The hot weather protects the cow.

The suitable temperature for dairy cows is 10 ℃ ~ 20 ℃, and it is hot and humid in summer, which can easily lead to decreased appetite, low energy and decreased milk yield. Doing a good job of feeding and management at this time can reduce the degree of heat stress of dairy cows and make dairy cows have a stable and high yield in summer. Recently, the reporter interviewed Professor Lin Qing of the School of Animal Science and Technology of Northwestern University of Agriculture and Forestry, a member of our expert advisory panel, and asked him to guide farmers on how to raise cows in hot weather.

Keep it ventilated? In the hot summer, farmers should strengthen the air convection in the house. A ventilation hole is reserved on the roof of the barn, and a large ventilation fan and an electric fan with large air volume are installed in the shed to increase the speed of air flow in the shed and take away the heat from the cow's body surface. Lin Qing said that when the temperature is higher than 29 ℃ and the humidity is more than 50%, the temperature needs to be cooled from 5: 00 a.m. to 1: 00 p.m., and the difference between cow body temperature and air temperature at night is relatively large, which can shorten the air supply time.

Cool down in the shower? A sprinkler is installed on the roof of the barn to reduce the temperature in the barn. For the cow body shower, it can directly cool down and enhance evaporation and heat dissipation. When the temperature in the house exceeds 26 ℃, spray for 3 minutes every 30-45 minutes; when the temperature in the house reaches 26 ℃, spray water for 1 minute every 30-45 minutes. Lin Qing reminded that attention should be paid to turning on the fan or fan after cooling the spray or shower to reduce the humidity in the house.

Plenty of water? The amount of drinking water of dairy cows is larger, and it will increase in hot summer. In hot weather, to provide cows with fresh and clean drinking water, it is best to use cold water or deep well water or newly released tap water once within two hours. The water quality should meet the sanitary standards of drinking water, and the sink should be washed after each drinking water. Lin Qing suggested that Huoxiang Zhengqi water can be added to the drinking water of dairy cows, which has a better effect of preventing summer heat.

Scientific feeding? Increase the dietary nutrient content and reduce the feeding amount of roughage. Increase the proportion of concentrate (but not more than 60%), increase the dietary protein level, the protein content can be increased to 18%-20% of the dietary content, and feed more green high-quality forage, such as carrots, bean dregs, beer dregs and other succulent feed. Lin Qing said that in times of high temperature and drought, when grass is scarce, hay can be used instead of grass.

Increase nutrition? In hot weather, dairy cows breathe and sweat more, which often leads to mineral deficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the content of minerals such as potassium, sodium and magnesium in the diet. Potassium can be increased to 1.2% 1.5% of dietary dry matter, 0.5% of sodium, 0.3% of magnesium, and each cow can be supplemented with 60 grams of potassium chloride, 100 grams of sodium bicarbonate and 30 grams of magnesium chloride per day. After heatstroke, cows need to increase the amount of vitamin feeding. 0.04-0.06% vitamin C and 3-5 times the normal amount of vitamin E can be added to the cow feed.