Dry period in cows: feeding, features, duration and standards

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

Feeding cows during the dry period is an important part of animal care. However, many novice farmers neglect this rule and continue to feed the cow in the same way as during lactation. As a result, the animal receives various diseases, and its productivity does not increase. In our article, we will talk not only about the rules for compiling a diet, but also about other features of dead wood that any self-respecting farmer should know about.

Definition and wording

If you didn't know, the dry period in cows is all the days after lactation until the next calving. At this time, the animal must restore the strength that it spent on childbirth and feeding the calf. The duration of the dry period may vary slightly among cows of different breeds. As a rule, the recovery process takes from 45 to 70 days. During thisperiod, it will be necessary to draw up a special diet, which would consist only of high-quality feed. This is done in order to avoid a decrease in milk productivity and the quality of milk produced. Proper care is also important, because without it, the animal can simply get sick and stop producing milk. We will talk about all this in more detail in the following sections.

Why is it important to feed a cow properly?

Properly formulated diet for a cow in the dry period is of great importance, but not all farmers fully understand why. The thing is that pregnancy intensifies the metabolic processes in the body of the animal, resulting in an increased consumption of nutrients throughout pregnancy and two months after lactation. That is why it is so important to maintain the weight of the cow through proper feeding.

To prevent possible problems, it is necessary to stop the calf from milking as soon as it gets a little stronger. The start of milking and changes in diet will allow the cow to accumulate nutrients in order to gain body weight. Well, so that the calf does not simply die of hunger, it must be fed with colostrum in the first days of life. By the way, if an animal manages to gain 50 kilograms during lactation, this will increase milk yield by about 300 liters.

Requirement for diet

Feeding a cow during start-up and dry periods is very important, so diet selection should be approached withmind.

Such actions should help the breeder in the following:

• increase cow weight and future milk yields;
• improve the condition of the endocrine, cardiovascular and digestive systems;
• minimize the risk of various complications after calving;
• get he althy offspring in the future.

Most of the diet should consist of protein (110 grams per feed unit). Phosphorus and calcium are also essential elements, since these substances are almost always lacking in the animal body. Also, these minerals prevent the deformation of the cow's bones and the likelihood of miscarriage. It is highly recommended to reduce the amount of fats and carbohydrates in the feed, as they have a negative effect on the recovery of the body.

Feed rate criteria

Now you know the meaning of the dry period, but to get the most out of this knowledge, you need to put it into practice correctly. For example, it is necessary to correctly calculate the feed rate of an animal, using criteria that have been proven over the years:

• feed unit is calculated for every 100 grams of the total weight;
• fatness is increased by increasing the norm by 1 feed unit;
• annual milk yield increases by increasing 1 unit per 1 ton of milk.

That is, the average daily feed rate should be from 2.1 to 2.4 kilograms for every 100kilogram of live weight of a cow. However, dry food has a much lower content of feed units - from 0.8 to 1 kilogram of feed. For cows with high milk characteristics, this figure is about 0.95 units.

The right diet for deadwood

I would also like to note one feature of cow nutrition, which can be of great importance for some breeds of animals: the diet can be single or divided into two parts. Biphasic feeding reduces the load on metabolism and increases the intake of dry feed, which will give the cows much more strength after calving. Also, with such feeding, not only an increase in fatness is observed, but also an improvement in the quality of milk for the next lactation period. As for the nutrition of pregnant animals, it can be two or three times a day, depending on the individual preferences of the farmer. However, do not forget to follow the general feeding norm while doing this.

First feeding period (60 days before calving)

During this period there is a stoppage of milking, which is also called a start-up, since most cows with low productivity stop producing milk on their own. All succulent foods should be excluded from the diet, as they contribute most to milk production. Particular attention should be paid to root crops and silage - their use is under the strictest ban! The basis of nutrition is hay and various concentrates containing nutrients.

Also at this time, most professional farmers begin to use various medicines to prevent the development of various diseases. However, only an experienced veterinarian can prescribe them, since even a small overdose can lead to side effects. It is also highly recommended to add some grass flour to the feed in order to provide the animal body with carotene.

Second feeding period (calving day)

Before calving, it is necessary to begin to gradually transfer the animal to a new diet, which is dominated by feed designed to increase milk yield. The number of concentrates must be slowly and steadily increased to 3 kilograms per day. Also, at least 13 kilograms of dry matter should be present in the daily diet.

After calving, the amount of compound feed is reduced to 500 grams, and all the difference is replaced by hay. In the last decade of dry wood, it is necessary to start reducing the amount of hay and increasing the daily amount of feed up to 3-4 kilograms. After that, you can transfer the cow to a normal diet.

Prohibited deadwood food

As mentioned earlier, the animal should be fed a high quality feed that is free of any signs of rot or mold. Also, do not give dry animals leftovers from dairy cows. Frozen foods must first be warmed up a little in a warm room, and only then put on food. In no case should the diet contain brewer's grain, bard,cotton meal and cake, potato pulp - all this can provoke an abortion or adversely affect the development of the fetus.

Also, professionals recommend eliminating s alt and sodium bicarbonate from the diet. Alfalfa, sugar beet greens and clover can lead to excess calcium in the body, so their use should also be avoided. All these actions are carried out in order to prevent birth cuts and postpartum edema, so their observance is fundamentally important.

Tips for caring for a dead cow

Now you know all about how long a cow's dry period lasts. However, in order for the cow to return all her strength at this time, it is also necessary to adhere to optimal conditions of detention. Such actions are aimed mostly at prevention, but professionals strongly recommend following them.

Just stick to the following rules:

• keep your pet calm, as being under constant stress can provoke various complications;
• create free access to clean water and provide two daily feedings with all the necessary feeds;
• monitor the hygiene of the animal with periodic exposure to ultraviolet lamps;
• keep your room at an optimal temperature with a variety of heat sources.

Remember that the correct maintenance of the animal allows several times to reduce the risk of developing various diseases during the dry period. However, if any complications occur, contact your veterinarian immediately.

In closing

As you can see, there is nothing difficult in feeding a cow during the dry period, but in order for the animal to regain strength after childbirth, it is necessary to create a balanced diet. If any of the sections of the article seemed incomprehensible to you or you still have some questions, we strongly recommend that you watch a short video in which the hostess talks about the rules for feeding a cow during the launch.

We hope that now you have answered all your questions and are ready to start caring and feeding the animal. Be sure that if you follow all the above rules and recommendations, the animal will give birth to a he althy calf and restore strength in a fairly short period of time.