AAS 313: LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT

AND PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Dairy cow management

By

Mr. Jackson Muchiri

Department of Animal Production
University of Nairobi
21st October, 2022
HOUSING: ROOFING
• Cows only require protection from direct sunlight and rainfall
therefore only a roof is required (no walls).
• An iron sheet roof should be more than 3m high to prevent the sun’s
heat from passing through the iron sheet and causing discomfort to
the cows.
 HOUSING: WALLS

• If the house requires walls for better security or to protect the cows from strong
wind, then the walls should be at the perimeter, far away from the cows
• Walls inhibit free movement of cows especially when getting up from a sleeping
position because cows lean forward when getting up. If inhibited from leaning
forward, they strain while getting up leading to back problems and lameness.
• Walls inhibit free movement of air in front of the cow leading to discomfort
especially when lying down. Cows release a lot of gas through the mouth (belching/
eructation). This warm gas needs to flow away from the cow especially on a hot day.
If the cow is sleeping in a cubicle surrounded by walls, it becomes uncomfortable
quickly and will prefer to tilt its head to the side or to remain standing in the cubicle.
This reduces milk synthesis.
• Walls inhibit lighting around the head of the cow. Cows are herbivorous animals and
have evolved with a fear of predators. Therefore a cow will always want to see its
surroundings clearly without shadows or obstruction to the field of view. A cow can
walk backwards into a cubicle and face outwards if it constantly feels threatened
when lying down facing a solid wall.
 HOUSING: SLEEPING CUBICLE FLOOR
• Carry out a knee test inside the sleeping cubicle of the cow. This is done by falling
from a standing position and landing on your knees on the bedding material of
the cubicle. If you feel pain on your knees, imagine a 500kg cow doing the same
compared to you, a 70kg human!
HOUSING: CUBICLE SIZE
• It should be wide enough to allow comfortable lying down but not too
wide because the cow will turn inside the cubicle, urinate and
defecate inside the cubicle and lie down on its own urine and dung
thus exposing its teats to mastitis infection.
MILKING HYGIENE
• Teats need to be dipped in a teat dip after milking.
• Wash all milking equipment with scalding hot water immediately after
use
• Build a drying rack exposed to the sunlight for drying and natural
sterilization of the milking equipment.
• Use aluminium or stainless steel equipment for handling milk because
they are easier to clean compared to plastic containers,
• If you milk the cows thrice a day, each cow should have three towels so
that after use, a towel is washed in scalding hot water and left to dry
for 24 hours, while exposed to the sun most of the time.
FERTILITY AND CONCEPTION
• Give the workers an incentive that for every heat detection
and successful conception of the cow (no more cycling after
21 days and Pregnancy Diagnosis (PD) at 3 months), the
person is given a cash bonus.
• This will help to ensure that the cows give birth every year (if
fed properly) thus increasing profitability of the enterprise
from sale of milk and calves/heifers/cows.
• Milk: milk curve
• Animal sales: productive and total life span of cows
WATER
• Water should be available to the cows 24 hours a day.
• Water placed in a cut out drum is warmer than water in a concrete
trough. Cows drink more water when it is warm.
• The more the milk that a cow produces, the more the water it
requires.
MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS
• The mineral supplements available in the market are mineral powders
and mineral blocks.
• The mineral powder should be placed in a small trough that is
protected from direct sunlight and rainfall. The cows should be
allowed to lick it freely.
• The mineral block can be hung in the cattle housing away from direct
sunlight and rainfall. The cows should be allowed to lick it freely.
FEEDING MANAGEMENT
• Feed according to the nutrient requirements of the cow
• An empty feed trough indicates the cows are not satisfied. The
acceptable level of leftovers is 5%.
• Clean the feed trough regularly to remove rotten feed that could
compromise animal health
• A simple way of grouping the cows is according to the lactation phase
(early, mid, late, dry, transition) thus making it easier to provide
different diets.
• Use a software such as Rumen8 to make low cost balanced diets for the
cows (see the attached guidelines).
THE END

THANK YOU