February is usually one of the busiest months of the year on Irish dairy farms with calving in full swing. Though farmers are often exhausted, there is great satisfaction in seeing large numbers of cows calving down and milk production ramping up rapidly.
For many cows, this is a delicate point in the lactation, and they need to be fed and managed well.
It is normal for cows in the first few weeks of lactation to be in negative energy balance (NEB), ie they are using more energy for milk production and maintenance than they are capable of taking in through forage and concentrates.
This results in cows ‘milking off their backs’ for a while and it is not unusual for cows to lose a half a condition score and up to 50kg in liveweight over this period.
However, cows that lose more than this are at risk of having difficulty going back in calf.
A useful indicator of NEB is the level of protein in the milk. The key factor that determines milk protein content is the energy levels of the diet fed to the cows.
A lower milk protein, less than 3%, is an early warning sign that the cows are not getting enough energy from the diet.
This could be due to low-quality silage, not enough concentrate, lack of feed space or watery grass at this time of year.
If you see the milk protein slipping towards the 3% mark, steps should be taken immediately to increase the cows’ energy intake, often by increasing concentrate levels, but also basics like ensuring enough feed space.
The level of concentrates fed to cows should be increased when indoors on poor silage or when grazing conditions are very wet.
Thin and lame cows could also be grouped together and milked once a day (OAD).
This is often necessary to give poorer cows a decent chance of going back in calf and allows more energy be diverted to condition score.
Good management at this time of year sets a solid platform for a successful year.
Edwin Murphy works at Adare Veterinary Surgery, Adare, Co Limerick. Adare Veterinary surgery is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For further information see www.xlvets.ie
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February is usually one of the busiest months of the year on Irish dairy farms with calving in full swing. Though farmers are often exhausted, there is great satisfaction in seeing large numbers of cows calving down and milk production ramping up rapidly.
For many cows, this is a delicate point in the lactation, and they need to be fed and managed well.
It is normal for cows in the first few weeks of lactation to be in negative energy balance (NEB), ie they are using more energy for milk production and maintenance than they are capable of taking in through forage and concentrates.
This results in cows ‘milking off their backs’ for a while and it is not unusual for cows to lose a half a condition score and up to 50kg in liveweight over this period.
However, cows that lose more than this are at risk of having difficulty going back in calf.
A useful indicator of NEB is the level of protein in the milk. The key factor that determines milk protein content is the energy levels of the diet fed to the cows.
A lower milk protein, less than 3%, is an early warning sign that the cows are not getting enough energy from the diet.
This could be due to low-quality silage, not enough concentrate, lack of feed space or watery grass at this time of year.
If you see the milk protein slipping towards the 3% mark, steps should be taken immediately to increase the cows’ energy intake, often by increasing concentrate levels, but also basics like ensuring enough feed space.
The level of concentrates fed to cows should be increased when indoors on poor silage or when grazing conditions are very wet.
Thin and lame cows could also be grouped together and milked once a day (OAD).
This is often necessary to give poorer cows a decent chance of going back in calf and allows more energy be diverted to condition score.
Good management at this time of year sets a solid platform for a successful year.
Edwin Murphy works at Adare Veterinary Surgery, Adare, Co Limerick. Adare Veterinary surgery is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For further information see www.xlvets.ie
Read more
Grass+: storm stalls strong start to the grazing season
No stop to grazing in the southeast
Grass+: where to start with grassland management this spring
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