“A cow in the yard is prosperity on the table,” says the proverb. The main nurse in the farm, almost a family member, needs to be carefully treated, for which he supplies his patrons with nutritious milk for 5-10 lactations with a life span of 20-25 years. What conditions should be provided for this animal?
The maintenance of cows, carried out in a tethered and untethered ways, requires a thorough approach with a rational daily routine, good nutrition and quality care.
Cows in a private compound
In the household, the loose housing of cows is mainly used: the animals are in a bright, warm, well-ventilated room with common drinking bowls and feeders. A prerequisite necessary to preserve the health of livestock and prevent the appearance of mastitis is a warm floor and dry litter, which is completely replaced every six months.
Dryness of the upper layer is ensured by regular planting of fresh straw and sawdust. With such a system, the biochemical decomposition of the lower layers occurs, the result of which is the release of a large amount of heat, which is especially important in winter cold. Also in the floors should be provided a slope for the slope of urine and a gutter for collecting manure, which is desirable to be cleaned twice a day. Food and water are fed to common feeders and drinkers.
Pet care in summer
In the summer, the cow, whose feeding in the household is most often carried out in a loose manner, is grazing. Usually in the villages a shepherd collects cows every morning, takes them out to pasture for the whole day and returns home in the evening. Being in a large group contributes to the normal physical and psychological development of the animal. The factor of controlling the composition of groups is very important, since a new cow in the herd or aggressive behavior of any individual negatively affects the milk production of the others.
In the summer, a cow whose maintenance is daily hard work can be located on a walking platform with a mandatory canopy that protects from rain and hot sunlight. In the same place, under the canopy, nurseries are installed with the obligatory briquette of salt-licks - an important component that is involved in the formation of bone tissue, improves appetite, increases the digestibility of feed and is an excellent preventive measure against diseases for young animals.
Feeding Features
Cows are fed in the summer with pasture; vegetables and fruits from the garden are used as complementary foods. In winter, the basis of the diet is harvested hay, straw, root crops, as well as mineral and vitamin supplements. Animals should be fed with warm clean water at the rate of about 80-100 liters of liquid per day per 1 head.
For productive livestock maintenance, it is very important to accustom yourself and animals to a clearly defined daily routine, to keep the same intervals between milking and feeding. A cow, the content of which requires investment of certain costs, with an average milk yield of 15-20 liters should be fed 3 times a day. With a milk output of more than 20 liters, the number of meals and milking increases to 4-5 times.
Farm maintenance: loose housing
Lodging-free housing is also used on farms with large livestock (from 400 animals and more). Previously, it was common in meat farming, today it is increasingly used in dairy production.
Cows are created as close to natural conditions as possible with freedom of movement in spacious rooms and on walking grounds. Manure is usually harvested twice a year; animals are provided with a deep, unchanged litter of straw, sawdust, and peat. It is important to pour a new layer of litter daily, not allowing it to get completely wet.
Some farms use technology for processing manure with its separation into 2 components: the liquid fraction stored in large ditches with further use as fertilizer, and the solid part used as bedding.
A feature of the system of loose housing is unhindered access of cattle to roughage located directly on the territory of the livestock complex: under a canopy, on land collars, in silos. Distribution of feed in the room is made in case of bad weather conditions. The animals are watered using group automatic drinkers.
The benefits of a loose mode
The advantages of the loose method is an active exercise, which positively affects the health of animals, contributing to an increase in their immunity and an improvement in milk production. On such farms, labor costs are significantly reduced and great importance is given to mechanization of work, which consists in the use of modern equipment: for milking, transportation, and primary processing of milk.
The disadvantage of this type of livestock maintenance on large farms is often the lack of thought in the breeding scheme, which leads to increased humidity, untimely cleaning of manure, gas contamination, which is detrimental to the health of cows.
With the loose method, a prerequisite for the livestock complex is the presence of a maternity ward. There, a calving cow, the content of which requires a special attention to the animal, is about 1.5 months (the period of its maximum milking). Then transferred to the main group; this takes into account its milk production.
Tethering
The traditional method used in dairy farms is to keep the cows tethered. Cattle are located in stalls equipped with locking devices: clamp, chain, mechanical or automatic. The length of the stall averages from 1.8 to 2.0 meters in such a way that the cow can freely take a lying position. All stalls are equipped with metal bars through which animal excrement falls into the ditch ditch.
All operations related to the maintenance of the animal are carried out right there, in the stalls, the equipment of which includes:
- harness and metal frame for fixing the harness;
- a feeding trough (about 70 cm wide);
- stall;
- channel for transporting manure.
Key processes
Distribution of feeds is carried out using stationary or mobile dispensers in feeders made of waterproof materials (metal, concrete). At the bottom of the feeders located 5-7 cm above the stall bed, openings are provided for drainage of residual liquid after washing and disinfection.
Milking cows is carried out using portable milking machines. This operation requires a large investment of manual labor, in order to reduce the cost of which it is recommended to mount high-performance milking installations in special rooms.
Advantages and disadvantages of the tethered method
Advantages of the tethered content method:
- normalized feeding of the animal , taking into account productivity and age;
- 5-7 tons of milk per year. That is how much a cow can give, the content of which is carried out in compliance with all technological norms and standards;
- reduced calf injuries during maturation;
- Improving the processing of feed into fat and muscle mass.
The disadvantages include:
- a high percentage of manual labor (caring for animals, cleaning stalls, monitoring the condition of cows, conducting treatment and preventive measures);
- difficult working conditions of machine milking operators, who are forced to drag milking machines across the barn, repeatedly crouch near each animal).
Ways to keep cows: which one to choose?
The method of keeping cows using different methods of organizing labor, milking, feeding, cleaning manure is decisive in the application of various technologies for producing meat and milk from cattle. For dairy production, attachment is the most convenient, the disadvantages of which include the deterioration of labor productivity, complication of reproduction, and the lack of active exercise in animals. This technology for keeping cows requires a small area of premises, facilitates the work of veterinarians, and allows you to feed animals individually.
With loose housing, there is no need for a large number of personnel, animals actively move, feed from common feeders. The work of veterinarians and livestock specialists is complicated: they require more actions to provide medical procedures and keep records of reproduction.