ANP509: Dairy Animal Production

Desirable characteristics in dairy animals

The desirable characteristics in dairy animals can be physical as well as production
characteristics which are also referred to as economic characteristics. The physical characteristics
include:
- angular shape
- medium length
- large and bright eyes
- adequately separated limps
- almost straight and robust stature.
- good udder conformation which is be broad. This results in high and longtime milk
production
- should be docile and easy to handle

The economic characteristics are given below:

 Lactation Yield. The totality of milk produced by an animal in a lactation period is known as
lactation yield. This may vary in animals depending on breed, nutrition and environment.
 Lactation Period. The length of milk producing period after calving is known as lactation
period. Breed and nutrition also play a significant role in influencing lactation period. A good
dairy breed must have long lactation period. A standard period of 305 days is lactation the
period because this is the lactation length that can be achieved when a cow calves at a regular
interval of 12 months. However, in the tropics cattle, have on the average, lower milk yield
and shorter lactation length than the temperate. The difference is caused by both genetic and
non-genetic factors.
 Persistency of Milk Yield. During lactation period the animal reaches maximum milk yield
per day within 2-4 weeks after commencement of lactation which is known as peak yield. The
ability of a dairy animal to maintain this peak yield for as long as possible under the same
plane of nutrition is persistency of milk yield and is highly desired.
 Age at First Calving. The age of the animal at first calving is very important for high life
time milk yield. Prolonged age at 1st calving will have high production in the first lactation but
life time production will be decreased due to less or no calving.
 Ease of milking. The animal should be docile and not temperamental so that it is easy to
handle during milking
 Service Period. It is the period between calving and the date of successful conception. The
optimum service period helps the animal to recover from the stress of calving and also to get
the reproductive organs back to normal. The optimum service period for cattle is 60-90 days.
If the service period is too prolonged the calving interval is prolonged and less number of
calving will be obtained in her life time and ultimately less life time milk production. If the
service period is too short, the animal will become weak and persistency of milk production is
poor due to too frequent pregnancy.
 Regularity of breeding. This is because dairy animals will not produce milk if they don’t first
get pregnant and deliver a calf. So the ease with which they get pregnant (i.e. their fertility
 rate) is of primary importance. It is more, profitable to have one calf yearly in cattle and at
least one calf for every 15 months in buffaloes. If the calving interval is more, the total
number of carvings in her life time will be decreased and also total life time production of
milk decreases.
 Dry period. It is the period from the date of drying (cessation of milk production) to next
calving i.e. when the animal is in pregnancy, before the next calving. The animal should be
given enough rest period to allow for growth of the foetus. A minimum of 2 – 2 ½ months dry
period should be allowed. If the dry period is not given or too short a dry period is allowed,
the animals suffer stress and in the next lactation and milk production drops substantially and
calf is weak. On the other hand if the dry period given is too long, it may not have that much
effect on increasing milk yield in the next lactation, but it decrease the production in the
present lactation.
 Reproduction efficiency. The reproductive efficiency means the more number of calves
during life time, so that total life time production is increased, the reproduction or breeding
efficiency is determined by the combined effect of hereditary and environment. Several
measures of breeding efficiency like number of services per conception, calving interval, and
days from first breeding to conception are useful. Reproductive efficiency has generally a low
heritability value indicating that most of the variations in this trait is due to non-genetic
factors. In adverse environmental conditions, the poor milk producing animals may not be
much affected compared to high effect in high milk yield.
 Efficiency of feed utilization. The animal should take more feed but utilize efficiently and
convert into the milk.
 Disease resistance. Animals should be resistant to common diseases.

Calf rearing techniques

The aim of calf rearing is to produce strong, healthy, well grown calves that will continue to
develop steadily after weaning. The calf rearing period covers the time from birth to 12 weeks of
age. It includes feeding (colostrum, milk/milk replacer, concentrates, fibre and water). It should
be noted that the success of the finished animal is greatly determined by the quality and
management of the newborn.
The 12-week calf-rearing programme can be divided into three phases as follows:

Phase 1: (0-4 weeks). The calf depends on a liquid diet of milk or milk replacer and has the
necessary digestive enzymes to utilize their nutrients (proteins, fat and carbohydrates)
effectively.

Phase 2: (4-8 weeks). The calf is developing rumen functions and part of its daily feed will be
solids. The calf’s daily intake of concentrates will depend on the amount of liquid milk or milk
replacer fed daily and also the palatability and digestibility of the concentrates offered.

Phase 3: (8 weeks onwards). From eight weeks of age, the calf can effectively utilize dry food
and no longer depends on a liquid diet. It is vital that the calf is consuming enough concentrates
before it is weaned off a liquid diet.
1. Sucking method

In this method, the calf is allowed to stay with its mother and allowed to suckle only a little
before and after milking the cow. The calf gets whole milk throughout lactation.

Advantages

i) This is natural system of feeding

ii) The calf may get contaminated free milk
iii) Not much care is required for the calf during feeding
iv) The mother-calf affection developed

Disadvantages

i) If the calf dies, the cow stops milk production and let-down.
ii) Underfeeding or overfeeding of calves cannot be ascertained because the amount of milk
taken by the calf is not measured.
iii) If milk is infected the infection may be transferred to the calf.
iv) The actual quantity of milk yield of the cow cannot be calculated.
v) The post-partum heat of the dam is late, and so breeding may be disrupted.

2. Weaning method

In this system, the calf is taken away from its mother either just after birth or after 2-3 days of
birth, sometimes it is allowed till the period of colostrum feeding. After that, the calf rearing is
entirely in isolation from the dam and raised separately. The immediate and most important step,
after weaning the calf is to teach it to drink milk. Two methods can be used in teaching the calf
to drink milk as follows

Nipple system: Used for 3-4 days old calves. A bucket containing milk equipped with rubber
nipple is used. The calf sucks the milk through the nipple.

Hand fiddling: When the calf develops appetite insert two fingers of right hand into the mouth
while holding milk in left hand at convenient height for the calf. While calf suckles the fingers,
the muzzle is gradually pressed down into milk pan. This way calf learns to drink milk.

Advantage

i) Cow continues to produce milk whether calf is alive or not.

ii) The calf can be culled at an early stage since milk production does not depend on calf being
with the dam.
iii) It can be fed scientifically as per requirements, there is no problem of under-feeding and
over-feeding.
iv) The actual amount of milk produced by cow can be determined.
v) Milking without calf is more hygienic and sanitary.
vi) Cow becomes regular breeder; the calving interval is less than when calves are not weaned.

3. Milk feeding schedule to calf

The calf after weaning from the dam, should be fed with the whole milk, skim milk and re-
constituted milk and also calf starters in gradually. The temperature of the milk must be body
temperature, i.e. 39°C, the equipment used must be clean and sterilized; the milk should be fed
twice a daily.

Body weight Calf age Colostrum (lire. Per Whole milk (liters per Skim milk (liters per
(kg) (days) body wt.) body weight) body wt.)

Upto25 Upto5 1/10th – –

20-30 6 – 20 – 1/ 10th –

25-50 21-30 – l/15th 1/20th

30-60 31-60 – l/20th l/25th

40-75 61-100 – l/25th l/25th

Calf Starters

It is mixture of grain, protein feeds, minerals, vitamins & antibiotics. It has been evolved for use
with limited whole milk. An ideal calf starter contains 20% DCP, & 70% TDN. The schedule
for raising the calves with calf starter is presented below:

Age(day Whole Milk (Kg) Skim Milk (Kg) Calf Starter in Kgs.
 )

0-5 Colostrum – –

6-7 2.75 – –

8-14 3.25 – –

15-21 2.75 1.00 0.10

22-28 1.75 2.00 0.20

29-34 1.00 3.00 0.30

0.50
35-42 0.50 3.50

43-56 – 3.50 0.75

57-84 – 2.50 1.00

85-112 – 0.50 1.25

113-140 – –

Calf housing

The environment in which calves are placed immediately following birth should be given considerable
attention as only the right environment will contribute to their survival.

The following should be considered in providing adequate housing for calves

 Adequate space per calf

 Dry, draught-free, well-ventilated area bedded regularly

 Consistent internal environment to minimize stressful situations

 Suitable design to accommodate changes in climate and environment

 Labour efficient housing (i.e. should be easy to clean and manage)

 Attention to temperature. While extra bedding will help calves nest into the straw and keep warm –
consider calf jackets in very cold weather as 15 degrees is the lower critical temperature for a calf under
three weeks of age.

Colostrum management

Colostrum management is the single most important management factor in determining calf
health and survival. All calves must receive sufficient colostrum immediately after birth to
support their growth and optimize their welfare. Calves that do not receive adequate quantity or
quality colostrum in the right time frame (maximum of 2 hours after birth) will be compromised
and more likely to contract infection.

Colostrum should be fed at body temperature (39°C) ensuring that previously frozen colostrum is
allowed to thaw in a fridge overnight. It is highly advisable to check the temperature with a
thermometer and once warm use immediately.

Here are some considerations when it comes to feeding colostrum to calves

 Quality: IgG>50g/l and TBC (total bacterial count) < 100 000 cfu/ml (bacterial numbers in warm
colostrum can double every 20 minutes).

 Target: IgG in milk > 50g/l and IgG in blood = 15g/1 (>10 g/l).

 Quantity: four-to-six litres within the first 24 hours following birth – feed two-to-three litres or 10%
of body weight within two hours of birth.

 Quickly: within six-to-eight hours following birth to ensure highest absorption of IgG – efficiency of
antibody absorption declines rapidly from birth onwards.

 Quietly: minimize stress to ensure efficient absorption of protective antibodies.

 Hygiene: Contamination during collection, transfer or feeding should be avoided.

 Disease status of cows, udder cleanliness, operator cleanliness (hands), equipment (cluster and
pipework), clean dump bucket and transfer to clean bucket with lid on it.
Hygiene
Hygiene is something that is part of housing, feeding, bedding and lends itself to every part of calf rearing
and overall health. However, in many cases the basics are overlooked.

List of basics to always remember in calves’ management

 Dip navel with iodine after birth.

 Implement hygiene procedures for buildings, feeding equipment and personnel.

 Evaluate hygiene management of feeding equipment and housing management on a regular basis.

 Observe calves on a regular basis for signs of ill health.

Choosing a Calf Milk Replacer

We are currently in a market where farmers are being faced with a considerable choice of calf milk
replacers.

There is little doubt about the value of feeding a good quality milk replacer and what it can do in
supporting growth performance and overall calf health which supports lifetime productivity.

However, it is important to select a milk replacer based on a few key facts.

• Select milk replacer to suit the feeding system, calf type and growth goals.
• Ensure high nutrient digestibility.
• Have a consistent supply and availability of milk replacer for the number of calves.
• Ensure milk replacer is mixed correctly and always presented in a consistent manner to reduce stress and
nutritional scours during the rearing period.
• Feed at correct level (concentration/volume) and temperature to meet growth targets.
• During cold weather consider increasing feed rate – for every 1°C drop in temperature below 15°C for
calves less than three weeks old, maintenance energy requirement increases by 1%.
Key performance targets for the calf rearing period
All farmers sold set targets that are achievable for their individual calf rearing enterprise. Ideally,
farmers should aim to achieve:
- Double calf birth weight by 8 weeks, i.e. 40 kg to 80 kg in 56 days
- Growth rate of 700-800 g/day
- Calf mortality of < 3% over the 12-week period
- Less than 10% calf morbidity (incidence of diseases)

Artificial insemination methods

What is Artificial Insemination (AI) and why is it important?
Artificial insemination (AI) is a technique in which sperm is collected from the male/bulls, processed,
stored and manually introduced into the female reproductive tract at appropriate time for the purpose of
conception. AI has become one of the most important techniques for the genetic improvement of farm
animals since preferably the semen from genetically superior sires/males are used to inseminate the
female animals artificially. It has been most extensively used for breeding dairy cattle and buffaloes. AI
is the tool that possesses the potential of economic and rapid diffusion of elite males to a large number
of females in a short duration of time over a large geographical area.

Advantages of Artificial Insemination

Artificial insemination (AI) is one of the most efficient tools accessible to dairy farmers to
improve productivity and profitability of dairy enterprise. In artificial insemination the bulls of
superior quality can be efficiently exploited with the least concern for their location in faraway
places. There are a lot of advantages of AI over natural services with bulls. They are as follows:

 Boosts efficiency of bull usage: During natural mating, a bull will donate much more
semen than is theoretically needed to make a pregnancy. On the other hand, collected
semen can be diluted and extended to make hundreds of semen doses from a single
ejaculate which can be easily carried one place to another, promoting multiple
inseminations in females in different geographical locations and semen can be stored for
long periods of time
 Cost Effectiveness: No necessity of maintenance of breeding bulls. Hence, the
expenditure on maintenance of breeding bull is saved.
 Checks disease transmission: Natural mating allows the transmission of venereal
diseases between males and females. On the other hand, for AI, semen is regularly tested
for its quality, possible infections hence it allows checking of the spread of certain
venereal diseases, e.g. contagious abortion, vibriosis.
  Promotes Breeding Efficiency: By routine examination of semen after collection and
frequent checking on fertility make early detection of inferior bulls and better breeding
efficiency is warranted.
 The progeny testing can be employed at an early age.
 The semen of an elite bull can be used even after the death of that sire.
 It makes possible the mating of animals with great variations in body size with no injury
to either of the animal.

 It is useful to inseminate the cows denying to stand or accept the bulls at the time of
oestrus.
 Useful in maintaining the perfect breeding and calving records.
 Artificial Insemination enhances the rate of conception.
 Artificial Insemination allows the use of old, heavy and injured sires.
 Artificial Insemination when linked to oestrus synchronization programme, can promote
a more consistent, uniform calf crop production.

Problems of Artificial Insemination

Dairy farmers have numerous arguments against Artificial Insemination. In general, an AI program
would need more intensive management of the herd like a sound nutrition program (cows in good body
condition), good record keeping in the farm, an efficient herd health program, precise heat detection
and a well-trained AI technician. Poor management in one or more of these fields might result in
poorer success rates. Few major drawbacks of AI are mentioned below:

 Requires well-trained personnel and special tools.

 Takes more time than natural services.
 The AI operator needs to have the knowledge of the structure and function of reproduction in
the dairy animals.
 Improper cleanliness of instruments and unhygienic conditions may lead to declined
conception.
 If the bull is not appropriately examined, the spreading of venereal diseases will be increased.

Artificial Insemination (AI) methods

AI technique involves putting the collected semen from the bull into the reproductive tract of cattle.
There are two methods of artificial insemination cow, which include:
1- Surgical methods: by labrascope or through the laparotomy
2- Non-surgical methods: include three methods
i. Vaginal insemination: the earliest insemination was accomplished by simply inserting a tube into the
vagina and depositing semen at the mouth of cervix. This method is simple but need large volume of sperm
The conception rate is low.
ii. Cervical insemination: accomplished by inserting sterile speculum into vagina with the use of light source
and the inseminating instrument can be inserted in to the opening of cervix (1-2 cm). This method is far
superior than vaginal method but usually gives10-12 percent unit lower conception rate than the recto-vaginal
method with large volume of sperm and there is need to sterilize the equipment between inseminations.
iii. Intra-uterine insemination (also referred to as recto-vaginal insemination): this technique is the most
commonly used method to artificially inseminate cattle. It has high conception rate with small number of
sperm, but needs some experience to be effectively used.

Steps of recto-vaginal Insemination in cattle

1. Estrous detection: The cow must be in estrus or heat before she is artificial inseminated. Estrus is the
time period during the estrous cycle when the female will allow breeding to occur. The best signs that a
cow is in estrus are stand to amount by other cow or bull, the other signs are riding other cows,
restlessness, bellowing, vaginal discharge.

2.Timing of Insemination: For conception to occur, insemination must take place at the correct stage of
the cow’s estrous cycle. Bovine spermatozoa require a few hours in the female reproductive tract to
capacitate and become capable of fertilization and they remain viable for about 24 hours. The egg is
most likely to become fertilized if it contacts viable spermatozoa within about 6 hours of ovulation, and
has maximum life of about 12 hours. Thus the timing of AI must be fairly precise. The optimum time to
inseminate is 12 hours after the beginning of standing estrous.

3. Restraint animal: for Safety of both the animal and the inseminator and for easy used of inseminate.

4. Thawing the Semen: The straw should then be placed in warm water bath for 30 seconds. The straw
is then removed from the bath and dried off with a paper towel to prevent water from coming into
contact with the semen.

5. Loading the AI Rod: The sealed end of the straw is then removed with sharp scissors and the straw
loaded into a specially made ‘gun’ being secured in place by a clean, new, disposable plastic sheath. The
straw in the insemination gun should be insulated, especially in cold weather.

6. Cleaning: The skin around the vulva should be cleaned with paper towels to avoid contaminating the
cow when inserting the AI rod into the vagina.

7. Inserting the Rod: the AI technician grasps the cervix per rectum, pulls it towards him, and holds it
level so that the insemination gun can be introduced through the vagina into the cervix. The tip of the
pipette is passed just through the cervix so that semen is injected into the uterine body.

8. After the semen has been deposited, the technician may also massage the tract to stimulate release of
Oxytocin which aids in semen transport. And then the rod should carefully be removed from the
reproductive tract.
Milk composition and factors affecting it
The major components of milk are water, fat, protein, lactose and minerals and many factors
affect this composition among which are breed or species (this has to do with the genetics of the
animal), nutrition or diet, level of milk production, stage of lactation, disease (mastitis), season
and age of cow.
Find below the highlight of factor that generally influence the composition of milk:

 Age of animal – Butterfat (BF) in milk becomes less as an animal grows older thus young
animals produce milk with higher BF than older animals.
 Breed differences e.g. Species of the animal. Different breeds of cattle produce milk with
differing percentage composition e.g. Jersey produce higher BF than Friesian.
 Type of feed eaten by an animal - Roughage feeds produce link with higher fats, lactose
and protein compared to grains.
 Diseases - Diseases such as mastitis reduce the lactose composition in milk because
bacteria attack milk sugars.
 Physiological condition of the animal - Sick/extremely emaciated animals register low
percentage of B.F/during late pregnancy, so, such animals produce milk with low BF
content.
 Stage of lactation - The BF content in milk is highest at the middle phase of the lactation
period and lowers towards end of lactation.
 Completeness of milking - Milk drawn last from udder during milking contains high BF
content,” last drop of milk has high BF content.
 Season of the year - accept environmental condition. BF content increases during cold
seasons.
 Time of milking - Milk produced in the morning has a lower BF content than milk
produced in the evening.

Importance of roughage, pasture, hay and silage in milk composition of dairy animals
Microbes in the rumen ferment carbohydrates into volatile fatty acids (VFAs) which are
absorbed through the rumen wall into the blood stream. Some of the VFAs are lost during
eructation (belching).
Volatile fatty acids are the main energy source for ruminants, providing approximately 70% of
the total energy requirements of ruminants. They are used primarily by the microorganisms for
reproduction and growth, with the excess production being used by the ruminant itself.
The three main volatile fatty acids produced in ruminants are acetic acid, butyric
acid and propanoic (or propionic) acid.
50-60% of VFAs produced is acetic acid which predominates on a high roughage diet and is a
precursor for mammalian milk fat. Some is also used for muscle metabolism and body fat. The
molecular formula is, CH3.COOH.
12-18% of VFAs produced is propanoic (propionic) acid. It predominates on a high concentrate
diet and provides energy via the conversion of blood glucose in the liver. It is used in lactose
(milk sugar) synthesis. The molecular formula is, CH3.CH2.COOH.
18-20% of VFAs produced is butyric acid. It provides energy to the rumen wall and is used in
milk fat synthesis and for body fat, when excess energy is present in the diet. It doesn't vary in
proportion to other volatile fatty acids, therefore has little influence in milk fat content. The
molecular formula is CH3.CH2.CH2.COOH.

Milking procedures and milk handling

Animal judging and record keeping
Marketing of dairy products