Dairy Farming - knowledgebase and resources

Farm Questions
101

Housing of dairy cows:-

Feed racks with headlocks locks are installed in dairy farms to make use of the available space. Cubicles provide comfortable space - assuring resting place for each cow and feed racks make sure the cow is forced to eat what is given. The locks can easily be opened and closed with one lever. It is specially designed to feed young and mature cows. It helps in moving the cows safely during feeding time and no stampede during the feeding process, and it allows you to make the feeding according to the various animal groups in the barn. The feeding locks have a practical on-off mechanism. The feeding locks will be manufactured by hot dip galvanized plating to protect them against corrosion. It’s available with or without headlock arrangement. It will be easy to fabricate mushroom type cubicles for small farms.

See below picture of a feed rack with locking arrangement and it’s locked normally during feeding time. The cow is forced to eat the ration dropped in front.

You must keep all 4 sides of the barn open. Split roofing is also ideal. It’s better to ensure light passage in the roofing by using transparent sheets in between. See the roofing in dairy housing picture attached herewith.

Flooring:- It should be made from artificial materials, rough in design ensuring good grip for the cows, which can collect solar heat thereby assists in faster drying of the surface, easy to clean and avoids being not slippery. Cement concrete flooring with straight grooves is preferred. A slope of 2-3cm should be provided from manger towards the gutter at the back of the cow.

Proper housing climate is one of the pre-conditions for maintaining an ideal environment in all types housing systems. It will directly reflect on the well-being, health condition of animals and its overall performance. Conditions should be made to enhance the animal’s inherent ability to control its own temperature. Ventilation is essential for the supply of fresh air.

In dairy farming, the well-being of livestock plays a significant role in achieving most favourable herd result. Stress-free housing of dairy cattle is one of the major conditions for the realization of this goal. It is important to provide feeding, milking, comfortable resting, cow handling and the environment in a way enabling cows to milk up to their potential.

Murali Krishnan
srivinayakatvm@gmail.com
9447088234

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102

We are having 15 Buffalo with Murrah and Punjab breed in Hyderabad. with a combination of Milking, Dry and Pregnant.

I want to the quantity of feed to be given to each buffalo. Green - Concencrete. Now currently we are giving Green Fodder (chopped), Chunni and Kalli as feed.

The cost of feed is very high. Suggest us on how to reduce the cost on cattle feed

Kindly provide us your valuable feedback and advice.

Thanks
Naveen

103

Switch to silage as soon as possible. Maize silage takes care of green fodder, dry fodder and part of concentrates. And you save money everyday on labour expenses.
Apart from silage, you can just feed additional oil cakes for high milk yielders. Cost of silage should not be more than Rs. 3 / kg if maize procured from outside or if you grow then cost will be Rs. 1.50 / kg. On dry matter basis cost comes to around Rs. 6 - 8 / kg compared to concentrates which are not less than Rs. 15 / kg.

Nikhil

104

Thanks for the quick response Nikil.

Can you please provide further information on Silage and the process of preparing it. and the preparation of concentrate feed which you have said that will cost 6 to 7 rupees.

Thanks in Advance
Naveen

105

Hi

Concentrate feed cost you at least Rs. 20/kg ( for cottonseed oil cake).
I said silage will cost you about 6-7 per kg when moisture is removed that is on Dry matter basis.
When you feed more silage, it compensates protien, fibre and also fills the cows stomach with easily digestible food. Apart from around 25-30 kg silage, you may have to compensate by giving extra protien in form of oil cakes which will be the only extra item to be fed. I feel it will bring down expenses to large extent.

Silage has 10-12% CP depending on amount of Urea you add.

Check attachment for making silage. More information can be obtained by asking Google. Almost all dairies abroad use the silage approach.

Nikhil
Silage making.pdf (715 KB)

106

Its great idea, request to add more ideas/inputs too.

Coming days, feed cost will further be increase even though we got good mansoon and expecting an bumper crops of oil seeds. export will be increased as USD INR , thus creating high price in domestic sales of feed meals.

however milk price is not appreciate in compare with feed meal price and milk productions also increasing day by day due to new enterprenuers adding to the industry… farming is one of the hot subject and priority now.

So it is wise, that self sufficiency in feed ration for our diary. ie growing green fodder, making silage and for any deficiency make own concentrate feed with low cost raw materials. for a successful diary I think we can draw a model

  • 24 hrs self devotion and dedications
  • mix of highest yealding cows + buffaloes
  • own arrangement to grow green fodder + fodder for silage
  • procure hey in harvesting season
  • make silage

reduce concentrate feed and if require make with local raw material like tarmrind seeds, cotton cake, copra cake…etc but need to under what would be total protein/required nutritions delivered from above feeding pattern and what would be the defficency and how we can manage it

more thoughts…

rgds
mathew

107

Keep your cows in cool, calm and quiet place

At high temperatures, the animal stress increases, efficiency decreases and the possibilities of illness increases. Although ideal temperature and humidity conditions differ for each species, in general the temperature must be below 30ºC and the relative humidity must be under 70%. It is possible to obtain desired temperature and humidity conditions in dairy farms which can be managed using Dairy Fan systems. With the fog obtained from dairy fans through the fogging rings placed in front of the fans, it helps keeps the environment cool and efficiency of dairy cattle is increased. Many applications make use of high pressure misting fans to effectively distribute the cool air created through evaporative cooling technologies. Heat stress should be prevented and facilities to prevent heat stroke must be given priority and the cows must be protected from getting exhausted due to heat. We need to ensure safety precautions for cows against heat stroke and exhaustion by them in rising temperatures. Proper housing for your animals and regulating temperatures in summer months of the year is an issue which you should address. Simple solution will be to spray water on cow’s body twice or thrice a day when temperature is high. For large dairy herds, it’s better to install dairy fans with fogging rings.

Murali krishnan
9447088234
srivinayakatvm@gmail.com

[quote=srivinayakatvm]
Housing of dairy cows:-

Feed racks with headlocks locks are installed in dairy farms to make use of the available space. Cubicles provide comfortable space - assuring resting place for each cow and feed racks make sure the cow is forced to eat what is given. The locks can easily be opened and closed with one lever. It is specially designed to feed young and mature cows. It helps in moving the cows safely during feeding time and no stampede during the feeding process, and it allows you to make the feeding according to the various animal groups in the barn. The feeding locks have a practical on-off mechanism. The feeding locks will be manufactured by hot dip galvanized plating to protect them against corrosion. It’s available with or without headlock arrangement. It will be easy to fabricate mushroom type cubicles for small farms.

See below picture of a feed rack with locking arrangement and it’s locked normally during feeding time. The cow is forced to eat the ration dropped in front.

You must keep all 4 sides of the barn open. Split roofing is also ideal. It’s better to ensure light passage in the roofing by using transparent sheets in between. See the roofing in dairy housing picture attached herewith.

Flooring:- It should be made from artificial materials, rough in design ensuring good grip for the cows, which can collect solar heat thereby assists in faster drying of the surface, easy to clean and avoids being not slippery. Cement concrete flooring with straight grooves is preferred. A slope of 2-3cm should be provided from manger towards the gutter at the back of the cow.

Proper housing climate is one of the pre-conditions for maintaining an ideal environment in all types housing systems. It will directly reflect on the well-being, health condition of animals and its overall performance. Conditions should be made to enhance the animal’s inherent ability to control its own temperature. Ventilation is essential for the supply of fresh air.

In dairy farming, the well-being of livestock plays a significant role in achieving most favourable herd result. Stress-free housing of dairy cattle is one of the major conditions for the realization of this goal. It is important to provide feeding, milking, comfortable resting, cow handling and the environment in a way enabling cows to milk up to their potential.

Let us know your requirements for milking, cow mats etc.

Murali Krishnan
srivinayakatvm@gmail.com
9447088234

dairy fans.jpg221×166 8.4 KB

108

Mastitis is a common and costly disease which affects the mammary gland or udder of dairy cattle, resulting in a decrease in milk production and quality.

Mastitis remains one of the most economically important problems of the dairy cattle industry throughout the world. Milk quality and the number of occurrences of disease prevalence clinical and sub clinical mastitis are major factors in determining farm profitability

3 ways cows get mastitis:

  1. Environmental organisms infecting milking cows.
  2. Cows getting infected during dry period.
  3. Contagious organisms spreading through herd.

Factors related to mastitis:-

• Weather.
• Housing – wet and dirty surroundings.
• Milking Equipment’s improper cleaning.
• Udder preparation – pre and post milking routines very important.
• Infection passed on from other cows.

Concentrate on Mastitis control procedures. If we can analyze the source of infections, then we can economically and effectively take control measures.

Murali Krishnan
srivinayakatvm@gmail.com
9447088234

[quote=srivinayakatvm]
Keep your cows in cool, calm and quiet place

At high temperatures, the animal stress increases, efficiency decreases and the possibilities of illness increases. Although ideal temperature and humidity conditions differ for each species, in general the temperature must be below 30ºC and the relative humidity must be under 70%. It is possible to obtain desired temperature and humidity conditions in dairy farms which can be managed using Dairy Fan systems. With the fog obtained from dairy fans through the fogging rings placed in front of the fans, it helps keeps the environment cool and efficiency of dairy cattle is increased. Many applications make use of high pressure misting fans to effectively distribute the cool air created through evaporative cooling technologies. Heat stress should be prevented and facilities to prevent heat stroke must be given priority and the cows must be protected from getting exhausted due to heat. We need to ensure safety precautions for cows against heat stroke and exhaustion by them in rising temperatures. Proper housing for your animals and regulating temperatures in summer months of the year is an issue which you should address. Simple solution will be to spray water on cow’s body twice or thrice a day when temperature is high. For large dairy herds, it’s better to install dairy fans with fogging rings.

Murali krishnan
9447088234
srivinayakatvm@gmail.com

109

There are numerous native Indian and highly productive foreign breeds available. You can choose any of them. You can raise both cows and buffaloes together in separate rows under same shed. Cow’s milk is lower in fat than buffaloes milk. Visit the market and try to understand which product has high demand. For profitable commercial dairy production Murrah, Surti, Mehasani, Jaffrabadi, Badhawari etc. are common and popular buffalo milch breeds. Gir, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar are popular cow breed. You can also go with highly productive foreign breeds like Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss, Jersey etc. All those breeds are suitable for farming in the Indian weather. Always keep in mind the market while choosing breeds for your dairy farming business.

110

Hello,

This is a query on Dairy cows conceiving.

I own a dairy farm with 17 cows. Cows come to heat at regular intervals. We do AI whenever they come to heat (after 16 hours of heat start). However the cows are not conceiving. for some of the cows , this is the third or fourth insemination.

Please advice on how to improve on this.

Some farmers have told me that - feeding cottonseed cake has negative effect on conceiving, is it true ?

thanks,
-Ganapathi Bhat

111

Hi Sir,
I want to start a mini dairy farm in my village in Bihar state. Technicly I have good knowledge about cow farming as I belong from farmer family.
Please advice me the relaible seller of HF Cow / Jersy Cow supplier in Bihar/UP. I have heard about Model dairy Farm in Kanpur however the distance betwwen Bettiah (Bihar) to Kanpur is approx 600 km. Does it safe to dispatch the lactating cow and theie calves from Kanpur to Bettiah through truck? Please advice.
Also, the purchase of caow from dairy farm would be best or from local farmer would be best? Please advice.

Regards,
Chandeshwar Rai
Bettiah
Bihar

112

Breeding is a vast science I would say.
I see problems in AI.

  1. Quantity of semen is very less, every other factor has to be correct for this to work.
  2. The person performing the AI has to be skilled and believe me, it is difficult to get it right. I have inspected the internals of the cow uterus and it is very difficult to get right.
  3. Semen straws have to be stored properly, if they are not alive in first place then nothing will work.
  4. Timing is very important as semen quantity is small.

We also faced lots of issues in our first year. We decided to stop AI and purchased HF bull. All the cows became pregnant.
Advantages of bull

  1. No worry of storage of sperm.
  2. No worry about skill of worker.
  3. You can do as many times as you wish, multiple times in a day.

I feel bull is a better way to maintain your cows, other farms may not have much issues with AI, but we had and we tackled it by switching over to natural service.
Then you can keep good breed male calves and breed them to become replacement bulls.

Other factors are nutrition deficiencies and cow cycle irregularities. So for cow issues, it is best to sit with your vet doctor and sort things out.
Initially breeding is difficult to get right, but with proper handling it can be brought under control.

Good luck.
Nikhil

113

Keep all 4 sides open. Have 3 ft wall on the sides. You must have two side openings for entering and exiting from the shed and it must be sloped one having mesh type rough flooring. Plant shade giving trees around the shed. Let them be free in a controlled fenced area . Separate area for feeding and milking in a “bucklor” system. Its similar to parlor milking but the only difference here will be the cows are positioned in an elevated platform having slopes for entry and exit with locally made stalling with 2 inch thick G.I pipes, the milking will be done using bucket machines and the PVC Vacuum pipes must be around 6 feet to 7 feet height above the milking pit where the milker will be standing. The vacuum hose from that line must end in the milking can kept on the side below the cow, on the ground where milker is standing, and it should be very near to the cow standing platform. You can have small steps under each cow standing position which helps you to position the milking can at a comfortable height so that the milking claw can reach the cow’s udder . The milk tube of the milking can will be approximately 1.5 metre in length. The milk flow will also be smooth from the udder as the can is kept at a lower level. Practice post milking routines like teat dipping/spray using products like Saaf kit.

Have 10 cows on one side, Tail to tail system. The feeding manger inner space should be 0.5 metres inner space. The feeding manger must be “u” shaped and the height towards the cow standing side should not exceed1.5 to 2 feet (we need to protect the neck of the cows, if height is more, cow’s neck will get injured and the edge should be smooth and not having sharp edges)cows depending upon the breed of cows you intend to keep. The other side should have 3 to 4 feet height as the cow’s normally push the feeding material while eating, and the feeding particles must stay there in the feeding bin.

Outside the feeding manger, towards the back of the cow standing place ( 2 meters from the outer wall of the feeding manger), the flooring must have 1 % slope for the water or urine to get drained. The flooring must be of “broom finish”, lines drawn using a broomstick, before the cement gets dried up. Give back to back system - 10 on the right and 10 on the left, give 6 to 8 feet passage in the center. Give 4 feet width for each cow. Have side covers using mesh nets used in green houses during cold season.

Roofing : Split Roofing is ideal, if possible . The center must be open having a raised roofing on top allowing hot air to escape.

Water : water must be made available in front of the cows always. Try installing water bowls if possible.

Cow Mats: For protecting the knees of the cow and udder. It helps the cow’s body to be warm especially in cold climate.

The milking vacuum line can be erected at a height of 6-7 feet at the center of the passage in the center and the support for the vacuum line should be given using welded “L” angles supported from the roof. The Machine must be placed on one side away from the cow walking area. That area must be well ventilated and free from dust.

Murali Krishnan
srivinayakatvm@gmail.com
9447088234

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114

Water intake by dairy cows

Water consumption is related to feed intake, weather conditions, and milk production and stage of lactation. Lactating milk cows drink from 80 to 100 litres of water in a day. Drinking water satisfies 80 to 90% of the daily water requirements of a dairy cow. Water usage for drinking increases with milk production levels. Adequate water system capacity and water rights are needed to make allowances for future increase in milk production. Water consumption was greater more the center alleys. So dairy owners must consider additional space and more water troughs at these watering stations.
Milk is composed of nearly 85% water. An adequate supply of quality water for dairy cattle is extremely important for dairy cattle. Farmers provide cows with free access to fresh water at all times. The water requirements of lactating cows are closely related to milk production, moisture content in the feed and environmental factors such as air temperature and humidity. The cow’s peak water intake occurs during times of greatest feed intake.
Water is the most important nutrient for dairy cattle. Dairy cattle need free access to clean, quality of water for optimal production and it must be low in saline content. Water intake is affected by factors such as environmental temperature, ration dry matter content and milk production. A high-producing lactating dairy cow can drink over 120-150 litres of water during summer season.

Murali Krishnan
srivinayakatvm@gmail.com

115
116

Dear Varun,

If you use steel pipes and Galvaluminium coloured roofing sheets yes you can build 35 x 35 feet shed at Rs. 1,50,000-00 height of the shed at one end not more than 14 feet and other end 8/10 feet you can

117

Dear Mr.Varun,

The price mentioned by me here is for Holstein Fresian cows. You will get other breeds at much lower prices but the yield will be too low. I am not a cow trader. It’s my market info.
The yield will depend upon how well you feed the cows and the genetic potential of the cow. Good Holstein cows can yield 15-22 liters in the morning and 8-12 liters in the evening.
Say 60 liters in the morning and 40 liters in the evening. 5-6 cows will do. The only condition will be to provide good and comfortable housing for the cows, give adequate water, calcium and mineral supplementation, de-worming in periodic intervals, adequate green fodder as per the requirement.
No formula. I have written in this site about cow selection. For your reference:
AGE OF A COW:
The age of a cow 2 permanent incisors at 2 years of age, 4 at 3 years,6 at 4 years and 8 permanent incisors at 5 years of age. Buy cows in the first lactation only.

Selection of cows:

• Buy cows which are healthy, look for the milk vein under the stomach ending in udder.
• Better buy de-horned cows.
• Always find out what feeds were given to that cow and slowly switch over to the feed available in your area. A sudden change might result in drop of yield.
• Buy cows which have just delivered within 3 weeks.
• Better to buy cows less than 5 years of age.
• Normally in cows, the first 3 lactation are good. The best will be 2nd and third.
• Look for signs of mastitis, problems due to delivery, any infections suffered like FMD needs to be checked.
• Its always better to check the milk yield by the purchaser by milking the cow continuously for 3 times.
• Reduction in teat size after milking is a good sign. Teat size must be long.
• Bright eyes, big stomach, long body, good skin texture with polished hair, are other natures to look out for.
• Udder and teats must be soft.
• Better to de-worm the cows after purchase. Not immediately, after 1 or 2 months.
• Never buy cows believing brokers words. They project a big picture as their aim is to make money from both ends.

Goodluck!!
Murali Krishnan
www.tarimak.com
srivinayakatvm@gmail.com
9447088234

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118

Dear sir,
I have read your posts, i have found them very helpful.
Since i have also planned of setting up dairy farm, i need your vital suggestions.I belong from srikakulam 100kms from Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh where temp is 35 celsius and 40 celsius max. I have 3acres of agriculture land with pond in the place.i have built shed of asbestos with all sides open. we bulk cooling centre of visakha dairy near my land.i have planned to start with 10 cows. My queires are:

  1. Which breed of cow is suitable(though i have planned for jersey)? Where i can get good cows near my place?
  2. Apart from grass what should i feed them for good health and milk?

I will be waiting for your reply.

Regards,
Leela krishna

119

Hello Mr.Leela Krishna,

i can’t comment where you get cows that side. Indian breeds like GIR, Tharparkar,Sahiwal will be better along with Jersey cows. You will get these in U.P. Gujarat area. It will be difficult to transport it to A.P. but in 2/3 days its possible by road. Transport in night time only. Give halt in the morning. Let them loose. Give good feeding. Give cows enough calcium and mineral supplementation. Give enough water to drink for the cows. Think of other money earning devices like Vermi composting, organic manure production, selling cow dung powder. Its also revenue apart from milk from cows. You can even sell urine if collected in a clean way.
Keep 4 sides open. Plant shade giving trees around. Have good water source. Give Pelleted cattle feeds which helps in better absorption.

All the best for your venture.

Murali Krishnan
srivinayakatvm@gmail.com

120

Dear sir ,
I m setting up a new Dairy Farm nearby from Indore,(M.P.)India.
I want to Buy Murrah Buffaloes with 12 to 15 Ltr /day. from Haryana & Punjab,can u provides any supplier or breeder from their & some HF cows .

we are planning to visit personally thier so if some leads available is very helpfull to us.

Pls reply asap