According to HJW magazine, some farmers have employed some tactics that would help them increase the productivity of cows at a lower cost. Below are some of them
Start Cows With A Successful Dry Period
Maintain your dry matter intake at 32 pounds per day and avoid overfeeding energy. Optimize comfort and address hoof health.
Prevent Subclinical Milk Fever
Increase blood calcium so as to stop ketosis and high semantic cell count. Low blood calcium leads to mastitis, depressed feed intake, and low milk yield.
Optimize Feed Intake Immediately After Calving
Provide 15 gallons of warm water and fresh total mixed ration. Give ten pounds of grass hay in clean bunks.
Optimize Cow Comfort
Avoid congestion and social stress, especially for first calf heifers. Don’t separate cows from normal herd mates and provide a cooling system.
Maintain Rumen Health And Prevent Ruminal Acidosis
Minimize slug feeding and monitor fiber feed intake. Provide plenty of good quality digestible fiber.
Identify Cow With A History Of Metabolic Or Health Problems
Cows with a history of milk fever, ketosis, or mastitis are likely to face these problems in the future. Cows carrying twins and first calf heifers are moved into the dry group early.
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