Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

• Feed for Dairy Calves
• Common Feed for Calves
• Colostrum
• Remove calf from cow immediately
• Try to get 2 quarts on colostrum in within 30 min to 1 hr
• Milk replacer
• Various programs
• 20/20
• Accelerated growth
• Antibiotics usually included

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

• Calf Starters
• Usually 16-20% CP
• Must be extremely palatable
• Antibiotic is recommended to help w/ respiratory and scour problems
• Encourage starter intake ASAP
• Wean when they eat 3 lbs/d for 3 consecutive days
• Calves with growth faster and more efficiently on dry feed
• Do not feed hay

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

• Heifers 4-12 mos of Age
• Need to supplement grain to help meet energy needs
• Rumen capacity isn’t sufficient to get all needs from forages alone
• Include an ionophore for improved rate of gain & feed efficiency
• DO NOT let them get over conditioned
• Decreases reproductive performance
• Decreases milk production capability

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

• Heifers 12 mos to calving
• Forage should be able to support their nutritional requirements
• Supplement enough grain to include min/vit and ionophores
• Target breeding weight is 800 lbs
• 550 for Jerseys
• Heifers must gain 1.75lbs/d to reach target wt by 15 mos
• Breed by weight
• Goal should be to have average first calving <24 mos
• Avoid over conditioning
• Some producers include straw or other high fiber components to slow down growth

Unit 9: Dairy Cattle Feeding

• Mix with dry cow 60d prior to calving
• Minimum of 21d in a pre-fresh group
• Keep DMI and energy levels up
• Adjust to higher grain content and better quality forages