MANAGEMENT OF COWS:

 

MANAGEMENT OF COWS:

 

Care and management of calf

• Identification of calves can be done by tattooing of ear at birth, and branding after one year.
• Dehorn the calf within 7-10 days after birth with red hot iron or caustic potash stick or electrical method.
• Deworm at 30 days interval.
• Fresh water should be given age of 2 -3 weeks onwards.
• House the calves in individual calf pens for 3 months afterwards in groups. After six months males and females calves should be housed separately.
• Weigh the calves at weekly interval up to 6 months arid at monthly interval afterwards to know the growth rate.
• Mortality in calves is more in first month due to pneumonia, diarrhoea (calf scours) and worms. House them under warm, clean condition to avoid above problems.
• Extra teats beyond 4 should be removed at 1-2 months of age.
• Males should be castrated at 8-9 weeks of age.
• Keep the body clean and dry to avoid fungal infection.
• Mineral-blocks should be provided, so that the calves lick and no changes for mineral deficiency.

 

Care and management of Heifer

Better care and management of heifer will give high quality replacement stock to the dairy farm.

During the early stage relatively more protein than energy is needed. Most heifers grow well if excellent hay is given. The amount of growth depends upon the quality of forage fed. Feed the heifer sufficiently to produce normal growth.

• The heifers should be provided with a dry shelter free from drafts. A loose housing system with a shelter open to one side is sufficient.
• Breeding under sized animals is never profitable. Small heifers are more likely to have difficulty in calving.
• Place the heifer in a separate shed about 6-8 weeks before she is due to calve.
• Feed 2 – 3 kg of concentrate daily and all other green.
• Animals lagging behind below the required standards should be removed from the herd.
• For the heifer the calving is first time and it may have difficulty in calving. So take extra care during calving.

 

Care and management of Milch Animal

To get high milk during any lactation, the milch animal should be properly fed along a proper care and management practices.

• Provide green succulent forage together with leguminous hay or straw to the extent of animal can consume, so that all its maintenance requirements are met with through forage only. Extra concentrate at the rate of 1 kg for every 2 to 2.5 liters of milk should be provided. Salt and mineral supplements should be given to maintain the lactation.
• Never frighten or excite the animals.
• Concentrate mix is fed before or during milking, where as roughages after milking. This practice will avoid dust in the shed.
• Water should be provided adlibitum.
• Regularity in milking is essential. Increase of milk in the udder will reduce further secretion of milk. Milking thrice is better than twice since 10 – 15 % more milk can be produced.
• Milking should be done with whole hand.
• Cows should be trained to let down milk without calf suckling. This will held to wean the calves early.
• Loose housing with shelter during hot part of the day should be provided.
• The animals will get maximum exercise in loose housing system.
• Grooming of the cows and washing of the buffaloes before milking help in clean milk production.
• Daily brushing will remove loose hair an dirt from the coat.
• Grooming will also keep the animal hide pliable.
• Wallowing of buffaloes or water spraying on their bodies will keep the buffaloes comfortable especially in summer.
• Provide at least 60 days dry period between calving. If the dry period is not sufficient, the milk yield is subsequent lactation will be reduced.
• Vaccinate the cows- against important diseases.
• Every animal should be numbered and particulars pertaining to milk, fat %, feed taken, breeding, drying and calving dates should be recorded.
• Check for mastitis regularly.

 

Animal Feeding

Good Practice

• Timely provision of feed to meet livestock nutritional requirements.
• Always give the animals clean and healthy feed.
• Input must be adequate in both nutritional and economic terms. Feeding cows according to the stage of lactation.
• Make sure adequate water available after milking.
• Cows need clean potable water and free access to it.

Bad Practice

• Insufficient quantity of feed supplied.
• Use of poor quality feed stuffs, Inadequate to meet the animals requirement, Feeding unbalanced rations leads to wastage and poor performance.
• Feeding fodder that has been recently sprayed with pesticide.
• Using dirty water for drinking.

 

Environment

Good Practice

• Cleaning away waste every day.
• Separating medicine and chemical containers from other organic waste.
• Use the manure for land improvement.
• Keep the area clean and safe for animals.

Bad Practice

• Wet unventilated dirty environment.
• Burning rubbish in the vicinity of the cows.
• Excessive use of chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides, contaminates the soil and ground water.

MILKING OF COWS

 

Milking Hygiene

Good Practice

• Washing hands with soap and water before milking each cow. Washing of hands thoroughly between finishing milking one cow and beginning the milking of the next.
• Washing the udder and each teat vigorously with soap and water and dry them with a clean cloth.
• Direct the first milk outside the milking bucket into separate container and throw away.
• Have a clean, dry, floor preferably of rough surfaced concrete without sharp points for the milking area.
• Keep calves where cows can see them during milking.
• Use clean containers for milking and before re-using the milk container: rinse it, scrub it with warm water and detergent or soap, rinse it again leave it to air-dry.
• After milking, cover the milk to avoid contamination and place in a clean and cool area.
• Keep the area clean and safe for animals.

Bad Practice

• Using Milk from sick cows can transmit diseases to humans.
• Using unclean plastic containers.
• leaving milk uncovered.
• Keeping the milk in the sun or outdoors.

 

Method of Milking

Hand milking and machine milking are the two methods.

Many milkers during milking tend to bend their thumb against the teat. The method is known as knuckling which causes injury to teat tissues. Thus milking should always be done with full hand unless the teats are too small or towards the completion of milking. The first few strips of milk from each quarter should not be mixed with the rest of the milk as the former contains highest number of bacteria.

 

Machine Milking

Modern milking machines are capable of milking cows quickly and efficiently, without injuring the udder. The milking machine performs two basic functions.

• It opens the streak canal through the use of a partial vacuum, allowing the milk to flow out of the teat cistern through a line to a receiving container.
• Massages the teat, preventing congestion of blood and lymph in the teat.

Advantages

Easy to operate, costs low, saves time as it milks 1.5 litre to 2 litres per minute. It is also very hygienic and energy-conserving as electricity is not required. All the milk from the udder can be removed. The machine is also easily adaptable and gives a suckling feeling to the cow and avoids pain in the udder as well as leakage of milk.

 

Clean Milk Production :

Milk containing dirt, dust, foreign materials high bacterial count and with off, flavour is called contaminated milk.

Milk is contaminated by various sources :

 

Udder

Unsanitary conditions of milking barns and bedding of the animal causes bacterial growth. Such bacteria may enter in to the udder through teat canal, which causes infection the udder like mastitis resulting contamination of milk. The fore milk may be discarded as it contains high bacterial count. Complete milking should be done. Incomplete milking may lead to infection of the udder.

 

Exterior of cow’s body

Bacteria present on the animal body may enter in to the milk at the time of milking. Maintenance of clean skin, washing flank and udder with clean damp cloth before milk reduces the contamination from this source.

 

Milking barns

Provided with good ventilation and neat flooring.

Dry feeds or forage should be fed after milking.

 

Milker

Dirty hands and clothing of the milker may be the source of contamination causing spread of bacterial diseases to the consumer through milk. Persons suffering from diseases like T.B, Typhoid fever, diphthiria may not be employed for milking. Dirty habits like smoking, drinking should be avoided.

 

Utensils

Clean sanitized, smooth copper free and dry utensils may be used for handling milk.

 

Detergents and disinfectants

Detergents increase the ‘wetting’ potential over the surfaces to be cleaned, displace milk deposits, dissolve milk protein, emulsify the fat and aid the removal of dirt. Detergent effectiveness is usually increased with increasing water temperature, and by using the correct concentration and time of application.

Detergents contain inorganic alkalis (eg. sodium carbonate and silicates and tri-sodium phosphate), surface-active agents (or wetting agents), sequestering (water-softening) agents (eg. polyphosphates) and acids for de-scaling. An inexpensive mixture can be made to give a concentration in solution of 0.25% sodium carbonate (washing soda) and 0.05% polyphosphate (Calgon). Disinfectants are required to destroy the bacteria remaining and subsequently multiplying on the cleaned surfaces. The alternatives are either heat applied as hot water or chemicals. Heat penetrates deposits and crevices and kills bacteria, providing that correct temperatures are maintained during the process of disinfection. When hot water alone is used, it is best to begin the routine with water at not less than 85°C, so that a temperature of at least 77°C can be maintained for at least 2 minutes.

If any concentrated detergent and/or disinfectant comes in contact with the skin or eyes the affected area should be washed immediately with copious amounts of clean water.

 

Milking premises

The milking premises should have a dairy or suitable place equipped with a piped hot and cold water supply, a wash trough, brushes, a work surface, storage racks and cupboards and, if necessary, a vacuum pipeline connection. In addition, it is advisable to have a dairy thermometer (0°C – 100°C), rubber gloves and goggles for use when handling chemicals.

 

Daily routines

Coolers, either the corrugated surface or the turbine in-can, can best be cleaned and disinfected manually and stored in the dairy to drain. Refrigerated bulk milk tanks can be cleaned either manually using cold or warm detergent/disinfectant solutions, or for the larger tanks, by automatic, programmed equipment. In either case, a cold water chlorinated (50 ppm) rinse proceeds and follows the washing solution. Foremilk cups can be a potent source of bacterial contamination and need to be cleaned and disinfected after each milking. They should then be stored in the dairy to drain.

It is important with any method of cleaning that the equipment is drained as soon as possible after washing for storage between milking. Bacteria will not multiply in dry conditions but water lodged in milking equipment will, in suitable temperatures, provide conditions for massive bacterial multiplication. Equipment with poor milk contact surfaces, crevices and large number of joints, remaining wet between milking in ambient temperatures above 20°C, should receive a disinfectant rinse (50 ppm available chlorine) before milking begins.