Category: Сattle

Feeding of Cows – Concentrated and Succulent Feeds

Feeding of Cows

Concentrated feed

Concentrated feed includes all cereals, legumes, as well as cakes, meal, bran, etc. Concentrated legumes contain a lot of carotene. Oats, barley, wheat bran are recommended to be fed with peas, soybeans, beans.

The nutritional value of concentrated feed is high: 1 kg of oats contains 1 feed unit and about 100 g of protein, 1 kg of soy contains 1.29 feed units and more than 200 g of protein.

Concentrated feed is given to animals in dry form or in the form of a chatterbox. It is impossible to exceed the norms of feeding animals for concentrated feed: this worsens the eatability of other feed.

Succulent feed

This group of feed includes fodder and sugar beets, potatoes, fodder and red carrots, rutabagas, turnips, as well as melons – squash, pumpkin, fodder watermelon.

Succulent feeds have a pronounced milk-driving effect: they, in particular, are used for milking in the first months after calving. Juicy forages acquire the greatest value in winter. All varieties of carrots contain a large amount of carotene, potatoes – starch, beets – sugar. Depending on milk yield, cows are fed up to 30 kg of juicy feed per day.

Root crops and root tubers are stored in dry trenches, piles, storage facilities at a temperature of 1-2 ° C. Root crops, root tubers and melons can be ensiled either whole or chopped together with the grass.

How and What To Feed a Calf?

Calf milk should be given paired or warmed up to 37 ° C.

In the first 10-15 days, the calf is watered four to five times and make sure that he drinks 0.5-0.8 liters of colostrum or milk at one time; in the following days they give him much more milk, and the number of feedings is reduced to three times a day. If the calf does not drink the entire portion, it is not necessary to force it.

After 5-6, and sometimes after 8-10 days, colostrum loses its valuable qualities and becomes milk. From now on, in addition to whole milk, the calf can be given oat jelly and be sure to accustom it to mineral feed (after the calf has learned to eat concentrated feed and hay). It is best to put a mixture of 15 g of chalk, 10 g of bone meal and 5 g of pure table salt in the calf’s feeder. This mixture can be added to concentrates.

From the very first days of life, the calf should be given boiled water cooled to the temperature of fresh milk. The calf is given water to drink 2 hours after it has drunk the next portion of milk.

A 16 to 20 day old calf can be hay trained. Hay should not be left in the trough for a long time because it spoils quickly if it is wet with calf saliva. Hay must be changed every day.

Succulent feeds for the calf are fed from 10-15 days of age. The best juicy food in winter is carrots. In the first days, it is better to grind carrots on a grater and give 100-200 g per day, in the following time, finely chop.

From 2-3 weeks of age, the calf should be gradually accustomed to concentrated feed, best of all – to sifted oatmeal. If for some reason this is impossible, increase the portions of oatmeal jelly: pour the unseeded oatmeal with hot water, stir thoroughly and leave for 30 minutes. The resulting chatterbox is squeezed through a sieve, salted (U2 teaspoons of salt per 1 liter of liquid) and, stirring constantly, boiled until the mass thickens. From 1 kg of oatmeal, about 1.5 kg of jelly is obtained.