Experienced farmers know that when feeding cows there are simply no small things. It is extremely important to correctly draw up a diet - it should be as balanced as possible, contain the right amount of trace elements and various substances. Therefore, this should be described in more detail.
The Importance of Proper Nutrition
If you decide to engage in the cultivation of dairy cows, then approach the preparation of the diet should be especially responsible. After all, a daily burenka will produce up to 20 liters of milk. And this valuable product contains a large number of trace elements: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and others. And there can be two options. Either they will be fully compensated due to a well-balanced feeding, or each month the cow will look worse, milk yield will decrease.
Of course, any farmer will prefer the first option. But for this you have to seriously sweat. First you need to deal with different types of feed in order to be able to correctly combine them to obtain the desired result.
Green feed
The best food is fresh grass - it is better to provide it with summer feeding of cows. And ideally, the animal itself should roam the field, collecting those plants that are considered necessary. That is, free grazing. This allows the farmer to spend a minimum of time and effort on maintenance.
At the same time, the grass contains a large amount of vitamins, as well as all the necessary trace elements, nutrients. High humidity of the feed gives it milky properties. It is no coincidence that in the summer, when cows feed mainly on fresh grass, milk yields are maximal. An additional plus is the low cost of such feed. Indeed, on good soil with regular rainfall, the grass sprouts itself - it is enough to distill the cows from one place to another.
The only drawback is the possibility of poisoning. You should know in advance which poisonous plants are found in a particular area, select areas where they do not grow. And just in case, have the appropriate drugs to quickly solve the problem of poisoning.
Hay
Of course, in all respects, hay is inferior to grass. However, in the winter season, it invariably enters the diet of feeding cows of the milk direction. With timely harvesting, proper drying and storage, it retains all the vitamins and minerals contained in fresh grass. In many ways, its usefulness depends on which plants were mowed when creating winter supplies.
Since the feed is completely dry, you need to provide cows with a sufficient amount of drink - we will talk about this later. The best hay is rightfully meadow - a large selection of herbs provides the most balanced diet.
Vegetables
Modern standards for feeding cows include the introduction of various vegetables into the diet, especially in winter. They are much more nutritious than grass or hay, contain even more vitamins and minerals. By adding enough vegetables to the diet in winter, you can compensate for the relatively low calorie content of hay. Even if you give only a few kilograms a day, the cow’s appetite will improve significantly, and milk production will increase significantly. The only drawback is the relatively high cost of such feed.
You can give vegetables in almost unlimited quantities - up to 30 kilograms per day. Mostly it is zucchini, turnip, potatoes, pumpkin, beets and carrots. Vegetables should be washed from the ground, cut into small pieces convenient for eating.
Concentrates
A variety of concentrates should be added to the diet for feeding dairy cows. First of all, it is bran, meal and cake. This is really high-quality food - nutritious, tasty in its own way. Therefore, a balanced diet must include them. When working with highly dairy cows, it is advisable to use not cereal grains, but legumes - they contain a greater amount of protein.
Cows eat wheat and barley and oats with pleasure. They can be safely given to cows, both medium and high. However, everywhere you need to know a certain border. For example, when yielding 10-15 liters of milk per day, you need to give about 150 grams of grain. If the cow brings 20 liters, the portion can be increased to 250 grams. However, if you give the animal 400 grams of cereals or more, this can cause metabolic disturbances.
Grain is better to give not dry, but prepared. For this, the selected portion is poured with warm water and left for two to three days. Germinated grains contain more nutrients, easily digestible substances, and are also easier to digest.
Silage
Also, when feeding highly productive cows in the cold season, silage should be used. Despite the low cost, this is really high-quality food - easily digestible, very nutritious, healthy and, from a cow's point of view, very tasty. Therefore, to use it in the winter, in conditions of deficiencies of vitamins and wet food, will be very useful.
It is prepared on time, in the warm season. Selected feeds (vegetable tops, cabbage, sunflowers, corn, vegetables, wild herbs) are carefully crushed, and then laid in special pits. In recent years, special silo sleeves have been actively used. For several months, the mass releases juice, due to which natural fermentation occurs. Thanks to this, in the winter you can provide the cow with high-quality, tasty food.
Additional feeding
When caring for highly dairy, pregnant or young animals, the feeding standards for cows need to be reviewed. First of all, you need to add additional mineral and vitamin supplements. A good choice is bone meal and salt. They will be useful to ordinary cows, but at the very moment when the animal’s body is under the greatest load, it is especially important to provide them with the necessary trace elements.
Due to this, milk production increases, young cows grow much faster, and calves are born more healthy, while less wearing out the mother’s body.
The better to drink
Speaking about the diets of feeding dairy cows, it is worth mentioning about drinking. And here, perhaps, nothing better than ordinary water cannot be invented. The main thing is that it be really clean. That is, you should not draw water from reservoirs located near factories, plants and highways - they can be poisoned by emissions of heavy metals. Also, water from a small standing reservoir will not be the best choice - there is a high probability of infection with parasites.
According to experts, to get one liter of milk a cow should consume about three liters of water. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the summer, when consuming fresh green food, the cow drinks much more - about 60 liters. In winter, consumption is reduced to an average of 40 liters. Do not worry if a dead cow (the period between the moment when it stops giving milk and a new pregnancy) consumes significantly less water - this is quite normal.
You need to drink animals three times a day. They do not need to be limited in water - they will not drink more than necessary.
Standard diet
For those centuries and millennia, during which cows live side by side with humans, farmers were able to develop the most balanced diet that allows animals to get enough calories, vitamins, minerals. Of course, individual characteristics should be taken into account - for example, feeding a pregnant cow is different from feeding a dry cow. But we will talk about this a little later.
As scientists have found out, a cow should receive about 80 different nutrients - fiber, protein, fats, minerals, vitamins, sugar, amino acids and many others.
When compiling the optimal diet, experts recommend giving 1 feed unit per 100 kilograms of weight plus 70 grams of easily digestible protein. However, this is an average. More detailed information can be obtained only by having data on the purpose of the animal - the nutrition of dairy and meat breeds is seriously different. Also, when compiling a diet for feeding cows, periods must be taken into account - normal and dry. We will talk about all this in more detail so that even a novice farmer does not have problems feeding animals.
The best diet for dairy cows
First, let's talk about feeding dairy cows. Their food should be as balanced as possible. Depending on the milk yield per day, animals should receive from 130 to 200 MJ of energy to restore energy, receive all the necessary nutrients. In feed units, this is from 11 to 15. This variation is not accidental - the more milk a cow gives, the more feed should be received. Moreover, its ratio may also vary.
For example, hay and haylage they should receive about 10 kilograms per day. The optimal amount of silage is from 10 to 18 kilograms. Moreover, more cows with relatively small milk yields should receive more - 12-15 liters per day. The situation with vegetables and root crops is quite different. The daily diet should include about 6-18 kilograms. High-yielding cows spend more trace elements, which means they should receive more to offset costs. The same should be done with concentrates: the optimal portion is from 2.5 to 5.5 kilograms. Finally, regular table salt is an extremely important supplement in a cow’s diet. For animals that bring 10-15 liters a day, 70-90 grams of the supplement is enough. With an increase in milk production to 15-20 liters, you need to give about 90-100 grams of salt. And the most annoying cows, bringing in more than 20 liters of milk per day, should receive about 105-110 grams.
Diet for meat cows
When you know enough about the diet for feeding dairy cows, it will be useful to learn about the rules for feeding animals intended for slaughter. Unlike dairy breeds, they should receive less straw, but more silage - this greatly accelerates the mass gain, which is extremely important for the farmer.
It all depends primarily on the age and weight of the animals. To begin with, we will talk about young animals weighing less than 350 kilograms, that is, one and a half to two-year-old cows and gobies.
At this age, they should receive about 3-4 kilograms of straw and hay. But you don’t need to save on silage - the optimal amount ranges from 20 to 30 kilograms. Wheat bran can accelerate the process of gaining fat mass, make meat more tender, juicy. About 300 grams can be given per day. Concentrated feed is a reliable way to provide animals with all the trace elements that the growing body lacks. Give from 1 to 1.5 kilograms per day. Finally, table salt is enough 30-35 grams per day.
Adult cows and bulls that have crossed the threshold of 350 kilograms consume more feed. They can no longer give hay, but straw is needed - about 2-4 kilograms per day. A lot of silage will be needed - from 30 to 40 kilograms. Moreover, more should be given to young, 2-3 year old animals that still continue to gain weight. The optimal amount of bran is from 300 to 500 grams. Compound feed is enough 1.5 kilograms. Salt supplement - 50 grams.
Yes, to provide cows with such a diet, you have to spend a lot of money. But as a result, young animals quickly gain maximum weight and can be slaughtered for meat, and this is precisely the purpose of the farmer involved in the breeding of beef cows.
Diet for dry cows
Experienced farmers know that feeding dry cows is different than feeding ordinary cows. Not only the health of the future calf, but also the amount of milk production that begins after his birth depends on the correctness of the diet.
The amount of silage in the diet is reduced, but still it remains the main source of nutrients. Feed dry cows, like heifers, you need three times a day. Drink only with warm water - not lower than +10 degrees Celsius. In summer, the diet must contain a large amount of grass.
The diet also depends on the breed, or rather, on what kind of milk yield you expect after the birth of a calf. More dairy cows should receive more feed units.
So, silage should be given about 12 kilograms per day. 4 kilograms fall to the share of hay, and haylage - from 6 to 8. Root crops are very important - a cow should eat about 4 kilograms of pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, cabbage, potatoes per day. The number of concentrates is from 1.5 to 2.5 kilograms. Salt is enough from 50 to 70 grams.
A week before the appointed date of delivery, you should stop giving silage and haylage. And for three days - to exclude concentrates from the diet. In recent weeks, it is especially important to give the cow only the highest quality food. Otherwise, it is possible to provoke premature birth, which may well end in tragedy, or at least cause a lot of problems to the owners and torment the animal.
Summer ration
Another important point to focus on is the change in diet according to the seasons. For example, the summer diet for feeding cows is very different from the winter one.
This is especially noticeable in small farms, when it is more important for the owner not to get more profit, but to reduce costs as much as possible. In this case, in the warm season, it is a rational decision to drive the cows to pasture. Having a herd of several dozen goals, it is quite possible to do this. As a result, milk production increases due to high-quality green feed. But at the same time, the farmer practically stops spending money on the purchase of silage, hay, vegetables. When feeding cows in the summer, all this can be discarded - only feed additives, concentrates and salt are the exception.
In huge enterprises, cows eat the same thing year-round. On the one hand, to drive a herd of thousands on the field is very problematic. On the other hand, it is important for industrialists to make a profit as soon as possible, and the opportunity to save is fading into the background.
The main thing to remember is that the transition should be gradual. To do this, it is advisable to start grazing immediately after the appearance of greenery in the meadows. That is, the cow receives the main ration in the barn - she got used to it over the winter. But in the afternoon there is an opportunity to walk in the meadow, warm up, pinch rare grass. Gradually, as grass grows in the pasture, the standard diet decreases - fresh grass replaces it. This continues until the cow can be saturated with green food - by this time you can stop giving silage, haylage, hay and vegetables. The reverse situation is observed in the fall. Cows are driven out to pasture for an increasingly shorter period of time, while at the same time increasing the proportion of artificial feeding.
Doing this is to ensure that the cow’s stomach gets used to the new feed gradually. If you feed them vegetables, silage and straw, and the next day drive them out hungry in the field where she eats grass, this can cause serious problems with the stomach, up to an inversion of the intestines. Of course, no farmer wants such an unpleasant fate for his wards.
In a barn, animals should receive: wheat, oats, barley, bran, oilcake, meal, grass meal, salt, a mixture of calcium and phosphates, as well as a trace element premix. This is necessary because the grass, despite a large number of vitamins and minerals, remains a rather low-calorie feed. In order for a cow to receive not only useful substances, but also a sufficient number of calories, it is impossible to stop additional feeding in any case.