Feeding and Care of Young Dairy Replacements. Alex Bach

Transcription

1 Feeding and Care of Young Dairy Replacements Alex Bach

2

3 Introduction Milk production by cow has doubled in the last 20 years Milk production per capita is 14% lower now than in 1960 About 20% of the new products of the dairy industry fail

4 Introduction 60 53,1 45 % ,8 0 8,7 7,6 5 4,9 3,9 Feed Replacement Labor Fixed costs Maintenance Misc. Energy

5 Introduction The most common objective is to have a first-calf heifer at about months weighing about 650 kg before calving and be cm tall at the withers. However, the mean AFC in the US is about 27 months (Hare et al., 2006), and in Europe ranges between 25 and 29 months depending on the country (Berry and Cromie, 2009).

6 Data Dairy producers are used to take management decisions based on objective data (i.e. milk yield, feed consumption, milk composition, etc...) When it comes to heifer rearing, though, management is conducted by feeling

7 Economic Aspects Reducing AFC (w/o compromising BW at calving) implies: 1) the number of animals needed 2) the number of days on feed Number of cows x replacement rate / ((1-mortality) x (1-heifer culling rate)) x 2x(Age first calving/24) 100 x.30 / ((1-.03)x(1-.01)) x 2x(24/24) = 63 -> 27,000 /y 100 x.30 / ((1-.03)x(1-.01)) x 2x(28/24) = 73 -> 37,000 /y 100 x.30 / ((1-.03)x(1-.01)) x 2x(22/24) = 57 -> 23,000 /y

8 Economic Aspects For every additional kg of BW at calving, on average, an increase of 14.5 kg of milk could be expected in the first lactation (70 kg are equivalent to 1,000 kg of milk) Bach and Ahedo, 2008

9 Economic Aspects Conventional 4 l/d 1538 : ADG of 0.5 kg/d Enhanced 8 l/d 1509 : ADG of 1 kg/d Optimum 6 l/d 1496 : ADG of 0.8 kg/d Economics need to be balanced with biology and consider the entire growing phase

10 Economic Aspects 2,500 2, Age, d

11 Setting the stage The metabolic status of mammals during the first weeks of life seems to have long-lasting consequences McCance, 1962

12 Setting the stage Rate of growth of young calves is correlated with future milk production. Bach and Ahedo, 2008

13 Nutrition Supplying 4 L of MR per dose (8 L/d) increases blood glucose and the amount of insulin needed to maintain glycemia (insulin resistance) Bach et al., 2013 (JDS)

14 Nutrition The most common recommendation for feeding calves is to offer just starter and no forage before weaning (Quigley, 1996; Davis and Drackley, 1998, NRC, 2001). Recent evidence (Castells et al., 2012) indicates that offering chopped forages (2 cm) may increase total intake. g/d Starter Forage Total Control Alfalfa Oats straw

15 Nutrition Pellet Pellet+Alfalfa hay Pellet+ Oats straw 6,25 P=0.08 0,4 P= P<0.05 5,6 5,59 0,3 0,36 0, ,95 5,1 5,2 0, , ,65 0,1 0, Rumen ph 0 MCT-1 mrna expression 0 Papillae length, µm Castells et al (JDS)

16 Nutrition Ground Unground 10 wk Unground Unground Ground Unground Beharka et al. (JDS, 1998)

17 Nutrition Mature Cows Steele et al. (AJP Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol., 2011)

18 Health

19 Health Aspects Immune status of the animal (colostrum) Vaccination program Medication Management

20 Health Aspects

21 Health Aspects

22 Health Aspects BRD No BRD 47, ,2 kg 36, ,9 25,5 20 BW gain 6 wk after grouping Stanton et al., 2010

23 Health Aspects 900 Accumulated DIM Number BRD Bach, 2011

24 Health Aspects Can we use records to cope with BRD?

25 Health Aspects Ratio Previous case - No previous case Cases/hutch Calves affected, % Time to 1st case, d Bach et al., 2011

26 Transitioning for success After weaning calves are fed in many different ways...

27 Transitioning for success

28 Feeding behavior 110,875 P < P = , ,5 102,25 103,2 99,375 96,5 Miller-Cushon et al. (2014)

29 Transitioning for success Cushon-Miller et al. (2013) Previous exposure to a ration affects sorting behavior of calves after weaning.

30 Transitioning for success Sejrsen et al. (1982) involving 10 heifers and 2 levels of nutrition during the prepubertal period reported that heifers that grew at 1.3 kg/d had lower secretory cells than those that grew at 0.65 kg/d. Stelwagen and Grieve (1990) evaluated 3 planes of nutrition and ADG on mammary development on 46 heifers and reported no changes in parenchymal DNA (although differences in mammary fat deposition were reported). Meyer et al. (2006a) have demonstrated that the rate of parenchymal DNA accretion depends mainly on the age of the animal and is not affected by the plane of nutrition.

31 Transitioning for success R 2 = 0.03, P < 0.001, n=702

32 Growing Avoid hypo-vitaminosis A CTR Low Vit A 5,00 4,00 7% Intramuscular fat, % 3,00 2,00 1,00 0,00 Martí et al., 2010

33 Pregnant Growing at high rates after breeding is negatively correlated with future milk production Yield = x BWc x ADGafter breeding R 2 = 0.03, P < 0.05, n=743

34 Management Aspects Odds ratio of finishing 1st lactation (vs 1 AI) 0,8 0,75 0,6 0,67 0,65 0,4 0,48 0, >4 Number of AI/conception Bach, 2011

35 Take Home Messages Recommended growth and age targets for heifers are not commonly attained in practice, mainly due to a lack or insufficient information available to the producer to make appropriate management, reproductive, and nutritional on-farm decisions. Important savings can be achieved with adequate AFC

36 Take Home Messages GOALS Set goals based on expected return (not based on what it has been done until now) Mortality < 1% BRD < 15% BW at weaning > 85 kg (56 d of age) BW at 250 d: 315 kg Breed at 400 d with about 400 kg Calve at 23 months weighing 650 kg

37 Take Home Messages Ensure rapid growths early in life BRD incidence may compromise overall productive life of dairy cows Monitoring health aspects is crucial Group animals based on their BRD history Do not be afraid of rapid growth during pre-pubertal period Grow moderately after breeding