Content
- 1 What is cow milking?
- 2 How many hours should a cow need to be milked after calving?
- 3 How to milk a cow after calving
- 4 How many times should a cow be milked after calving?
- 5 Should a cow be milked after her second calving?
- 6 When can you drink milk after a cow has calved?
- 7 Tips for organizing cow milking
- 8 Conclusion
It is not always possible to milk a cow after calving. This process directly depends on the characteristics of the birth of calves. Like most mammals, cows may have some difficulties associated with the supply and production of milk. An animal's lactation can be long, but it is necessary to follow all the rules of proper milking.
What is cow milking?
Milking cows is a set of measures aimed at creating feed resources, organizing competent feeding, observing all milking technologies, creating the necessary conditions for housing and care, which lead to the manifestation of milk productivity in the animal.
The speed at which milk appears depends on properly organized milk production and the quality of nutrients supplied to the cow’s body with food. It is important to provide her with enhanced nutrition immediately after calving. Without this, animals will not be able to milk themselves and fully demonstrate their productive qualities. The secretion of milk affects all vital organs: blood circulation, respiration, digestion, nervous system.Therefore, you need to constantly take care of improving the health of the animal. Only then can good milk productivity and high-quality milk yield be achieved. As a rule, abundant milk yields are obtained from cows with a strong constitution and fairly developed internal organs. These properties are established from the moment of birth and are maintained throughout life. That is why it is necessary to take care of good lactation and high-quality milk yield from the first days of an animal’s life.
How many hours should a cow need to be milked after calving?
Typically, the first milking of a cow after calving should be done no later than 2 hours from the moment the calf appears. Small private farms milk by hand, while large farms use milking machines. With the first milking, they receive colostrum - a certain secretion of the mammary gland of mammals, which contains substances involved in the development of the immune system.
The calf will help milk the cow properly after calving. This will solve several important problems at once:
- for a cow, milking a calf is less painful than milking with a milking machine or by hand;
- the calf receives colostrum, which it vitally needs;
- a calving animal behaves much calmer during milking with a newborn calf, its stress goes away faster;
- The calf develops a sucking reflex.
Colostrum is milked for another 3-4 days after calving. It is necessary to allow the newborn near the cow during this period. A week or two after calving, the calf needs to be isolated from its mother.
How to milk a cow after calving
The cow must begin milking after calving, but for 2 weeks the milk goes exclusively to feed the newborn calf. After this, the udder and the entire body of the cow gradually returns to its normal physiological state.
Since during calving the animal loses a lot of fluid, in order to restore water balance, you need to give the animal two buckets of lightly salted water. This liquid will quench your thirst and activate your appetite. After this, the cow is given a little hay and her hindquarters are rubbed for rapid contraction of the uterus and successful passage of the placenta. After a couple of hours you can start milking.
You can feed the animal after calving with hay, fresh grass, but you must give it a mixture with concentrates. After 3 days, without reducing the volume of concentrates, succulent feed is added to the diet. You should not overfeed the animal in the first days after calving. Because of this, appetite can be significantly reduced, intestinal pathologies often occur, and the udder becomes inflamed. As a result, there is a significant reduction in milk yield. Only after a couple of weeks, provided that the cow has fully recovered after calving, can you return to the normal diet. During this period, nutrition will depend on the animal’s body weight, the quantity and quality (fat content) of the milk produced, as well as the time of year in which calving occurred.
When calculating the feeding rate for a calving individual, you need to take as a basis the milk yield that you would like to receive. For low-productive animals, the amount of milk produced does not depend on the quality and quantity of complementary food. For high-yielding, productive cows, the feeding ration is designed to produce 3-5 liters more milk. For animals with average milk production - to get 3 liters of product more than the actual milk yield. It will be necessary to increase the feeding ration while milk yield increases.When milk production decreases, advance feeding ends.
The highest increase in milk yield is produced by concentrates and root crops. If a cow, with increased feeding, constantly increases milk yield, then it is necessary to introduce succulent feed into the diet, without reducing the amount of hay. It is important to diversify the feeding diet of a calving cow: with uniform feeding, the appetite decreases, and milk yield decreases accordingly. Usually the diet is changed every 2 weeks.
How many times should a cow be milked after calving?
Milking a cow after calving is a special, complex process. After calving, most animals experience slight swelling of the udder. This is a natural condition and usually goes away after some time. To ease her well-being and prevent inflammation of the udder, you need to milk as often as possible, 5-6 times a day. If milking is done using a machine, then you can milk 3 times, but after each time, after 1-2 hours, you can also milk it with a machine.
As the swelling of the udder subsides, you can reduce the number of milking procedures. First you need to switch to 4 times a day, then reduce milking to 3 times. If the farmer is dealing with high-yielding animals, he should stop at 3 milkings with an interval of 8 hours.
Should a cow be milked after her second calving?
Milking of calved cows is carried out during the first 100 days from the moment the production of mature milk begins. This time is the highest yield. Feeding, care and milking will depend on how much time has passed since the first calving and on the physiological state after it. If there were no pathologies at the first calving, and the udder is not overstrained, then you can not make dietary restrictions and freely feed silage, hay and haylage.At the same time, concentrates and root vegetables should be limited, and they should be added to the diet gradually.
When can you drink milk after a cow has calved?
Milk is a high-quality protein product that is indispensable for many people, especially children. However, few people know how long after the calf appears it is ready for consumption.
As you know, after calving, during milking, colostrum is produced, which is necessary for the calf’s body. It can also be eaten by humans, but it has a specific taste and smell, which is why not everyone likes colostrum. It is actively secreted for another 8-10 days, then the cow produces the well-known taste of milk. From this period it can be eaten without fear.
Tips for organizing cow milking
Calving and milking of cows are usually given special importance. The productivity of cows depends on these processes. The milking process includes:
- compliance with maintenance and care rules;
- compliance with sanitary standards;
- proper milking;
- regular massage of the mammary glands immediately before milking;
- advance type of feeding.
It is recommended to adhere to certain intervals between feedings and milkings. The animal quickly gets used to the regime and will have time to produce the required amount of milk by the due milking time.
The lactation period is divided into several main stages:
- colostrum – lasts up to 8 days;
- milking stage (main) – up to 100 days;
- average – 100 days;
- the final one is also about 100 days.
After colostrum, the cow produces transitional milk. Then the quality of the milk is restored and it becomes mature.
After calving, approximately 10-14 days later, when the animal’s udder returns to normal and colostrum is replaced by mature milk, you can begin a new feeding system. This is a period of intensive milking for the cow. She is already ready to consume more food for the subsequent production of additional volumes of milk. Usually increase the amount of food consumed by several feed units. When the cow stops responding to the supplements, a gradual reduction in concentrates begins.
Basic tips on cow milking technology include proper advance feeding:
- experts recommend that 50% of concentrates be given chilled in order to increase the process of feed absorption;
- It is desirable that on large farms the technologist keeps records of milking cows and periodically conducts control milkings;
- milking should be carried out regardless of the cattle housing system;
- Milking is considered to be successful if, already on the 40th day after calving, the animal’s productivity has increased by 1.2 times compared to the milk yield on the 14th day.
After successful milking, the main task is to maintain the level of productivity for as long as possible.
Conclusion
It is necessary to milk a cow after calving, having some experience and certain knowledge in this area, since the lactation process is cyclical and depends on the appearance of the calf. In order for cows to have stable lactation and last as long as possible, the farmer needs to properly prepare for this period of milking.Any animal, even a healthy and young one, requires support and care from the owner.
