Dairy Nutrition and

Feeding

Gemeda Tuntuna
February ,2024
CLASSIFICATION OF FEEDSTUFFS
feedstuffs:- is a component of a ration or a diet (combined to
produce rations)
Classification of feedstuffs is divided into two main categories:
Roughage
 More than 18% CF and less 60% TDN
 More lignin – less digestible
 Classified as
Dry Roughage – 10- 15% moisture
Succulent Roughage – 60-90% moisture
Dry Roughage:- straws, stover, Hay,

Succulent Roughage:- pasture, cultivated forage, silage

Concentrate

Less than 18% CF and more than 60% TDN

Less lignin - More digestible
Classified as
Energy rich:- Cereals grains, cereal mill byproducts and root

Protein rich:- oilseed cake or meal, alfalfa, bone and fish meal

vitamins supplements

minerals supplements
Nutrients in the Feedstuffs
 Nutrients are substances obtained from food used for
maintenance and production.
 Maintenance requirements for basic activities (breathing, blood
circulation, fighting diseases, maintain body temperature)
 Production Requirements
 Growth
 Reproduction
 Milk production
 Eggs production
 Wool production
 The essential nutrients in the feeds are energy, proteins,
minerals, vitamins and water

Water
 It is essential for life

 Water can be obtained from feed, from drinking or from within

the body processes.

 The amount required depends mainly on

 Production (e.g. milk yield, eggs etc..)

 Moisture content of feed and amount of feed consumed

 The environmental temperature.
Energy
 Fuels all body functions, enabling the animal to undertake
various activities including milk synthesis.
Functions: Maintenance
Growth and weight gain
Reproduction
Production
Sources : carbohydrates-grass, cereals grains
lipids (fats and oils) – bypass fats
Energy Deficiency:
• Poor body condition due to excessive weight loss
• Reduced production (milk, meat, etc.)
• Infertility
Protein
• Most important nutrient in feeding animals.
• A building of blocks Body (vital for body processes).
Functions
• Provide the building material for all body cells and tissues (e.g.
blood, skin, organs and muscles).
• Major components of products such as milk and meat.
Sources
• Oilseeds and oilseed cakes: cotton seed, soyabean meal or cakes
etc.
• Products of animal origin: fish meal, bone meal etc.
• Legumes: alfalfa
protein deficiency
• Drop in milk production
• Excessive weight loss in lactating cows,
• Reduced growth rate in calves and heifers result in underweight
Minerals
• Minerals are nutrients required in small amounts in the feed.
• They are required for the body to function properly, i.e. remain
healthy, reproduce and production
Functions
• Bone formation
• Production of hormones that control body functions
• Control of water balance in the body
• Milk synthesis
Sources
• Roughages and concentrates
Minerals deficiency
• Poor fertility: lack of heat signs and low conception rate
• Poorly developed bones in young animals (rickets)
• Health disorders, for example, milk fever
Vitamins
 Vitamins are required by the body in tiny amounts for normal
functioning of the body.
 The vitamins supplied in the diet include Vitamin D and E
 The vitamins produced in the body include B complex, C and K.

Functions
• Maintenance of healthy protective tissues such as skin, stomach,
intestinal
• Improvement of appetite, hence feed intake (vitamin B)
• Production of red blood cells, hence preventing anemia ( V B6 and
B12)
• Enhanced Ca and K utilization – for bone formation and growth ( V
Sources
• from Diet, rumen microbial synthesis or tissue synthesis.

vitamin deficiency
• Loss of appetite
• Anemia – red blood cells
• Delay in growth
• Lack of immunity
 Dairy Cattle Feeding
• Feed costs represent largest input (60-70%)
• Adequate feeding levels of a highly nutritional diet are vital for
optimal animal performance and well-being.
• Some essential Considerations for dairy cattle feeding:
 Nutrients Requirements_ maintenance + productions
 Feed Availability_ forages, grains, supplements (vitamins
and minerals)
 Physiological status _ Calf, Heifers, Pregnancy, Dry and
lactating
 Environmental conditions_ too hot or too cold
 Economic Considerations
 Calf Feeding

“Today’s calf is tomorrow’s cow”

• A good calf feeding program

Fast growth rate
Rapid weight gain,
Strong disease resistance,
Development of a healthy and
normal calf.
 Colostrum Feeding
 Colostrum provides both antibodies and nutrients to the calf

• 2.0 kg with in few hours

• Should be fed for 72 hours
• 10% of Body weight .
• e.g. For 30 kg calf - 3 liters/day

Why colostrum feeding

At birth
 A calf has no defense against infectious agents- Antibodies
 Colostrum feeding increases the chances of survival- boost
immunity
 Calf starter
 A highly digestible, highly palatable feed specifically formulated as
the first dry feed to allow early intake
 At this stage the calf is consuming little milk and its rumen is still
not fully developed.
 The starter should contain high level of coarse grains, 18% crude
protein, low fiber, 1% minerals and vitamins.
 Offer at one week of age
 Heifer Feeding
 Heifers are young weaned female cattle that have not yet had their first calves

 Heifers replace the culled animals, increase the herd size or sold to generate

income.

 Heifers should be closely observed and fed correctly to avoid the growth

slump.

 Heifers should achieve a growth rate of 500–700 g/day.

 if a heifer growth rate 500 g/day - consumes 5 kg of feed, the 10% Cp.

 This ensures that they will come on heat at the right time, as puberty is related

to size rather than age.

 Fed at 1.5-2% of body weight.

 Feeding of Dairy Cows

 A good feeding program achieve

• A high peak milk yield early in lactation

• Prevent too much weight loss

• Enable the cow to go on heat after calving

• Become pregnant

• Produce a healthy calf

 Feeding should be based on phases physiological status of the

cow’s (lactating, Dry and Pregnant) or stage of lactations ( early,
mid and late)
 Feeding Lactating Cows

 The lactation stage is divided into 3 stages based on the cow’s physiological
cycle.

Early Lactation

 Lasts from calving to peak milk production, which occurs at about 70 days

 Feeding at this phase are critical to its entire lactation performance.

 Milk production increases rapidly such that the voluntary feed intake
cannot meet the energy demand.

 The cow should be fed so as to achieve peak production

 Recommended to fed 50–60% of concentrates of diet dry matter.

 Fed cows 0.5 Kg of concentrate per 1liter of milk yield

 A high-protein diet is important since the body cannot mobilize all the
needed protein from itself, and microbial protein

 A protein content of 18% crude protein is recommended in rations

 Cows that are well fed come on heat and achieve a year CI

Mid lactations
 Lasts from peak lactation to mid-lactation

 The aim should be to maintain peak milk production – MY decline 8-

10%/m

 The forage quality should be high.

 A 15–18% whole ration CP content is recommended.

 Concentrates high in digestible fiber (e.g. wheat or maize bran) as

Late Lactation

 Lasts from mid- to end-lactation, during which the decline in MY

continues.
 The voluntary feed intake meets energy requirements for milk
production and body weight increase.
 Cows can be fed on lower-quality roughage
 Limited amounts of concentrate recommended
 Feeding dry Cows
 Build up body reserves in time for the next lactation period - allow
the cow to regenerate alveolar tissue
 Save nutrients for the fast-growing of fetus

 Proper feeding of the cow help to realize the cow’s potential during
the next lactation and minimize health problems at calving time
 Reduce feed intake to maintenance level (withdraw concentrates)

 Just stop milking

 If the cow is a high yielder, practice intermittent milking (milk only

in the morning)
 Feeding of Pregnancy cows
 The cow should be fed a ration that caters for maintenance and pregnancy.

 Last 2 months of pregnancy critical

 The cow should be fed on high-level concentrates in preparation for the next

lactation. This extra concentrate enables the cow to store reserves to be used in

early lactation

 Feed concentrate progressively to adapt the rumen microbial population. Start

with 0.5 kg of grain and increase to 1.5 – 2 kg/day.

 Fed a ration contain 15 g of Ca/day for the last 10 days or 30–40 g/day for last

2 months.

 Fed good-quality forage or concentrate

 Provides 12% crude protein.

 Ration Formulation for Dairy cattle

 A RATION is the amount of feed an animal receives in a 24-hour

period.

 A BALANCED RATION when all the nutrients an animal requires

are present in the feed the animal consumes during a 24-hour period.

 To formulate rations, knowledge of nutrients required, feedstuffs

(ingredients), types of ration, feed consumption, the animal to be fed

is required and calculations methods.

 They are influenced by many factors, such as weight of animal, sex,

rate of growth, stage of lactation, environment and others

 Ration for Dairy Cattle

Forage or crop residues as main

source for energy
Concentrate ingredients (wheat
bran/middling, maize bran/grain,
Nuge seed meal, soybean meal,
molasses, salt etc.
 e.g. To formulate 100 kg of
concentrate ration for dairy cows at
DZARC dairy farm.
• 50% wheat middling
• 25% wheat bran
• 24% Nuge seed meal
• 1% salt
 Expected milk yields at different concentrate feeding levels with poor- to high-quality
forage
Quality of forage Concentrate (kg/day) Milk yields (kg/ day)
0 0

Poor quality (crop residues) 3 2-5

6 6-10
10 10-20
0 <5
Medium quality (mature hay
+ legume forage} 3 5-10
6 10-18
10 18-25
0 8-12
High quality (good hay/
Napier grass + legume 2 12-20
Forage) 6 20-30
10 >30
 Forage Production and Management
Establishment and management of oats

Establishment

Drill oat seeds in rows 30–40 cm apart.

 70–80 kg of seed per hectare is recommended (pure stand)
30–40 kg of oats and 20 kg vetch seed per hectare is recommended
Apply 2–3 bags of fertilizer per hectare at planting
Management

Hand weed
Spray with herbicide 2,4-D - 2.5 liters per hectare (not when with vetch)
Cut at milk stage (4 weeks) leaving a stubble height of 5 cm from ground
Feeding

Cut oats at milk stage and wilt it before feeding to prevent

bloat.

Oats can be cut and conserved as hay or silage.

If being conserved either as silage or hay, oats should be cut
when the grain is at milk or dough stage
 Establishment and management of Alfalfa

• Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is popularly

known as the Queen of Forages

• It have forage nutritive value

• Alfalfa is a high-yielding, perennial legume
• Well-suited for hay, silage, grazing, cut &
carry

.
• Field preparation

Tillage (tractor ploughing or moldboard ploughing)

Followed by disking which is plowing soil surface
Well prepared seedbeds
• Establishment
The seed must be clean.
Sown in rows 20-30 cm apart on plot size 10 m by 10m
 20 kg of seed per hectare is recommended.
Sown 0.25 to 0.5 inch deep on medium soil or 0.5 - to 1-inch deep on sandy

soils
Management

Hand weed
 If using a herbicide, remember that application timing and rates vary.
Herbicides for perennial weed control before seeding (2,4-D- 1 liter/
hectare.

Herbicides for weed control in established alfalfa based on weed

infestation, the type of weeds, and the density of the existing alfalfa stand.

Must be drink water everyday Feeding

Cut alfalfa at milky stage and wilt it before feeding.
Harvest the first cutting 40-60 days after germination
Harvest every 10-15 days after first cutting
 Forage Conservation

Why we conserve Forage?

Because rain-based forage production is seasonal, there are

times of surplus and times of scarcity.

Thus, conserve the excess for use in times of dry season scarcity.
The aim of conservation is to harvest the maximum amount of
dry matter from a given area and at an optimum stage for
utilization by animals.

It also allows for regrowth of the forage.

The two main ways of conserving forage are
Hay making
Silage making
Haymaking

Hay is forage conserved by drying to reduce the moisture

content

The moisture content should be reduced to about 15%.

Harvest when the crop has attained 50% flowering.
The dried fodder retains its green color, which is an indicator
of quality
Baling hay

 Baling the hay or straws allows more material to be stored in

a given space

Baling can be manual or mechanized,

Mechanized baling being more recommended for commercial
farms

 Good-quality hay
 Leafy and greenish in color
Have no foreign material mixed with it
Have no smell
Silage making

Silage is high-moisture forage preserved through fermentation

in the absence of air.

Silage can be made from Grasses, fodder sorghum, green oats,

green maize etc.

An ideal crop for silage making should

Contain an adequate level of fermentable sugars in the form of

water-soluble carbohydrates

 have a dry matter content in the fresh above 20%.

Harvesting stages

Maize and sorghum should be harvested when the grain is

milky stage.

At this stage, so it is not necessary to add molasses when

ensiling.

When ensiling Grasses, it is necessary to add molasses to

increase the sugar content

To increase the level of crude protein poultry waste and

legumes like lucerne and Desmodium may be mixed.

Fed to animals after 21 days of ensilling

Types of silos

A silo is an airtight place or receptacle for preserving green

feed for future feeding on the farm.

Four types of silos used commonly:

 Sacks or tubes silos

 Pit silo
Above-ground silo
Trench silo -ideal for large-scale farms where tractors are used.
Qualities of good silage

Well-prepared silage is
 Bright or light yellow-green
Has a smell similar to vinegar and
Has a firm texture.
Bad silage
Tends to smell similar to rancid butter or ammonia.
Thank You
for Your
Attention