1. Ration supply
Bred cows aged from 7 to 12 months are at the fastest growing stage. At this time, each cow can be fed 2-2.5 kg of concentrate feed, 10-15 kg of silage and 2-2.5 kg of hay every day. Attention should be paid to avoid overfeeding and overnutrition, which leads to overweight. Bred cows should weigh 400-420 kg. In this stage, each cow should be fed 3-3.5 kg of concentrate feed, 15-20 kg of silage and 2.5-3.0 kg of hay per day. At the age of 7 months, with the growth and development of bred cows, the rumen volume gradually increases, and many digestive diets contain crude fiber, that is to say, nutrient intake of crude feed is becoming more and more important.
At the age of 8-9 months, half of the dry matter needed to be obtained by feeding hay, and the quality and feeding amount of concentrate used at this time were mainly determined by the quality of roughage. This is because the composition and quality of concentrate need to be mixed with nutrients contained in the roughage, so it is necessary to carry out relevant analysis and determination of the roughage to ensure the proper combination of the two.
After 10-12 months of age, bred cows can feed high-quality silage, usually 5 kg of silage per 100 kg of body weight. If cows are allowed to eat corn silage freely, it may lead to overweight. For bred cows over 12 months of age, it is necessary to control the feeding amount of high-energy silage to prevent over fattening. Usually, the feeding amount of silage grass is enough for cows to digest in 10-12 hours.
It is necessary to fix the feeding time to promote the formation of well-conditioned reflex, stimulate the secretion of digestive juice, and enhance the digestion of feed and the absorption of nutrients. Bred cows were fed three times a day at 5 a.m., 12 noon and 7 p.m. respectively. Feeding should be fed less frequently each time, first roughage and then concentrate, and then drinking water after 30 minutes of feeding.
2. Daily management
Group management.
Groups of bred cows should be divided according to their age and actual weight, to facilitate staff feeding and management, while providing enough fresh feed and clean drinking water.
Keep a weather eye out.
Observe the fatness of bred cows regularly to prevent overweight. Otherwise, it will affect the development of the skeleton, mammary breast, and reproductive organs. For dairy cows over the age of 9 months, we should pay close attention to the first estrus and record it in detail.
Strengthen exercise.
Bred cows insist on outdoor sports, which can ensure appetite, developed heart and lung, strong body and broad chest. If the cow lacks exercise and feeds too much concentrate, it is easy to lead to overweight, thicker body fat, shorter body, short stature, premature aging, shorter utilization period and lower milk production.
Breast massage.
When bred cows reach the age of 7-18 months, they should be massaged breasts once a day for 5-l0 minutes each time, which can promote the rapid development of mammary glands and increase milk production. Also, massage on the breasts of bred cows can make them adapt to milking operation as soon as possible and prevent rejection of milking after calving. It is reported that the milk yield of the bred cows can be increased by 13.3% by massaging their breasts once a day at the age of 6-18 months and twice a day after the age of 18 months, and scrubbing their breasts with a towel soaked in hot water every time, which can make milk yield increased by 13.3%.
Brush and train.
Bred cows should be brushed once or twice a day for 5 to 10 minutes each time, which can keep the body clean, accelerate skin metabolism, and cultivate a gentle character. Also, the bred cows need to be tie-down training and slot recognized, which is beneficial to the management of adult cows. Moreover, attention should be paid to regularly check and trim the hoofs of bred cows.
Weigh regularly.
Bred cows should be regularly measured and weighed monthly so that farmers can check and understand their growth and development, and accordingly adjust the dietary structure in time to ensure good health. If abnormal conditions are found, the causes should be identified immediately and effective measures should be taken to adjust them.
3. Timely mating
Bred cows need to be determined by the appropriate breeding age according to their development. Early mating will affect its normal growth and development, resulting in a decrease in lifetime lactation and significantly shortening the use of life; late mating will lead to increased feeding costs while shortening the use of life. Initial mating usually takes place before bred cows are mated at the age of 16-18 months. However, with the improvement of management level and feeding conditions, the body weight of adults can reach 70% of the adult body weight at the age of 13-14 months, that is to say, mating can be carried out at this time. The advance of mating can greatly increase the final milk production of dairy cows, thus significantly increasing the economic benefits.
4. Feeding during pregnancy
At the early stage of the pregnancy, cows can be fed according to the incubation period. If grazing conditions are good, they can feed on supplementary hay freely to meet their needs. If feeding in the shed, 11 kg of hay and 1.5 kg of concentrate are fed every day; if silage is fed, 5.5 kg of hay and l0 kg of silage are supplied.
At the late stage of the pregnancy, that is, 2-3 months before delivery, the nutrient requirement increased significantly. At the same time, because the rumen was oppressed by the uterus, the intake of roughage was reduced, so the proportion of concentrate in the diet should be increased. The proportion of concentrate is less than 1% of the body weight. Besides, 8 kg of silage is fed every day and the grass is fed freely. The feeding standard is to keep the daily gain below 1 kg within 3 months before delivery. Also, this stage should massage the breasts of dairy cows once a day, lasting about 5 minutes each time. Breasts are cleaned with warm water, which stimulates the development of breast, is conducive to the increase of milk production, while gradually adapting to the milking process after milk production. Usually, dairy cows begin massaging their breasts around 5 to 6 months of gestation and continue until half a month before delivery.