Five points for attention in feeding Management of Dairy cows in Summer

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. Strengthening feeding and management can reduce the degree of heat stress and maintain the stable and high yield of dairy cows in summer.

1. Use cooling facilities to increase air circulation in the barn

For semi-enclosed barns, doors, windows and wind curtains should be opened to increase ventilation. For the open barn, ventilation facilities or electric fans can be installed if possible, which can reduce the temperature of the barn by 2 ℃ ~ 3 ℃ and speed up the heat dissipation of the cattle.

Install water spray facilities. Spray the head and chest of the cow with cold water mist to reduce the temperature of the cow, but it should be noted that water spraying should not be carried out at noon, the time should not be too long, and the frequency should not be too frequent, otherwise it will lead to excessive humidity in the house and make it difficult for cows to dissipate heat. Usually the barn should be kept dry without stagnant water and the relative humidity should be kept below 80%.

two。 Improve the feeding method

Adjust the feeding time and feed it when it is cool in the morning and evening (before 7am or after 9pm).

Appropriately increase the number of feeding times, increase night feeding, it is suggested that summer night feeding should account for more than 60% of the diet, which can make up for the lack of food intake caused by high temperature anorexia.

3. Increase the nutritional concentration of diet

Adjust the composition of feed materials in the diet. One is to adjust the ratio of concentrate to roughage in the diet, that is, to increase the proportion of concentrate and reduce the amount of coarse feed. Note that the maximum proportion of concentrate should not exceed 60%. The second is to adjust the feed raw materials of the diet, reduce the amount of the same feed, increase high-quality feed such as whole cottonseed, soybean, high-quality forage, whole-plant silage, etc., and add rumen feed varieties such as fatty acid calcium and amino acids to the diets of pre-lactation and high-yield dairy cows.

Use rumen buffers. Due to the increase in the proportion of concentrate in the summer diet, 0.75%-1.5% sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or 0.35%-0.40% magnesium oxide should be added to the diet, which is beneficial to the digestion and absorption of nutrients in the rumen.

Add substances to relieve heat stress. The supply of potassium, sodium and magnesium should be increased in the diet. Each cow diet can be supplemented with 30g potassium carbonate, 60g magnesium sulfate and 120g salt.

As heat stress increases vitamin A consumption in dairy cows, the amount of vitamin An in summer diets should be doubled.

4. Ensure clean drinking water

In summer, the amount of drinking water of lactating cows can be supplied by 3 to 5 times the amount of milk produced. Wash the sink regularly, disinfect regularly, change drinking water, keep it fresh and cool, and let cows drink freely.

5. Strengthen sanitary management and disinfection

There are more mosquitoes and flies in summer, so aerosol insecticides can be used to spray cattle and its surrounding environment regularly to eliminate mosquitoes and flies. It is necessary to remove feces in time and keep the barn and sports ground clean and dry. Disinfect the barn with 5% Lysol or 2% caustic soda solution once a week, or sprinkle some lime powder in the barn to remove odor and moisture and reduce the incidence of diseases in summer.