Post on 24-Mar-2018
Cow Comfort
Mr. Fokko H. TolsmaDairy Management Consultant – CRV
October 22, 2010
Avari Hotel Lahore
Housing
g Shed direction
g Airflow
g Stall type
g Flooringg Flooring
g Facilitate Water intake
g Facilitate Feed intake
g Cooling equipment
Total surface of the animalHeat production and humidity
Surface, heat production and humidity
Animal Weight Milkproduction/day Surface of Heat ProductionAnimal Weight Milkproduction/day Surface of Heat Production
the body production gr H2O hour
Calf 45 500 grammes/day 0,92 110 40 - 100
Cow 500 10 kg day 5,67 800 250-700
Cow 500 30 kg day 5,67 1150 300-750
Good ventilation important
g Optimum barn temperature 10ºC
g Temperature inside and outside must be nearly the same (max 5ºC) ---> (no draft !!)
g For removal of harmful gasesg For removal of harmful gases
4 carbon dioxide and ammonia
4 cow exhales 12 ltr water vapour
g Air inlet
4 should be at least 150% of size of
air outlet opening
g Air outlet
Cow comfort important Imitating the movements in the meadow is important
g Stature of the cow Box measure
g Dutch cow till now 1,10 - 115 cm wide
(680 kg) (norm 1999)
1.22 cm (norm 2006)
g 140 - 150 cm ( 740 kg) 1,19 - 1,27 cm wide
g > 150 cm > 127 cm
Sleeping comfort important
g Cow is laying down 14 hrs/day
g Cow goes 9 till 11 times into box
g Ruminating 5 - 9 hours
g When cow is laying down > bloodstream
g Laying down 1 hour extra ------> 1 kg more milk Laying down 1 hour extra ------> 1 kg more milk
g Experience in Holland
g Good cow comfort: cow lays down 14 - 15 hrs
g Bad cow comfort “ “ 8 - 10 hrs
Length of the box Welfare norm
Length of box 2.75 m Knee beam till back beam : 1.96 m
Length Neckbeam till backside(back beam) 2.15 cm
g Norm Mr Wandel Germany:
g sRL x 1,11= ……+ 20 (headhole) + 75 + 10( back beam)
cm = ……….. cm
g How cow stands up:
g 1. Head of the cow goes in front in combination with knees
g 2. Behind legs goes up
g 3. Fore legs goes up
4 Cow start first with behind legs --> measure not good
Filling of a box
g 15-20 cm sand or sawdust in box: important
g cow lays down 13 - 14 hrs/day
g < 10 cm sand or sawdust 12 hrs /day
g Cow mattresses 13 - 14 hrs/day
Comfortable bedding important
g Boxes need soft, dry and hygienic bedding material4Chopped straw
4Saw dusth 0,5 - 1 kg
per cow dailyper cow daily
4Rubber matsh lifetime 10 years
4Bedding mattressesh Shredded rubber, 75 €
h Water 120 €
4Sandh about 3 kg/day
Stable with comfort
g More intake of dm ---> 1.5 - 3 KG MILK EXTRA
g Reducing of costs ----> 175 Euro/cow/year
Manure
EU rules Maximum urea in 2010 : 20
. Storage of manure !!
g Planning the manure disposal !!
4with strawh 10 kg straw/cow/day10 kg straw/cow/day
h cow alley behind feeding rack
– storage for manure
4with boxesh mechanical scraping system
– hoof problems /dirty
h slatted floors (interspaced 3 or 4 cm)
h concrete slip resistant top surface
Quality of floor
g Concrete : normal
g Soft floor better : step longer (80 cm)
g Rubber : + 1.5 kg dm intake
g Dry floor
Cooling
g Airflow & Shade
g Sprinklers and fans
g Misting and fans
g Controlled Environment Shedsg Controlled Environment Sheds
Fans and Sprinklers
g Fans placed in the barn (wind position?)
g Sprinklers right above the feeding table
g Soaking the herd 4 to 6 times per hour
g Constant fans
Feeding & Water
The basis for good milk production
Not for a maximum production but an optimal
production
Two groups of dry cows important
g DRY COW PERIOD IMPORTANT
g How long dry period?
4 group often forgotten
4 preparatory period for the next lactation
More milk with two groups g More milk with two groups ( old study of 1064 Dutch farmers)
One group Two groups
53% 47% (more concentrate)
+ 400 kg/milk next lactation
Fat + protein same
Feeding ration dry period (period 1)
Ration from Dairy Practical Training
Centre in Oenkerk, The Netherlands
F e e d K g K g D M F U M G d c p G c p C a P M g N a K
G r a s s s i l a g e 2 0 8 6 4 8 0 7 2 0 1 2 0 0 4 0 3 2 1 8 . 4 2 0 2 0 0
B a r l e y s t r a w 3 . 5 3 1 5 6 0 3 0 1 2 0 6 3 3 . 6 4 . 5 3 6
T o t a l e i n t a k e 1 1 8 0 4 0 7 5 0 1 3 2 0 4 6 3 5 2 2 2 4 . 5 2 3 6T o t a l e i n t a k e 1 1 8 0 4 0 7 5 0 1 3 2 0 4 6 3 5 2 2 2 4 . 5 2 3 6
R e q u i r e m e n t 8 0 0 0 8 0 0 1 3 2 0 3 5 3 0 2 5 1 0 3 5
A n a l y s e s o f r o u g h a g e
% D M F U M G d c p G c p S u g a r C a P M g N a K
G r a s s s i l a g e 4 0 8 1 0 9 0 1 5 0 6 0 5 4 2 . 3 2 . 5 2 5
B a r l e y s t r a w 8 5 5 2 0 1 0 4 0 2 1 1 . 2 1 . 5 1 2
Close-up Period g Close-up period important
4 2 - 3 weeks before calving
4 Negative energy balance mostly causes problems
h --> 15.8 kg
h --> 13.6 kg
14 kg dm intake
h --> 11.3 kg
h --> 9.0 kg
h --> 6,8 kg 7.0 kg dm intake
4 First milk yield increases energy demand
7 kg dm intake
15 20
Feeding method dry period
g Don’t keep close-up cows with the milking herd
g Too much protein or energy --> often mastitis!h Staphyloccus Aureus
g Feed well,1/3 part of roughage of the feed for fresh cows
4 3 weeks before calving 1 kg concentrates
4 2 weeks “ “ 2 “
4 1 week “ “ 3 “ ( 14 % crude protein)
4 Feed concentrate with degradable grain starch to produce
propionic acid --> develop rumen papilla
Feeding Period 1 g Most critical
period
g Fresh cows-->
4 no appetite
g Need Max
Dry Matter IntakeDry Matter Intake
4 Excellent roughage always first period
g First 2 -3 months after calving most critical period
4 Highest milk yield
4 Negative energy balance --> loss of body weight
4 Fresh cows a lot of metabolic problems
Feeding Period 1
g First 3 weeks after calving
g - More structure
g - Same feed like in close-up periodg - Same feed like in close-up period
g - Increase slowly concentrate
Good feeding method the basis
g High genetic potential cows -> need good nutrition
g Dry matter: Daily intake for a high producing cow is 4% of their live weighttheir live weight
g Cow 700 kg 4x7= 28kg dm
g Dm roughage: 1,8 - 2,5 kg dm per 100 kg live weight
Ration high producing cows 34 kg-milk Tanaail
g Maize silage 30,00 kg , 9,0 kg dm
g Hay alfa alfa 4,00 kg , 3,4 kg dm
g Soya cake 2,4 kg , 2,1 kg dm
g Barley 3,06 kg , 2,6 kg dm
g Maize 6,00 kg , 5,2 kg dm
g Salt 0,06 kg , 0,05 kg dm
g Calcium 0,12 kg , 0,11 kg dm
g Bicarbonate 0,048 kg , 0,043 kg dm
g Total 23,00 kg dm
Minerals and Vitamins
4 Minerals (50 - 100 gr/day)
4 Macro minerals
4 - Strengthening skeleton
4 - Need for vital functions
wSodium(Na),Chlorine(Cl),Cal
cium(Ca),Phosporus(P),Pota
ssium(K),Magnesium(Mg)
4 Vitamins
4 Vitamins in small amounts are essential for overall
health, maintenance of the body,structures,milkprod,
growth and reproduction
wVit A and D cannot be made
by the cow herself
januari 2001 10
and Sulfer(S)
4 Micro minerals
4 - Essential for cow’s health
w Iron(Fe),Copper(Cu), Cobalt
(Co),Manganese(Mn), Zinc
(Zn),Iodine(I), Molybdenum
(Mo) and Selenium(Se)
by the cow herself
4 Fat-soluble (A,D,E,K)
w for optimal functioning of
specific structures
4 Water-soluble (B,C)
wactivators of enzymes at a
biochemical level
Micro element Selenium
Needs of SE (mg/kg dm/day)
0.20
mg SE 0.18
kg/dm/day
0.160.16
0.14
0.12
0.10
dry period high prod low prod
Over conditioning cows gives a lot of problems (cow 145)
Displaced abomasum
g Cow loses too much body condition ( loses two points in 100 days)
g Retained placenta
g Fertility problems
4 Late ovulation
4 Cystic Ovariesg Fatty liver --> less heat activity --> 14 days later --> 1e heat 68 days
g Depressed production
4 Milk production will peak earlier
Foot Care ManagementMetabolic Disease
g Laminitis (40%)
g A disorder that occurs around calving4 - a bruckled toe
4 - growth rings
4 - fluid or blood in the horn
4 - defects in the white line- defects in the white line
4 - double sole
4 -weak hooves --> weight bearing problems
g Treatment4 Trim claw 3 times a year
4 If necessary, fix a block under healthy claw
4 STRAW / RUBBER FLOOR
g Important:
g Enough intake of energy after calving
g No fat cow
g Not too much concentrate
g Good roughage before calving
Provision of water
g Water provider per 30 - 40 cowsh Dry cows 30 - 60 lt/day
h Cow 10 kg milk 30 - 70 lt/day
h Cow 30 kg milk 90 - 150 lt/day
h Cow 50 kg milk 100-200 lt day
h Calves < 1 year 5 - 15 lt/day
h Calves 1 - 2 year 15- 25 lt/dayCalves 1 - 2 year 15- 25 lt/day
h Bull for meat 20- 60 lt/day
h Sheep/goats 1,5 - 6 lt/day
4 Dry cows --> individual water supply possible
4 Temp: 7 – 15°C (temp 30 – 33°C increase intake with 3.4 – 6%)
Health Assesment
g Healthy animals give an optimal milk yield
g Prevention: detect sickness at an early stage
g Foot and udder infections can lead to a 20% lower milk yield
g Animal behaviour--> relation human - animal important
g Stress by cows can lead to 38% lower milk yields
Health Assesment (normal situation at the farm)
g Disease Norm your farm?
g Milkfever < 10% ?
g Retained placenta < 5% ?
g Abortion < 5% ?
g Clinical Mastitis < 20% ?
g Cellcount milk in tank < 200.000 c/ml ?
g Lameness < 15% ?
g Dying calves < 5% ?
g Scour calves < 10% ?
Check the health status of your herd (1)
g Frequent, close checks for Health status
4 Make it a habit to check your herd on a daily basis
g One of members the management team is responsible
g Watch the herd
4 Compare the cows in the herd
4 Compare the different groups
4 Watch during milking
Check the health status of your herd (2)
g How to watch the herd?
g - Are the cows spread over the
whole place?
g - Are the cows using the walking roads and boxes?
g - Too much cows at one place?
g - Cows need to stop?
g - Conflicts?
g - Does everything goes uniformly?
The individual check
g Take a cow out when she behaves differently
4Tie her up
g Let the cow rest before beginning the inspectiong Let the cow rest before beginning the inspection
4 the heart-beat needs to be normal
4 the breathing level needs to be normal
Five steps
g 1. General impression of the cow
g 2. Check the respiration system
g 3. Check the heart-beat
g 4. Check the temperature
g 5. Keep an eye on the cow during the following days
General Impression of the animal (1)
g Activity Alert?
4Attention to her surroundings?
4 Ears active?
4 Ruminating?Ruminating?
g Body condition and rumen filling
4Look behind the cow for the full rumen (left side)
4Look for the consistence of the manure of the cow
Condition of the cow
4Condition scoreh Stage of the cow
h How many days in production?
4Fill rumen4Fill rumenh Intake
General Impression of the animal (2)
g Hair
4A healthy cow looks fine and shiny
4A sick cow has long and rough hair
g Abnormalities
4The feet
4Locomotion score
4Udder
4Mucous membranes
Respiratory System
g Healthy cow breathes easily
4 exhales 10 - 30 times per minute
4 a calf exhales more (around 30)
g Respiratory disease
4 a cracking sound can be heard on the rib cage above the hearth
4 Breath that smells strongly of acetone indicates ketosis
Heart function and heartbeat
g Heart function is important
41 kg milk requires 400 litres of blood
g Heart rate
4 normal rate: 60 - 80 beats a minutenormal rate: 60 - 80 beats a minute
4 higher than 80 --> infection, heart loses its capacity
4Afflicted valves--> unable to process the bloodstream--> heart oedema --> culling cow
h The heart can be found behind the left elbow
4 Feel and count the heart-beat by using the arteriesh artery of the tail
Body temperature
g Body temperature healthy cow between 38 - 39ºC
4Cow in heat 1/2 ºC higher
g Cow with fever several parts will feel cold, Cow with fever several parts will feel cold,
4Ears
4Tail
4Teats
4Cow feels cold --> drop body temperature--> ketosis
Milk productionand follow-up
g If no problems are detected, control the cow in the following days
g Milk production normally decreases 50 - 120 g Milk production normally decreases 50 - 120 gr./day
g If you don’t trust the situation --> call your veterinarian
What kind of manager are you?
4Cow manager?h Feels how to work with cows
h Knows what is welfare for a cow
4Managers who like computer or techniqueh They often forget the signs of a cow
4Managers who like to reduce the cost?4Managers who like to reduce the cost?h Forget to invest
4Managers of a production unit?h Like industrial farming system
h Planning by paper
h Work with groups, no time for a individual cow