Transition Dry Cow Management

Transcription

1 Transition Dry Cow Management

2 The Transition Cow 3 weeks before to 3 weeks after calving What do you want? Calve down - with no assistance Produce a healthy calf heifer of course! Produce lots of milk Stay healthy no nasty (costly) diseases Start cycling again and get back in calf So not much then..

3 Production So what happens when things go wrong? Less milk Less milk Increased culling protein Shorter Problems lifetimes with Less milk dry cow per lifetime Less return management on replacements Fertility Delays cycling Weak bulling signs Cysts Poor conception rates Calf Stillbirth Disease Disease Milk fever Hung cleansings Displaced abomasum Ketosis Mastitis

4 What are our aims for transitional cow management? Get the cow ready for the coming lactation Maintain a positive energy balance Good immune function of the cow Prevent disease (milk fever, LDAs )

5 Dry cow management The dry period is an opportunity for the cow to recuperate and restore resources Dry period 2 months Far-off dry period Close-up dry period 2 1 month pre-calving 3-4 weeks prior to calving recuperate after lactation get cows in correct condition score Provide cows with best nutrition and environment The only change from dry period lactation is that the cows start producing milk

6 Far-off dry cow management Target score for a dairy cow at calving is Fat dry cows: Eat less after calving Suffer more metabolic disease Are harder to get back in calf Thin cows are also a problem: Poor lactation yields Health and reproductive problems

7 Body condition score Simple and cheap Score 1-5 Assesses body reserves Must be done on a regular basis

8 What to do about fat dry cows Controlled slimming Straw-based diet reduce quality Require rumen degradable protein ONLY slim during far-off dry period Prevention better than cure Look at concentrate feeding in late lactation Early dry period especially at grass

9 Dry cow management ( Close-up ) Last 3-4 weeks of pregnancy Effectively the first month of lactation Only the best will do Nutrition Environment Management

10 So what do we mean by only the best will do?

11 Dry cow management ( Close-up ) What is happening during the transition period? Calving Energy needs Feed Intake Problem.. Dry period 30 days Lactation

12 Maximise feed intakes during the transition period Target Dry Matter intake kg per day Feed high quality forages good long fibre Same forages as the cows will get in early lactation Fresh ration fed every day 24 hour unrestricted access to food Minimise any changes at calving

13 Dry matter intake 21 days after calving (% of bodyweight) Why dry matter intakes are important Relationship between DM intake before and 3 weeks after calving (r) = Dry matter intake one day prior to calving (% of bodyweight) P < From: Grummer, R. Journal of Animal Science, 1995, Vol. 73, pp Data combined from 5 studies, 75 cows in total

14 Transition cow management Introduce some quality concentrates 3-4 weeks before calving: Increase energy density of diet Acclimatisation of rumen bugs to concentrates Increases surface area of rumen lining better ability of cow to handle milking cow ration Adequate supply of protein Rumen degradable protein (ERDP) Bypass protein (DUP) Sufficient dry cow minerals (magnesium)

15 High straw dry cow rations Currently being heavily promoted Proposed advantages for: Energy metabolism DCAB for milk fever control Requirements: Diet fed throughout dry period Straw must be chopped Fed as TMR Diet 9 MJ of ME/kg DM and 13% CP

16 Don t forget about the calving boxes

17 The fresh calved cow Maximise Dry Matter intakes Fresh food available at all times Enough trough space Minimise body condition loss Keep the rumen healthy Good quantities of long fibre in ration Avoid overfeeding concentrates Excellent cow comfort Regular monitoring Are things working?

18 Dry Cow Management How do you know its working well? Do you when its not? How? Poor milk yields More disease Poor fertility How long does that take? Weeks? Months? Don t wait until its too late ASK THE COWS Blood sample to find out..

19 Dairy Herd Health and Productivity Service Metabolic profile blood sampling Ask the cows what they think of the diet Energy Protein Minerals Trace elements

20 DHHPS Blood Test results summary Over ½ of the dry cows sampled in the 10 days prior to calving are in poor energy balance Over 1 / 5 of dry cows have low urean results, indicating poor rumen function 10% of cows have low magnesium results, predisposing them to milk fever Trace element problems are rare less then 2% of cows have low selenium results

21 Production More milk Better milk quality So what happens when things go right? Healthier cows Longer lives More milk per lifetime Better fertility Start cycling quicker Strong bulling signs Good conception rates Calf Healthy Strong No/less disease Milk fever Hung cleansings Displaced abomasum Ketosis Mastitis

22 Diet is not all.. All published research work shows that different dry cow systems can work well DHHPS experience of transitional dry cow monitoring backs this up.. Why can some diets work well on some farms, and be a disaster on others?

23 Management during the dry period The critical issue is management whatever system is used Best environment Good cow comfort Clean, dry lying areas Reduce over-crowding Best management Low-stress Reduce movements of cows between groups Best nutrition Ration provided fresh, daily Good water access

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27 Monitoring of dry period nutrition Dry Matter intakes Early lactation milk production Body condition change Incidence of transition cow disease milk fever, LDAs, hung cleansings Subsequent fertility. How long until these are identified? Ask the cows with a metabolic profile