Feeding Management of Dairy Animal in India

Dairying is an integral part of Indian agriculture and holds a significant place in Indian economy. Animal feed is the food given to animals which are domestic often refers to fodder in the course of care and management of dairy farm animals by humans for profit. Supply of quality feed ensures the health of dairy animals. Feeding is a very important aspect of dairying as it accounts for around 70% of the total cost of milk production. Different types of dietary feed ingredients for dairy cows and buffaloes contain concentrates such as compound cattle feed, oil cakes, grains and their byproducts like brans and chunnies; cultivated green fodders and grasses; crop residues like straws and stovers.

            Fodder is a major constituent of animal feed which contributes two-third of the animal feed requirement. It is essential to increase fodder production by increasing area under cultivation to 12 per cent of the total cultivable land and use of high yielding varieties of fodder crops. Farmers need to be educated and trained on conservation and preservation of fodder which can be used during the scarcity for sustainable milk production.

Fodder varieties and production

Green fodder: Main source of carbohydrates and crude fiber. Includes Bermuda (buffalo grass), Canchrus sps, Napier grass, Congo signal, Fodder sorghum, elephant grass, Sudan grass etc.

Legume: includes Cowpea, horsegram, lucerne, barseem, green gram, black gram, Shanka pushpam (Aparajita – Clitoria ternatea), phillipasara (Phaseolus rilobus), Daincha (Sesbania bispinosa).

Fodder Trees: Subabul, glycericidia, Drumstick, Neem, Sesbania grandiflora, Sesbania sesban, Acacia sp, Melia dubia.

            Dairy animal needs food 2.5 to 3.5% of its body weight. In other words, a buffalo needs 30 kilograms and cow needs 25 kilograms of food including concentrates. It should have 60% wet and 40% dry fodder. Out of total green-wet fodder 25% must be from leguminous species and 75% from monocot grasses. Dry fodder is a must even if we have surplus of green fodder. Feeding only green will affect the growth of the animal and yield and quality of milk. Do not use paddy straw as dry fodder.

            Ruminants need a daily supply of all nutrients required for maintenance and production that are milk, growth, and pregnancy. Quantitatively any type of nutrient can limit performance levels, but the most probable to be in short supply are energy and protein, this is especially true for high and average yielding cows. Both energy and protein should be considered. For energy, the feeding organism uses the metabolizable energy (ME) in the feed as a basis to formulate rations. The metabolizable energy is the energy remaining in the digested foodstuffs after the loss in feces, urine, gases and body heat.

Carbohydrates: Primary sources are barley, corn,oats, wheat, molasses, beet pulp, and soy hulls. Most dairy farmers produce their own barley, corn, oats, and wheat and will often process these grains to be fed to the cows. Molasses, beet pulp, barley, and soy hulls are purchased from a feed mill. Not all of these carbohydrate sources are used as other sources are required to complement the forage to meet the nutritional requirements of the cows.

Protein: Primary sources are canola meal, distillers grains,soybeanmeal, and corn gluten meal.

Fat: Primary sources arevegetableoil, tallow, and protected fatty acids.

Minerals and Vitamins: Primary sources are Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Sodium, Chloride, Potassium, Sulfur, Iron, Zinc, Manganese, Copper, Cobalt, Iodine, Selenium, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, E, and some B-vitamins too. They are necessary for the health and productivity of the cows and farmers and nutritionists will make sure all of these nutrients are balanced. Prebiotics and probiotics are often used to help with digestion and as another way to ensure cows are healthy.

Balanced ration

            It is a ration which supplies all the essential nutrients to the animal in required proportion, form and quantity for 24 hours. Desirable characteristics of good ration are as follows.

• Ration should be properly balanced with all necessary nutrients.
• Ration should include variety of feed stuffs so as to provide better nutrient composition to the body.
• Ration should include sufficient green fodders preferably legumes.
• Ration should include palatable and digestible feedstuffs so as to ensure optimum feed intake and maximum nutrient availability. As they may reduce the nutrient availability leading to health disorders.
• Ration should satisfy the total dry matter requirement of an animal based on weight.
• Ration should be fairly bulky as it is required for satisfaction of hunger and expulsion of undigested material due to its laxative action
• Ration should be fresh and free from undesirable weeds and dust.
• Ration should be properly processed to ensure its desirable intake.
• Ration should be economical as feed accounts to about 60 – 70 % cost of animal rearing.

Thumb rule for cattle feeding

• The average DM (Dry matter) requirement of desi cow is 2 (dry) to 2.5 (lactating) Kg. / 100 Kg. body weight / day while it is 2.5 (dry) to 3.0 Kg. (lactating) in cross breed cows and buffaloes.
• The roughage requirement is fulfilled through green and dry fodders, about 2/3 of DM through dry fodder and remaining 1/3 from green fodder
• The concentrate requirement of animal for maintenance production and pregnancy is as follows:
  • Maintenance requirement of desi cow and crossbred cow / buffalo is 1 and 1.5 Kg. respectively.
  • Lactating animal should be given 1 Kg. additional concentrate for every 2.5 Kg (Buffalo) to 3 Kg (Cow) milk produced.
  • Pregnant cows, buffaloes should receive 1.5 Kg. per day extra concentrate allowance during advance pregnancy to meet extra need of nutrients for growth of fetus.
  • Breeding bulls in service should get 1 Kg. per day extra concentrate. Allowance to maintain good health and sex libido.
• Mineral mixture and common salt each @ 25-50 gm should be given to fulfill mineral requirement of animal.

Maintenance ration                                  

• It is minimum allowance of ration given to the animal for carrying out its essential body processes at optimum rate without gain or loss in body weight.
• It is usually given to dry non-producing animals. It roughly satisfies the nutrient requirement for maintenance.
• Gestation or Pregnancy Ration It is the allowance of ration given to the pregnant animal in addition to maintenance ration during the last quarter of pregnancy.
• It is given to satisfy nutrient requirement of pregnant animals. It is required for optimum fetal growth.
• It helps in proper development of udder for future lactation.

Production ration

• It is the additional allowance of ration given to the animal over and above the maintenance ration for the purpose of production like milk, meat, wool and work.
• It is given to meet the nutrient losses through milk.
• It helps to maintain milk production to optimum level.

Compound cattle feed

• Compound cattle feed is a mixture of various concentrate feed ingredients in suitable proportion.
• Commonly used ingredients in compound cattle feed include grains, brans, protein meals/cakes, chunnies, agro-industrial by-products, minerals and vitamins.
• Compound cattle feed is an economical source of concentrate supplements and it could be in the form of mash, pellets, crumbles, cubes, etc.
• Compound cattle feed is palatable and good source of nutrients for growing, adult, dry, milk producing and pregnant animals.
• Through regular use of compound cattle feed in prescribed quantity along with basal diet, cost of milk production from dairy animals can be optimised and net profitability can be increased.

Compound cattle feed needs to be fed as follows:

Particulars	Cows (400 kg body wt.)	Buffaloes (500 kg body wt.)
For maintenance	1.5 – 2.0 kg	2.0 – 2.5 kg
For milk production (per litre)	400 grams	500 grams
For pregnancy	2.0 kg (last two months)	2.0 – 2.5 kg (last two months)

Considering the increase in milk yield, regional variation in feed availability, preference of farmers it is required to produce different varieties of compound cattle feed.

Challenge feeding

            Challenge feeding means the cow with high milk production potential are to be fed increase quantity of concentrate to ‘challenge’ them to produce to the maximum. This starts two weeks before expected date of calving. This challenge feeding will condition her digestive system for the increased amount of concentrate and provide enough nutrients to initiate lactation on a higher plane. Two weeks before the expected date of calving start feeding 500 g of concentrate mixture. The quantity should be increased daily by 300-400 g until the cow is consuming 500-1000g concentrate for every 100 kg body weight.

            After calving, the concentrate allowance should be increased by 500 g per day in the first 2 weeks of lactation until the cow achieves peak yield somewhere in the second month of lactation on free choice basis. After this the milk yield is tested and the concentrate allowance is fixed accordingly.

Challenge feeding schedule:

Period	Concentrate  allowance
Last 2 weeks before calving	Starting from 500g, increase 300 – 400g daily until the cow is eating 500 – 1000g per 100kg body weight.
First 2 weeks of lactation	Increase 500g per day to free choice level.
Second week to peak yield (test day)	Free choice
From test day onwards	According to production as per thumb rules. E.g. 1Kg for every 21/2 kg milk produced
Remaining lactation	Concentrate adjusted to monthly test of milk Production
All periods	Green fodder and dry fodder given adequately

Calf nutrition

• Proper management of young calf is prerequisite to the success of any dairy farm.
• An optimal level of nutrition in early life favors faster growth and early maturity.
• Calves should be reared carefully to obtain optimum gain in body weight, so that they attain about 70-75 percent of mature body weight at puberty.
• Poor feeding of young calves leads to higher age at first calving and overall loss of productivity in the life span.

Important aspects of calf feeding:

• Colostrum feeding within half an hour of birth
• Feeding whole milk/ milk replacer to calves
• Introduction of calf starter/good quality grain from 2nd week onwards
• Good quality hay should also be given to calves
• Deworming and vaccination