How to keep cows dry

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The keeping of cows includes a large number of features. The breeder should properly equip the barn, organize a balanced diet and regularly carry out veterinary preventive measures. If the main purpose of breeding cows is to obtain milk, you should also know what the dry period is. The dry period in cows is a prenatal period of time, which is characterized by the active development of the fetus.

Dry period in cows

For a calf to grow strong and healthy, it is important to provide its mother with food rich in vitamins and minerals. During the dry period, the vitamins in the feed are much less than in fresh hay. In the first dry period, in addition to hay, special additives must also be added to the cow's diet during the first dry period.

Physiological factors of the dry period

The dry period falls on the last 2 months of pregnancy. This is due to the physiological changes that occur during gestation. Like humans, pregnancy in livestock has the same duration of 9 months. After fertilization, the embryo develops slowly. Outwardly, during the first 6-7 months, signs of pregnancy are subtle. At this time, the fetus is gaining only a fifth of its weight - 6-8 kg, but in the last 8-9 weeks there is a sharp increase in growth. The cow itself suffers from such activity.

In cows during the dry period, metabolism is accelerated. Livestock spends its own strength on the ripening of the fetus, losing a large amount of useful microelements. The farmer's job is to replenish them. This can be done by organizing the correct feeding of pregnant cows. Without human assistance, the cow will begin to lose weight and calving can be problematic. In addition to difficult births, poor calf immunity is also possible. For livestock purposes, this must be monitored, therefore, it is necessary to calculate the ration in starting cows not only in quality, but also in quantity, because overfeeding is a direct path to obesity, and this can also affect the course of labor.

Why you should choose special diets for dry cows

Specially selected rations for cows of this period can improve the health of the fetus and its mother. A balanced diet also allows you to:

• keep the weight of the animal normal and influence its postpartum productivity;
• reduce the risk of mastitis and postpartum paresis;
• strengthen the cardiovascular and nervous system of the cow.

Cows in dead wood are most often deficient in beneficial trace elements. The most important in the process of bearing and ripening the fetus is selenium, as well as vitamins A, E and D. All of them can be obtained by the animal through food. The main thing is to know which products contain them and how to use them rationally.

How cows are introduced into the deadwood group

The maintenance of a pregnant cow differs little from the maintenance of ordinary, not yet fertilized animals. This care lasts up to 7 months of gestation. It is during this period that it is necessary to prepare a reliable foundation for the health of the bearing calf. The transfer of cows (to dead wood) is most often carried out medically. Such a scheme requires knowledge and implementation of some activities that will ensure the greatest efficiency of the entire process. The farmer should:

• Pick up juicy rations or remove them. Feeding dry cows should reduce milk production.
• Remove tubers and root crops from the diet of dairy cattle.
• Reduce silage content to 20%.
• Eliminate food waste from the diet for dry cows, from which lactation is activated.

If dry cows are organized such a “diet menu”, it will affect the volume of their milk. If all the preparatory measures do not work, it is necessary to reduce the concentrated feed.

Features of feeding cows in the dry period

Conventionally, such cows are divided into 2 periods: rest and transition. Their features depend on individual physiological factors. An animal organism can enter into a rest period 7-8 weeks before childbirth, and a transitional one - 2-3 weeks. Each cattle breeder needs to know about the features of this important time in the life of a cow, since the health of the livestock depends on how well its maintenance and feeding are arranged.

During the rest period, dry animals should be given low-nutrient feed to avoid obesity, which is the main task of the breeder.

During the transition period, the amount of nutritious feed should be increased. This need is associated with the replenishment of the supply of energy spent on the active growth of the fetus. Also, nutritious diets help to avoid complications during childbirth.

Feeding cows during the resting period

The dry rest period is accompanied by active weight gain of dairy cows. In order to avoid obesity, you should give her more foods such as:

• haylage;
• hay;
• premixes;
• silage.

A dry cow diet made from these foods is low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals. It is important to use only quality feed purchased from specialized retail outlets.

Transitional meals

The dry transition period also has its own characteristics. Experts advise to increase the nutritional value of feed in the last 2-3 weeks before childbirth. From the feed ration for 2 time periods, 3-4 kg of haylage should be replaced with concentrated feed. For these purposes, specialized feed is best suited. You can cook it yourself, but only if you know all the proportions in composition.

Feeding dairy cows (during the dry period) requires more careful control over the amount of food that the animal consumes. On the eve of labor, the animal's appetite is noticeably impaired, so it is important to provide it with nutritional supplements that will help avoid birth and postpartum problems.

Feed rate

The dry period is arranged for cows according to conditional feed rates. This rate is expressed in units. The food consumed per day is calculated based on:

• The weight of the cow and its correct growth (per 100 g of mass - 1 unit). In cows during the dry period, an increase in live weight of 800-900 g is observed daily (deviations in the smaller and larger directions indicate errors in the organization of the diet).
• Average annual milk production. For 1000 kg of milk yield - 1 unit.
• Fatness of livestock. If it is necessary to increase it, the feed rate is increased by 2-3 units.

Nutritional value of feed

Proper maintenance and feeding of such animals plays an important role in ensuring the safety of labor. The main thing is to keep the cow within the same body weight limits.The most effective way to do this is to regulate metabolic energy and digestible protein. This technology does not require special skills. The main thing is the ability to use reference materials. Some of them are shown in the feed nutrition table.

Also important for dry animals are such useful trace elements as copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, iron, etc. Their rate varies within different limits. For copper, one feed unit accounts for 5-14 mg, for phosphorus - 4-6 mg, and for iodine - up to 1.5 mg.

Diet for the day

The length of the dry period is different for each cow, as well as the size of the portions (the amount of feed depends on the weight of the animal, its productivity and nutritional status). Also, the feed itself can be different, since dry cows have two periods (rest and transition), therefore, the feeding of the animal should be calculated correctly. An example is a cow that should produce 5 tons of milk per year. Her diet:

• haylage - 12 kg;
• silo - 11 kg;
• legume-cereal grain - 4000 g;
• hay - 2000 g;
• premix - 100 g;
• fodder molasses - 500 g.

Conclusion

If the dry period is shortened, then this harms the development of the fetus, as well as the volume of milk yield, therefore it is important to carefully monitor the animal's diet and control its weight. Many farmers advise novice breeders not to give their cows foods containing calcium. This microelement is harmless for dry animals, but if the cow consumes it in large volumes, it can be imprinted on the metabolic processes of her calf, therefore calcium is not recommended for dry cows.