Fresh food for cows. Amount of feed per cow

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Today, a lot of farmers are engaged in cattle breeding. This is not an easy task that requires certain knowledge and skills. In order for the animals to be in perfect order, they need proper care, otherwise you can lose the whole herd. The he alth and productivity of cattle directly depends on the quality of their feeding. Only with a complete and balanced diet can a farmer consistently receive good milk yields, and the animal will continuously gain weight. Feed standards for cows in modern animal husbandry state that cattle must receive all the necessary nutrients daily and in sufficient quantities. However, the cost of food products, as well as their consumption, also plays an important role here. Only by observing all these requirements, you will be able to get the maximum production with the minimum financial investment.

Today, a huge number of supplements to the diet are on sale. Therefore, to choose a universal option that would combine good performance and affordable cost,very difficult. This is especially true for those farmers who are just starting to engage in animal husbandry. Let's try to figure out what kind of feed a cow needs so that she grows up he althy, quickly gains weight and gives as much milk as possible.

General information about dietary supplements

As with any other animal, cattle require a varied and nutritious diet to function normally. Animals cannot live on green grass alone in summer and hay in winter. They will gradually wither, constantly losing weight, and the amount of milk given will gradually decrease. Experienced ranchers argue that several types of feed should be used at once, which can provide animals with vitamins, minerals, nutrients and vitality.

Depending on the composition and origin, all nutritional supplements are divided into the following varieties:

• animals;
• vegetable;
• combined;
• mineral and vitamin supplements.

The main component of the diet of cattle are foods of plant origin.

This cow food comes in the following types:

1. Juicy. They are the best source of protein and fiber, so they are most often used for feeding almost throughout the year. This category includes green grass, silage, and horticultural crops.
2. Concentrated. They contain a large amount of carbohydrates, so theyare used to supplement the accumulated proteins. These include grain, cake, bran, meal and others.
3. Rough. This includes hay and straw. These products contain vitamins and minerals, so they are used to feed animals in the winter, when free range is not possible.

Cow animal feed is meat and fish waste left over from the production of various food products. In addition, this also includes bone meal, which is the best source of calcium, so it is added to other nutritional supplements to replenish the amount of minerals and macronutrients in the body of animals.

Adjusting the diet depending on seasonal factors

When choosing feed for a cow for a year, it is necessary to take into account the fact that feeding patterns change depending on the time of year. The thing is that in different seasons the need of cattle for vitamins and nutrients changes. In addition, those foods that are abundant in spring and summer are simply not available in winter. Therefore, farmers should take this into account when planning the daily menu for their residents.

Feeding in winter

This is worth a closer look. In the cold season, all pastures and meadows are littered with snow, so animals cannot eat grass, as happens in summer. Based on this, certain adjustments must be made to the diet. Most farmers most often use coarse and succulent feed for cows in winter. The best optionwill be hay harvested in summer, silage and some root crops.

Concentrated nutritional supplements are also an obligatory component. Their daily norm for adults is about 11 kilograms. However, in order for food to be digested normally and not cause any problems with the functioning of the digestive system, it should not be given immediately, but divided into 4-6 doses. Silage is recommended to be mixed with hay in equal proportions to increase its nutritional value. At the same time, it is advisable to change the type of this feed every month so that the cattle do not have an upset stomach.

Daily feed for a cow in winter is calculated individually based on several factors. The main ones are the type of cattle and the amount of milk given per day.

On average, an animal should receive:

• root vegetables - 3 kg;
• beet pulp - 1 kg;
• food supplements - 1.3 kg.

In order to diversify the cow's winter food, periodically you need to replace the silage with hay. It is best made from alfalfa, as this herb is not only rich in nutrients, but also stimulates milk production, so you can get more milk.

In order for roughage to be better absorbed, they are pre-crushed and poured with warm water. Further, concentrated food additives, grated root vegetables, s alt and fodder yeast are added to them. This composition is rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients necessary for the normal life of cows and their highproductivity.

Summer feeding

So what do you need to know about this? In the warm season, when everything around is blooming and fragrant, there are no special problems with feeding cattle. In spring and summer there is the possibility of free grazing. And on pastures, juicy cow food is simply in abundance. With green grass and young tree branches, animals get a huge amount of protein, fiber and vitamins. However, in order for the livestock to normally adapt to the new diet, it is necessary to transfer it to walking gradually. First, the herd is released for several hours, and then gradually the duration of walks increases.

Along the way, the amount of feed per cow that was used for feeding in the winter is reduced. However, it is not recommended to completely exclude concentrated nutritional supplements, since in this case milk yields can be sharply reduced. Grain, the amount of which is calculated individually, depending on the milk given by animals, will help prevent this.

It is worth noting that in addition to the diet, great attention should be paid to the water balance, since milk production largely depends on it. Therefore, do not forget to take the wards to a watering hole. And provide them with fresh drink in the barn.

Feeding according to destination

According to the basic rules and techniques of animal husbandry, the diet for cattle is planned not only depending on seasonality, but also taking into account the specific purposes for which they are bred. For example, to getmilk, the composition of feed for cows should be one, and the amount of food additives when raising individuals in order to obtain meat should be different. This also applies to the diet. This will be discussed in more detail later.

Raising cows for milk

This aspect should be given special attention. When choosing food for cows for milk, it is necessary to take into account the weight and general condition of an individual. This is the only way to satisfy the daily need of each animal. If we follow the general approach, then one part of the livestock may be undernourished, while the other, on the contrary, overeat. At the same time, it is also important to take into account the fact that the process of milk formation is very costly in terms of financial investments, since the purchase of additional nutritional supplements is required. When calculating the optimal amount of food, the following rule should be followed: 0.3 feed units containing at least 45 grams of protein per 1 liter of milk given.

Based on this, the optimal daily diet would look like this:

• straw - 2.7 kilograms for every 100 kg of cow weight;
• root crops - 2.5 kg per liter of milk;
• concentrated nutritional supplements - 150g per liter of nutrient fluid;
• s alt - 5 grams per centner of live weight.

In summer, the main component is the succulent feed of cows, which animals receive on the lawns during free range. If the summer turned out to be dry and there is very little grass, then various top dressings are introduced into the diet.

Giving foodhighly productive breeds need at least 4 times a day. For cows with average milk yields, 3 meals will be enough.

In this case, food is given in the following sequence:

• concentrates;
• juicy;
• rough.

It is worth noting that it is forbidden to use fresh food for cows. Due to the lack of s alt in the body of animals, the water balance is disturbed, which significantly worsens the process of milk formation. Therefore, it is mandatory to add sodium chloride to food.

Cattle fattening for slaughter

What do you need to know about this? When breeding bulls for the purpose of obtaining meat, certain features should also be taken into account when drawing up a nutrition program. In this case, diet planning should begin when the animals are still young.

As far as the fattening program is concerned, it is carried out in three stages:

1. Preparatory. On it, young animals are actively growing and developing, so they need a large amount of vitamins and minerals. The main food for a cow is hay, boiled potatoes, green plants that animals find during grazing. In order for calves to actively gain muscle mass, it is very important to give them silage.
2. Main. It is completely identical to the one described above, so the diet does not undergo any special changes.
3. Final. At this stage, the daily food intake is gradually reduced. The main types of food are concentrates and fresh plants, which contain a large amount of moisture.

According to experienced livestock breeders, in order for cattle to gain muscle mass well, which is extremely necessary when breeding it for the purpose of subsequent slaughter, animals need to receive a sufficient amount of nutrients. Therefore, it is required to organize bulls with a full, balanced and three meals a day. In this case, meals should be taken at the same time. In order not to violate the regime, it is recommended to draw up a feeding schedule. After the calves mature, they begin to give granular feed to cows designed for fattening meat breeds.

Feeding during the dry period

It is very important to choose the best feed for cows during pregnancy, because not only the he alth of the mother, but also her baby depends on the quality of nutrition. Therefore, when compiling a diet, you need to take into account many nuances. The animal stops giving milk shortly before the expected calving. This period is the final phase of pregnancy. In order for the birth to proceed normally, the individual needs vital energy, so it must gain at least 900 grams of live weight daily. However, according to many experienced farmers, it is very difficult to achieve such results, since the physiological needs of the cow are constantly changing.

To simplify your task, you can conditionally divide the pregnancy period into two phases.

When compiling the menu for the first month and a half of the dry period, you must adhere to the following rules:

• the main part of the diet is hay harvested from grain plants;
• concentrated food stops feeding completely;
• if instead of gaining weight, the animal loses weight, then the diet includes a copious amount of silage;
• all foods that contain calcium are also excluded from the diet.

The second phase falls on the last 2-3 weeks of gestation. It involves feeding according to the following scheme:

• basic daily diet - straw and silage;
• concentrates act as additional nutritional supplements. Their minimum daily allowance is 3 kilograms;
• shortly before calving begin to give diet foods with a high protein content;
• per 1 kg of food should account for at least 8 grams of calcium and 4.5 grams of phosphorus.

Some livestock professionals also recommend feeding cows a few weeks before calving.

Highly productive breeds

Representatives of this species of cows are distinguished by the fact that metabolic processes are accelerated in their bodies compared to ordinary varieties of cattle. Therefore, it is very important to provide them with a complete diet rich in nutrients.

To do this, the daily diet of animals should look like this:

• proteins and carbohydrates - 50%;
• proteins - 25%;
• vitamins and macronutrients - 25%.

If you do not adhere to such a scheme, then the amount of milk given can be very much reduced. The main feed for a cow, which isa representative of a highly productive breed is straw, fresh herbs, silage. Root crops and concentrates act as secondary food additives. However, the latter cannot exceed 25 percent of the total daily diet. In addition, feeding should be carried out 3-4 times in accordance with the established regimen.

Feeding to increase milk yield

Many novice farmers are interested in the question of what kind of feed a cow needs so that she gives as much milk as possible. As mentioned earlier, the productivity of cattle directly depends on the quality of its diet. Therefore, by making certain adjustments to the menu of animals, you can multiply the milk yield.

When planning to engage in cattle breeding and having bought a certain number of heads for breeding, you should take care to stock up on hay for the winter. At the same time, proceed from the fact that it should be at least 20 percent of the total diet. In addition, vegetable crops such as beets and carrots have a positive effect on milk production. They also significantly increase the taste of a nutritious product. As for purchased concentrated nutritional supplements, they also contribute to good milk yields, but milk from them loses some of its properties. To increase the productivity of animals without compromising the quality of products, brewer's yeast, animal feed and bran can be included in the diet.

Feeding newly calved cows

Childbirth is a real test for any living organism, which greatly depletes it. Therefore, after calving, animals shouldprovide special dietary nutrition. It is best to give fresh straw, as well as special talkers made from wheat bran and oats. Roughage is given in such quantity that the cow is able to eat. But concentrates are almost halved.

Along the way, the amount of feed per cow that was used for feeding in the winter is reduced. However, it is not recommended to completely exclude concentrated nutritional supplements, since in this case milk yields can be sharply reduced. Grain, the amount of which is calculated individually, depending on the milk given by animals, will help prevent this.

It is worth noting that in addition to the diet, great attention should be paid to the water balance, since milk production largely depends on it. Therefore, do not forget to take the wards to a watering hole. And provide them with fresh drink in the barn.

It is also very important to provide a woman in labor with a sufficient amount of fresh drink, since milk production is highly dependent on compliance with the water balance. If the calving took place in the summer, then a few days after it, the animals are allowed to give green top dressing, rich in vitamins and minerals. It is recommended to place a s alt lick in one of the corners.

Cooking food at home

This question interests many farmers. If you are a cattle breeder, then it is not at all necessary to buy compound feed, since you can cook it yourself. It is not difficult to make and you do not have to look for any special ingredients. Everything, thatrequired is to mix some components in certain proportions.

So, how to make cow food at home? Here is one of the best recipes for high nutritional and high energy food:

• corn - 16%;
• oats - 25%;
• wheat bran - 15%;
• makuha - 20%;
• bone meal - 5%;
• feed yeast - 5%;
• sugar - 10%;
• s alt - 1%;
• premix - 2%.

This combination feed contains sufficient amounts of all vitamins, minerals and nutrients necessary for high productivity of cattle. By introducing it into the diet of animals, you can achieve high milk yields and good weight gain.

A few words about feeding regimen

This question should be read first. Feeding cattle according to the correct schedule is very important. From this, to no lesser extent than from the optimally formulated diet, the speed of gaining muscle mass depends. As has been repeatedly said above, each meal should occur at the same time. In this case, you should focus on the appetite of an individual animal. Constantly watch to see if food remains. And if necessary, increase or decrease the portion size. It is necessary that the cow was full, but at the same time did not overeat.

Any food restrictions are used only in relation to thoroughbred animals. In this case, it is recommended to replace high-calorie compound feeds with dietary, but nutritious food. This is indeedalso applies to pregnant animals, especially those who are only a few weeks away from calving.

Conclusion

So the article on the proper feeding of cattle has come to an end. It described in detail all the nuances that should be considered when compiling a diet for cows, taking into account the specific purposes of their breeding, seasonal factors and other nuances. If you follow all the tips and recommendations, you can achieve high productivity from your livestock. And not only recoup the invested financial resources, but also earn decently. At the same time, all your efforts will not be in vain, and you will get great pleasure from your work.