet during this period, since a decrease in productivity and the likelihood of infection can provoke even minor violations in the feeding regimen. Recommended daily ration: silage or straw - 10 kg, hay - 2 kg, compound feed - 2-3 kg, s alt - 100 g.

The vitamin-mineral composition should not be underestimated, since vitamin deficiency causes problems with kidneys, liver, and productivity in cows. The best option is to add premixes to the feed - a product containing vitamins and minerals in a balanced set (50 g of phosphorus, 90 g of calcium, zinc, copper, iodine, vitamins A, E, D are required).

During the pasture season

Fresh green mass is the basis of the summer diet. Animals graze in pastures for days. The daily norm of green fodder is 18-20 kg. The source of energy and mineral elements will be concentrated dry food (norm 2-3 kg). You can add hay - 2-3 kg, silage or haylage - 12-15 kg. It is not recommended to "get carried away" with silage, since low-quality mixtures are characterized by a high content of organic acids that adversely affect metabolism and fetal he alth.

Feed characteristics

Crops of both perennial and annual plants are suitable for harvesting hay. Cultivated pastures are sown with alfalfa, legume-cereal herbage, timothy grass, awnless brome.

For the preparation of haylage (dried grass with a moisture content of 50-55%), cereals and legumes are suitable.

Deserve preference well leafy highly nutritious plants: alfalfa, clover, peas, vetch, green mass of oats.Peas, corn, sorghum, vetch (with barley or oats) are used as juicy silage feed. Concentrated feed is prepared from grains of corn, peas, wheat, barley, oats, soybeans, lentils. Additives from cake and meal (soybean, colza, rapeseed) are allowed.

Dry cows are divided into two groups for proper feeding. Animals of the first 40-45 days of dry period should eat mainly voluminous feed. In cows of the second group (2-3 weeks before calving), the rate of concentrated feed is gradually increased (up to 4 kg per day).

What not to give to dry cows

The diet during the dry period of a cow is based on the increase in the supply of nutrients in the animal's body. However, you need to monitor the weight of the cattle. Because both malnutrition and overeating are unhe althy.

The same type of feeding based on potato pulp, brewer's grains or beet pulp is not welcome. After all, these products contribute to animal obesity.

You need to carefully control the quality of feed. A product with mold, fungus can cause significant harm to both the cow and the fetus, and create problems at the calving. It is not allowed to feed animals with rotted hay or haylage. Also, frozen food is not included in the diet.

It is advisable to refrain from feeding dry cows with pulp, bards, cake, brewer's grains. Since these feeds can provoke an abortion, premature birth. The condition of the cow at the time of calving, the viability of the calf is determined by proper nutrition during the dry period. Productivity, resistance to diseases depend on the saturation of feed with vitamins and microelements. Lack of nutrition can "activate" hidden or chronic diseases.

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