PROGRAM TERNAK LAKTASI

PROGRAM KERING KANDANG

Pemeliharaan sapi kering kandang adalah memaksimalkan program awal menjelang kelahiran.

Tujuan :

• Mengurangi potensi terjadinya mastitis, selama periode kritis 70 hari setelah melahirkan

• Pengelolaan kondisi tubuh dan berat untuk mencegah kehilangan berat badan

• Body Scoring Condition = 3,0 – 3,5 saat kering kandang dan melahirkan pedet

• Aplikasi dengan cara intramammary sapi kering kandang dengan menggunakan penisilin-dihydrostreptomycin untuk mencegah infeksi baru dan infeksi oleh Staphylococcus aureus

Beberapa hal yang harus diperhatikan :

• Ujung jarum harus steril

• Ambing harus bersih dan kering

• Menggunakan alkohol

• Perlahan memompakan seluruh isi

• Membuang jarum suntik setelah digunakan.

Manajemen

Konsumsi bahan kering selama akhir periode kering sangat penting untuk mencegah kekurangan cadangan energi setelah melahirkan anak sapi dan meningkatkan kinerja reproduksi. Kurangnya konsumsi bahan kering akan menyebabkan masalah metabolisme pada awal produksi.

Beberapa panduan untuk mengelola kondisi tubuh selama periode kering adalah:

• sapi tidak mengalami penurunah kondisi tubuh selama periode kering

• sapi dengan kondisi kebuntingan kemungkinan twins dan harus dipindahkan dalam kandang individu selama dua minggu awal

• sapi tidak kehilangan lebih dari satu unit kondisi tubuh pasca melahirkan anak sapi

• Body Condition Score tidak boleh kurang dari 2,5

Penilaian kondisi tubuh dilaksanakan dengan empat tahapan:

1. Masa kering

2. Saat melahirkan

3. 30 hari pertama

4. 150 – 200 hari berikutnya

Tercantum di bawah ini adalah BCS ideal nilai di setiap tahap :

1. 3,0 - 3,75 masa kering kandang

2. 3,0 – 3,75 saat melahirkan

3. 2,25 – 2,75 saat produksi puncak

4. 3,0 – 3,5 di 150 – 200 hari post partus

GANGGUAN METABOLISME PADA SAPI LAKTASI AWAL

Retensio Placenta (Retensio Secundinae)

• Placenta umumnya keluar setelah 12 hari post partus

• Perlunya pemberian vitamin A, D dan Selenium disamping mineral yang cukup untuk ternak post partus

• Perbaikan dan konsistensi manajemen pemberian pakan sangat penting untuk menjaga kondisi pedet dan kinerja produksi yang baik serta gangguan pada alat reproduksi

Displaced Abomasum

• Displaced Abomasum juga merupaka kendala yang harus dicegah, akibat timbunan gas dalam alat cerna

• Tindakan pencegahan adalah dengan memberikan keseimbangan nutrisi seama periode 45 – 60 hari masa kering, exercise, kebersihan dan kondisi kering – nyaman serta sanitasi kondisi kandang

• Kurangnya asupan serat kasar → pengurangan kegiatan penguyahan → aliran air liur ke dalam rumen berkurang → penurunan buffer rumen akibat kurangnya cairan rumen → menurunnya motalitas dinding rumen → berkurangnya palpasi otot dinding rumen → DISPLACED ABOMASUM

• Tanda-tandanya hamper sama dengan gangguan akibat ketosis :

• keinginan makan naik turun

• suhu tubuh normal

• produksi susu turun

• kelesuan dan ketidaknyamanan

Early Lactation Metabolic Disorders

Retained Placenta

Normally a cow’s placenta is expelled within a 12hr period after calving. If any part of the

afterbirth is held for longer periods it is considered abnormal. The retention of afterbirth in dairy cows is quite common, but with proper management the incidences can hopefully be reduced.

Numerous factors are thought to be important in determining whether the placenta is

successfully expelled so it is quite difficult to pinpoint an exact cause as many direct or indirect factors can be blamed.

We’re all aware that vitamins and minerals are very important and need to be well balanced for dairy cows to get rid of the placenta soon after calving. Research has proven that vitamins A and D and Selenium deficient cows have high placenta retention rates. Dietary supplementation throughout lactation is also very important to maintain adequate levels of these vitamins and minerals. So, CopRice ensure that the above mentioned Vitamins and selenium are included in both your Lead Feed and Dairy Feed and are accompanied by other important vitamins and minerals to provide year round availability. The beauty of pellets in this case is that they ensure each cow will be receiving a daily dose.

One important point to make is that there is a degree of immunosuppression at calving which will ultimately have implications for foetal membrane discharge. This is where correct nutrition can have one of its biggest impacts in decreasing the incidence of this particular metabolic disorder. So, prevent milk fever, make sure you’re feeding adequate vitamins and minerals (especially to animals without access to pasture) and prevent the energy and protein deficiency in early lactation.

The optimum is to maintain a healthy, properly conditioned cow prior to, and after calving. A balanced dry cow ration during the 45-60 day dry period, daily exercise, clean, dry and comfortable calving areas and proper sanitisation during the calving period all important factors to remember in reducing the chances of retained placentas.

Displaced Abomasum

Displaced Abomasum (DA) is a disorder of cattle in which the abomasum becomes swollen with gas and/or fluid and shifts to an abnormal position. Generally the displaced abomasum will move to the left and upwards coming to rest between the rumen and the left abdominal wall.

Dry matter intake depression due to physiological changes associated with the transition period and other post-calving problems (ketosis, retained placenta, milk fever) places the lactating dairy cow at an increased risk for displaced abomasum and is just one of the metabolic problems that can be encountered from the reduced roughage intake, and it is due to both the amount and the texture of the roughage. For example:

Absence of course roughage → Reduced chewing activity → Less saliva flow into the rumen → Decreased buffering capacity of the rumen liquor → Reduced rumen motility → Diminished muscle tone → DISPLACED ABOMASUM

It has also been said that a high concentrate level in the dry cow ration during late gestation and after calving appears to substantially increase the incidence of DA’s.

Some of the signs of a displaced abomasum will quite often resemble those of ketosis being:

• Cows off feed (intermittent eating)

• Normal temperature

• Decreased milk production

• Listlessness and discomfort

The treatment of this problem is neither quick nor easy either and will usually involve abdominal surgery. Proper feeding strategies are known to reduce the incidence of DA’s.

Please take note that minimal lead feeding pre-calving may increase the risk of both acidosisand DA’s through the failure to increase the absorptive capacity of the rumen prior to feeding high energy diets post-calving. Also, lead feeding will hopefully increase the energy status of the cow to reduce the fatty acid mobilisation (from fat reserves) which may also reduce the incidence of ketosis.

Laktasi Awal

Kebutuhan gizi dari susu sapi di awal-laktasi berada pada 100 laktasi hari. Pada tahap awal ini, sapi akan mencapai puncak susu produksi (selama bulan kedua laktasi untuk Holstein sapi), adalah nafsu makan kana menurun dan ternak akan kehilangan bobot badan. Di akhir dari awal laktasi, masa kering akan menjadi masalah dan tidak sedikit kerugian yang ditimbulkan.

Ransum ternak sapi perah biasanya dirumuskan berdasarkan protein (misalnya CP) dan energi (misalnya energi bersih untuk laktasi). Namun, untuk mencapai maksimum
produksi, ransum harus memiliki keseimbang untuk serat, karbohidrat non-struktural, protein tidak tercerna, protein yang larut. Ransum disusun untuk memaksimalkan fungsi mikrobial untuk protein tidak tercerna.

Penurunan Bobot Badan pada masa Awal Laktasi

• Selama periode ini menghasilkan susu meningkat lebih cepat dibandingkan konsumsi bahan kerning (puncak produksi).

• Kebutuhan energi lebih besar dari jumlah energi dikonsumsi sehingga ternak akan memobilisasi cadangan tubuh dan akan menyebabkan terganggunya keseimbangan energi keseimbangan

• Potensi genetik sangat berperan selama periode ini dan ternak akan tertekan untuk berproduksi. Ternak pada tahap ini memiliki keterbatasan kapasitas untuk menelan pakan.

• Ternak dengan potensi genetik yang lebih tinggi akan memobilisasi lemak tubuh untuk waktu yang agak lama daripada sapi dengan potensi genetik yang lebih rendah

• Selama periode ini, pada sapi dapat kehilangan sebanyak 0,7 kg / hari.

Monitoring Konsumsi Pakan selama masa Awal Produksi

• Konsumsi pakan adalah hal yang paling penting dalam mempertahankan tingginya produksi susu

• Ternak harus dimaksimalkan dalam mengkonsumsi pakan selama awal laktasi.

• Setiap tambahan per kg konsumsi bahan kering 2-2.4 kg susu.

• Konsumsi pakan ternak dipengaruhi oleh : tingkat produksi, kualitas dan kuantitas hijauan/pakan berserat, kecernaan pakan, pengolahan makanan, frekuensi makan, konsistensi ratio bahan dll

Kebutuhan Bahan Kering Pakan Ternak Sapi Perah Laktasi

Time	Laktasi Pertama	Lakasi kedua
Minggu I	14	16	(2.5% BW)
Minggu II	15-16	19	(2.9% BW)
Minggu III	17	21	(3.4% BW)
Minggu IV	18	22	(3.6% BW)
Minggu V	18-19	24	(4% BW)

Menghitung konsumsi

DMI (% berat badan) = 4,048 – 0,00387 x badan berat badan (kg) + 0,0584 x 4% FCM (kg)

Gunakan persamaan berikut untuk menghitung kebutuhan Bahan Kering (kualitas lemak susu 4%)

0,4 x produksi air susu (kg/hari) + 15 x lemak susu (kg/hari)

• Mengkondisikan kualitas ruminansi sangat penting pada awal laktasi

• Dengan demikian, penting untuk pakan minimal 40% dari rasio bahan kering adalah hijauan/pakan berserat. Sekitar setengah dari pakan berserat harus memiliki panjang minimal 2,6 cm yang efektif dalam merangsang proses ruminansi.

• Kualitas pakan ternak yang tinggi harus diberikan selama periode ini untuk meningkatkan konsumsi bahan kering

• Kandungan Neutral Detergent Fibre sebesar 28%

• Kandungan Acid Detergent Fibre sebesar 19%

• Untuk menghindari masalah pencernaan (e.g. acidosis, depresi konsumsi), konsentrat ditambahkan secara bertahap sekitar 0,5 0,7 kg/hari selama dua minggu pertama.

• Protein sangat penting selama awal laktasi karena terbatasnya protein yang dimobilisasi dibandingkan dengan lemak tubuh. Dengan demikian pada awal laktasi, yang diet kandungan protein 17-19% dianjurkan. 35-30% protein tidak tercerna dalam pakan, sementara 30% merupakan protein terlarut. Sebuah pedoman : 0,5 kg pakan dari 34 – 50% protein konsentrat untuk setiap 5 kg susu yang dihasilkan
  di atas produksi 20 kg susu.

• Strategi lain :

  • sapi biasanya makan setelah pemerahan, sehingga pakan segar harus selalu tersedia di dalam tempat pakan untuk meningkatkan konsumsi pakan. Tinggi produksi sapi akan makan hingga 12 kali makan dengan rataan 23 menit.

  • Pedoman konsumsi bahan kering (kg) untuk ternak laktasi :

Waktu	Laktasi Pertama	Laktasi Kedua	%-ase Bahan Kering
Minggu I	14	16	2,5% Bobot Badan
Minggu II	15 – 16	19	2,9 % Bobot Badan
Minggu III	17	21	3,4 % Bobot Badan
Minggu IV	18	22	3,6 % Bobot Badan
Minggu V	18 – 19	24	% Bobot Badan

• Jika konsentrat sedang diberi makan secara terpisah dari pakan berserat, ternak harus diberi makan beberapa kali sehari.

• Feed harus tersedia untuk sapi minimal 20 jam per hari

• Pakan berserat harus diberi sebelum konsenntrat pada pemberian pakan pagi hari

• Protein suplemen harus diberi makan bersamaan dengan bahan pakan sumber energi dan/atau pakan sumber energi diberikan sebelum bahan pakan sumber protein

• Bahan pakan berserat harus dipastikan memiliki serat yang cukup panjang

• Jika dua forages diberikan, sebaiknya dicampur daripada diberikan terpisah

• Jika intakes berada di bawah normal, lakukan pemeriksaan pada bahan pakan berserat non-karbohidrat, ukuran pakan berserat dan kualitas air.

Pemberian pakan secara terpisah

• Pemberian ransum dengan campuran konsentrat – pakan berserat (TMR) sebaiknya perlu difikirkan, masih banyak peternak sapi perah yang memberikan pakan berserat dan konsentrat secara terpisah.

• Komponen konsentrat biasanya hanya diberi makan sekali atau dua kali setiap hari. Hal ini dapat menyebabkan tidak seragamnya pasokan nutrisi dan ketidakefisienan dalam pemanfaatan gizi.

• Pemberian konsentrat sesering mungkin akan membantu kestabilan lingkungan rumen. Beberapa strategi manajemen dapat digunakan untuk meningkatkan produksi susu sapi dan kesehatan ternak

• Hindari perubahan kualitas pakan ternak

• Berikan pakan berserat sesering mungkin hal ini akan membantu menjaga pakan ternak selalu berada dalam keadaan segar dan ternak akan lebih sering makan

• Berikan pakan berserat di pagi hari sebelum diberi konsentrat

• Hindari memberi konsentrat diatas 2.5-3.5 kg sekali pemberian. Selain mencegah kebosanan, juga akan menghilangkan resiko acidosis akibat tingginya asupan karbohidrat dalam rumen

• Perhatikan ukuran konsentrat. Konsentrat yang terlelu halus akan sangat cepat dalam rumen dan akan menyebabkan acidosis masalah.

Frekuensi makan

• Peningkatan frekuensi pakan akan mengurangi variasi keasaman dalam rumen dan dengan akan membantu menstabilkan lingkungan rumen.

• Kestabilan pH rumen sangat penting penting dalam pencernaan serat

Urutan Pemberian Pakan

• Memberi pengaruh pada fungsi kerja rumen

• Jika berserat dan konsentrat diberikan secara terpisah, maka pakan berserat harus diberi makan terlebih dahulu di pagi hari sebelum diberikan konsentrat

• Bahan pakan sumber protein (misalnya, tepung kedelai) dan sumber karbohidrat (misalnya jagung) diberikan bersamaan akan memberi lemak susu lebih tinggi. Hal ini karena mikroba rumen memerlukan energi dan protein untuk tumbuh.

Ketepatan Pencampuran

Kombinasi bahan pakan harus dilaksanakan dengan tepat untuk memperoleh keseimbangan gizi. Bahan pakan yang diberikan dalam jumlah tertentu (misalnya mineral dan vitamin), sebaiknya dicampur terlebih dahulu dengan bahan pakan yang lain sebelum dilakukan pencampuran yang lebih banyak lagi

Laktasi Medium

• Medium laktasi berada pada 100 – 200 hari post partus. Pada tahapan ini, ternak akan mencapai puncak produksi (8-10 minggu post partus).

• Konsumsi bahan kering harus tervvapai tidak lebih dari 10 minggu post partus.

• Ternak harus mengkomsumsi 4% dari total bobot badan.

• Hal ini akan menjaga persistensi produksi ternak

• Untuk setiap 2 kg produksi air susu, sedikitnya ternak harus mengkonsumsi 1 kg bahan kering

• Sasaran utama selama periode ini adalah menjaga puncak produksi susu selama
  mungkin dengan total produksi susu sebesar 200 - 225 kg atau lebih selama masa laktasi.

• Jadi kunci strategi selama pertengahan laktasi adalah untuk memaksimalkan masalah asupan kering. Selama periode ini pada sapi harus diberi pakan dengan kandungan serat tinggi (minimal 40 sampai 45% dari rasio bahan kering), dan kandungan serat harus dipertahankan pada tingkat yang sama dengan usia laktasi akhir

• Konsentrat tidak boleh melebihi 2,3% dari berat badan dan sumber pakan non-serat seperti bubur bit, distillers butir biji-bijian dan dedak dapat menggantikan bagian dari pati dalam campuran untuk memelihara lingkungan rumen yang sehat.

• Kandungan Protein pada masa medium lactation lebih rendah daripada awal laktasi dengan kandungan CP 15-17%

• Selama periode ini sapi yang harus digemukkan sebelum bunting (60-70 hari post partus)

Laktasi Akhir

• Fase ini dimulai 200 hari post parrtus sampai ternak memasuki masa kering kandang

• Pada fase ini produksi air susu akan menurun, juga konsumsi pakan

• Tetapi konsumsi pakan akan lebih mudah dikonversi menjadi produksi air susu dan dengan kondisi bobot badan ternak diggunakan untuk mengganti jaringan yang hilang selama masa laktasi awal

• Pada masa ini kenaikan bobot badan disebabkan karena bertam bahnya bobot janin

• Sumber protein dan energy tidak penting pada masa ini. Ransum murah dapat disusun dengan menggunakan non-protein nitrogen yang dapat menfermentasi karbohidrat, misalnya tetes.

Tabel Kebutuhan Nutrisi Ternak Sapi Perah

Tahap Laktasi	Awal	Medium	Akhir
Rata-rata Produksi Susu (kg/hari)	40	30	20
Konsumsi Bahan Kering (kg/hari)	24 – 26	21 – 23	11 – 12
Kandungan Protein (% bahan kering)	17 – 19	15 – 16	13 – 15
Protein tidak tercerna (% CP)	35 – 40	30 – 35	25
Protein Terlarut (% CP)	25 – 33	25 – 36	25 – 40
Neutral Detergent Fibre (% bahan kering)	30 – 34	30 – 38	33 – 43
Acid Detergent Fibre (% bahan kering)	19 – 21	19 – 23	22 – 26
Efektif kandungan Serat (NDF %)	25	25	25
Nett Energy (MCal/kg)	1,64	1,57	1,5
Non-Carbohidrat Fibre (% bahan kering)	30 – 42	30 – 44	30 – 45
Total Digenstible Nutrient (% bahan kering)	72 – 74	69 – 71	66 – 68
Lemak (max, bahan kering) – %	5 – 6	4 – 6	3 – 5
Calcium (% bahan kering)	0,8 – 1,1	0,8 – 1	0,7 – 0,9
Phosphorous (% bahan kering)	0,5 – 0,9	0,4 – 0,8	0,4 – 0,7
Kalium (% bahan kering)	0,9 – 1,4	0,9 – 1,3	0,9 – 1,3
Natrium (% bahan kering)	0,2 – 0,45	0,2 – 0,45	0,18 – 0,45
Kaporit (% bahan kering)	0,25 – 0,3	0,25 – 0,3	0,25 – 0,3
Belerang (% bahan kering)	0,22 – 0,24	0,2 – 0,24	0,2 – 0,22
Kobalt (mg / kg DM)	0,2 – 0,3	0,2 – 0,3	0,2 – 0,3
Tembaga (mg / kg DM)	15 – 30	15 – 30	12 – 30
Mangan (mg / kg DM)	60	60	50
Seng (mg / kg DM)	80	80	70
Yodium (mg / kg DM)	0,8 – 14	0,6 – 1,4	0,6 – 1,2
Besi (mg / kg DM)	100	75-100	50-100
Adenium (mg / kg DM)	0,3	0,3	0,3
Vitamin A (1000 IU / hari)	100 – 200	100 – 200	100 – 200
Vitamin D (1000 IU / hari)	20 – 30	20 – 30	20 – 30
Vitamin E (IU / hari)	600 – 800	400 – 600	400 – 600

1- Early lactation

Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cows in Early-lactation

Early lactation usually refers to the first 100 days of lactation. At the beginning of this phase, cows will achieve peak milk production (during the second month of lactation for Holstein

cows), feed intake is lagging and cows are usually losing weight. At the end of early lactation, peak dry matter will be achieveand no weight losses occurring.

Rations for lactating dairy cows are usually formulated based on protein (e.g. CP) and energy (e.g. net energy for lactation) requirements. However, to achieve maximum production, dairy rations should be balanced for effective fiber, non-structural carbohydrates, ruminal undegraded protein, soluble protein. Dairy rations are usually formulated to maximize microbial yield and for requirements for ruminal undegraded amino acids. General guidelines for nutrient requirements for dairy cows at different stages of lactation are listed in Table 1. These guidelines are based on the 1989 and 2001 Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cows (published by the National Research Council). Detailed discussion on carbohydrate and protein requirements will be provided in separate chapters. The recommendations for feeding dairy cows in the following discussion is based on the assumption that total mixed rations are fed. Dairy cows should be divided into three groups according to stage of lactation (i.e. level of production). Thisimplies that three different TMR should be fed to the herd (at least two TMR, one for the high producing group and one for the low producing group).

Body Weigh Loss During Early Lactation

During this period milk yield increases more rapidly than dry matter intake (peak production). The demand for energy is therefore higher than the amount of energy consumed. Thus the cow mobilizes body reserves and losses weight (negative energy balance).

The genetic potential is usually expressed during this period and the cow will be under pressure to produce a large amount of milk. However, the cow at this stage has a limited capacity to ingest the required amount of feed. Thus it is normal for the cow to mobilize body fat during early lactation. The ability of the dairy cow to mobilize body fats contributed to its genetic potential (i.e. cows with higher genetic potential will mobilize body fats for a longer period of time than cows with a lower genetic potential). During this period, the cow could lose as much as 0.7 kg/day.

Monitoring Dry Matter Intake During Early Lactation

Feed intake is the key factor in maintaining high milk production. Cows should be encouraged to maximize their intake during early lactation. Each additional kg of dry mater consumed can support 2-2.4 kg more milk. Feed intake by the dairy cow is influenced by many factors including level of production, forage quantity and quality, feed digestibility, feed processing, feeding frequency, consistency of ration ingredients etc.

How to calculate dry matter intake in dairy cows: The following equation can be used to calculate dry matter intake

DMI (% body weight) = 4.048 – 0.00387 x body weigh (kg) + 0.0584 x 4% FCM (kg)

Use the following equation to calculate 4% FCM

0.4 x actual milk yield in kg/day) + 15 x milk fat in kg/day

- Maintaining good rumination is essential in early lactation. Thus it is important to feed at least 40% of the ration dry matter as forage. About half of the forage should have a particle length of at least 2.6 cm to effectively stimulate chewing. High quality forage should be fed during this period to improve dry matter intake. Neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber levels should be set at 28 and 19%, respectively to maximize intake- Major ration changes should be avoided. To avoid any digestive problems (e.g. acidosis, depressed intake), concentrates should be added gradually at a rate of about 0.5 to 0.7 kg/day for the first two weeks. - Protein is very critical during early lactation as the amount of body protein that can be mobilized is very limited compared with body fat. Thus in early lactation, a dietary protein content of 17-19% is recommended. About 35-30% of dietary protein should be ruminally undegraded protein while 30% should be soluble protein. A guideline is to feed 0.5 kg of a 34 to 50% protein concentrates for every 5 kg of milk produced above 20 kg of milk.

Other Feeding Strategies for High Producing Cows

1- Cows usually eat after milking. Thus fresh feed should always be available in the feed bunk immediately to encourage feed consumption. High producing cows will eat up to 12

Guidelines for dry matter intake (kg) for lactating dairy cows

Time 1st lactation 2nd lactation

Week 1 14 16 (2.5% BW)

Week 2 15-16 19 (2.9% BW)

Week 3 17 21 (3.4% BW)

Week 4 18 22 (3.6% BW)

Week 5 18-19 24 (4% BW)

meals per day, each averages 23 minutes. The best TMR dry matter is between 50-75%.

Wetter or drier rations will limit intake

2- If concentrates are being fed separately from forages, they should be fed several times

a day.

3- Feeds should be available to cows at least 20 hours per day

4- Hay should be fed before grain and / or protein supplement in the morning.

5- Protein supplements should be fed with energy sources and / or feed the energy source

before protein

6- Forage should be checked to make sure it contains enough long fiber.

7- If two forages are being fed, it is preferable to mix them rather than feed them

separately.

8- If intakes are below normal begin by checking the non-fiber carbohydrate level, forage

particle size and water quality.

Feeding separately

While total mixed rations (TMR) get a lot of attention, many dairy producers still feed forage and concentrates separately. The concentrate component is usually fed only once or twice daily. This results in non-uniform supply of nutrients and inefficiencies of nutrient utilization can occur. Providing smaller and more frequent meals of concentrates may help stabilizing the rumen environment. Several management strategies can be used to improve milk production and cow health in component-fed herds.

- Avoid large variation in forage quality

- Feed forages frequently and push up feed frequently. This practice helps keep feed fresh and encourage cows to eat smaller meals more often.

- Feed some in the morning before cows have access to concentrates.

- Do not feed more than 2.5-3.5 kg of grain per feeding. Limiting the amount of grain fed at one time lowers the risk of creating acidotic conditions in the rumen due to rapid breakdown of carbohydrates in the rumen.

- Watch Particle size of grain. Finely ground grains breakdown rapidly in the rumen and can lead to acidosis problems.

Feeding frequency

Increased feeding frequency reduces daily variations in rumen pH and thus helpsstabilizing the rumen environment. The proper range and consistency of ruminal pH iscritical in fiber digestion.

Feeding sequence

Feeding frequency affects rumen function and cow performance. If forage andconcentrates are being fed separately, forages should be fed first in the morning followedby a portion of the grain mix.

Feeding protein (e.g. soybean meal) and carbohydrate (e.g. corn) supplements together

results in higher milk fat percentage than feeding them separately. This is because rumen

microbes require both energy and protein to grow.

Mixing accuracy

A TMR or forage combination must be adequately mixed in order to provide a proper nutrient balance. When mixing small quantities of specific ingredients (e.g. minerals and vitamins), it may more appropriate to include them in a pre-mix where larger quantities

can be added to the ration.

Chemical analysis of the ingredients must be accurate. Chemical analysis of TMR and calculated analysis of individual feed ingredients will vary, but they should be within a given range of variations. A comparison between actual and calculated dry matter of the TMR will give an indication of how ingredients are mixing.

2- Mid-lactation

Mid-lactation period is the period from day 100 to day 200 after calving. By the beginning of this phase, cows will have achieved peak production (8-10 weeks after calving). Peak dry matter intake has also occurred with no more weight losses (see figure 1). Cows should reach maximum dry matter intake no later than 10 weeks after calving. At this point, cows should be eating at least 4% of their body weight. The cow should be fed a ration that will maintain peak production as long as possible. For every 2 kg of expected milk production, large-breed cows should eat at least one kg of dry matter. The main target during this period is to maintain peak milk productions as long as possible. For each extra kg of milk at peak production, the average cow will produce 200- 225 kg more milk for the entire lactation. Thus the key strategy during mid lactation is to maximize dry matter intake. During this period the cow should be fed high quality forage (minimum 40 to 45% of the ration dry matter) and the level of effective fiber should be maintained at a level similar to that of early lactation.

Concentrates should not exceed 2.3% of body weight and sources of non-forage fibers such as beet pulp, distillers grains and cereal bran can replace part of the starch in the ration to maintain a healthy rumen environment. Protein requirements during mid lactation are lower than in early lactation. Therefore rations for dairy cows in mid-lactation should contain 15-17% crude protein (Table 1). During this period the cow should be bred to initiate a new pregnancy (60-70 days after calving).

3- Late-lactation

This phase may begin 200 days after calving and end when the cow dries off. During this period, milk yield continues to decline and so does feed intake. However, the intake easily matches milk yield. The cow also gains weight during this period to replenish the adipose tissue lost during early lactation (see figure abve). However, as lactation approaches an end, more of the increase in body weight is due to the increased size of the growing fetus.

Sources of protein and energy are not very critical during this period. Cheap rations can

be formulated with non-protein nitrogen and a source of readily fermentable carbohydrates such as molasses