: mnfng, Saturday, November 30, 1906
GEORGE F.W HAENLEIN
Extension Dairy Specialist
University of Delaware
NEWARK, Dei. In a pre
vious article, my discussion about
increasing feed intake in dairy ani
mals was fairly general. I’ll devote
this article to specifics.
Under our region’s predomin
ant dairy cattle management sys
tem-loose housing or free-stall
housing with free-choice feeding
silage bunks and hay racks the
decisive factors influencing feed
intake are related to animal beha
vior and the provision of physical
facilities, specifically social dom
inance, competition for feed, feed
ing strategies, animal grouping,
and patterns of animal traffic.
If there is no individual feeding,
at least of the grain supplement, in
the milking parlor or at electronic
feeding stations, and the grain
supplement is part of a “total mix
ed ration” (TMR), then the dairy
farmer must group cows with
similar levels of production or
stage of lactation, especially in
laiger herds.
Many dairy farmers with herd
sizes between 50 and 300 cows
have difficulty deciding on the
overriding need for cow grouping.
This means that if only one
group exists, all cows are offered
the same TMR feed, regardless of
whether a cow is a high or low
milker, skinny or fat; all cows get
the same TMR.
Presumably, their possible
overeating hurts neither them nor
the farmer’s pocketbook, which is
not true in most cases.
Of course, there are disadvant
ages to cow grouping other than
subdividing and fencing.
Cows must be moved in and out
of groups, depending on their lac
tation status and changing level of
production. This moving of cows
into another group causes animal
behavior problems of social dom
inance until the new cow is ac
cepted into her own rank in the
new group. The result can be re
duced feed intake and, temporari
ly, less production.
Of course, grouping cows re
quires different formulation of
TMR for each group’s need.
Grouping of open, breeding,
pregnant and springing heifers is
more often and more easily prac
ticed.
However, it is both important
and profitable to bring springing
heifers into a milking group three
weeks before calving. This will
help the animals to start transition
feeding and introduce them to
milking facilities, free stalls and
The Right Conditions Can Bring Profits
routines, thus overcoming their
natural fear.
In some recent studies, first-calf
heifers in their own group ate sig
nificantly more and produced
more milk than when mixed in
with older cows.
In woik at Nebraska and from
our own work here at the Univer
sity of Delaware, a checklist was
developed to ensure a more profit
able feeding system. To assure
maximum feed intake, consider
the following questions.
For feeding management; Is the
feed storage easily accessible?
Arc the feed amounts inventoried
to cover a 12-month need? Is the
delivery of feeds to all groups
easy? Is feed waste and refusal no
more than 5 percent daily? Are the
feeds accurately weighed into the
troughs according to the formula
tions and calculations?
For cow movement* Do cows
move easily and gently from the
parlor without sharp turns? Are
concrete alleys and areas rough
for good footing or are they wet
slippery and poorly grooved? Do
cows have access to feeds (freely
and without fighting) immediately
after milking? Is the feeding area
in shade in summer and sheltered
in winter? Is time away from
clean, fresh water and feeds less
than 6 hours daily? Do cows have
nearby, easy access to water when
on pasture away from buildings?
Have cows been accurately
weighed or at least taped for cor
rect ration calculations during dif
ferent stages of the lactation? Has
body condition of each cow been
determined at different stages of
lactation?
For feeding facilities: Is silage,
hay and TMR bunk space ade
quate and at least 2-2. S linear feet/
cow? Is available water clean,
fresh and not too cold in winter for
less than 20 cows per water sta
tion? Are feed bunk and water fa
cilities in good repair and without
slippery aprons, rough edges and
surfaces? Are feed bunk and water
facilities sheltered against sun,
rain and freezing deterioration of
the feeds, especially TMR? Are
feeding facilities able to provide
feeding more than twice daily?
For feed quality at the bunk: Is
particle size of the forage feeds of
adequate fiber length and more
than IS percent more than 2 inches
long? Is TMR uniformly mixed
every day? Is TMR fed at least
twice per day? Is the feed pushed
near the cows frequently? Are the
feeds free from molds, of low tem
perature and good palatability and
appetizing fragrance all day long
or at least until the next meal? Is
the ration between IS percent and
SO percent moisture? Does the ra
don have at least 17 percent fiber
content and a significant portion
of more than 1 inch in length? Is
the radon properly balanced be
tween rumen available and un
available protein and carbohy
drates? Does the radon have the
right energy density and protein
rado for the high or the low milk
ing group? Does the radon contain
at least 2 to 4 ounces of minerals
per normal average cow feed in
take per day? Is a separate grain
supplement fed at less than 5 to 7
pounds per meal and more than
twice per day? Is the grain supple
ment calculated to be between 2.S
and 3.S pound milk per pound of
grain? Is the daily forage intake as
dry matter between 1.8 percent
and 2.S percent of body weight? Is
forage composidon tested at least
4 times per year and the radon bal
ance calculated accordingly? Is re
fused feed removed regularly and
not building up in mangers and
feed bunks? What is the composi
don of the refused feed indicating
any selection by cows of parts of
the radon?
For animal conditions: Do any
cows have foot and leg problems
hindering them from free mobility
at the feed bunk and hay rack? Are
cows properly ruminating and
cud-chewing at least half of the
herd or group at any one time? Is
the manure consistency not too
firm and not too soupy, with good
green-brown color, without too
many corn kernels and without of
fensive odors? Is the hair coat of
the cows smooth, slick, shiny,
clean and free from rough appear
ance? Are cows breathing normal
ly without cough or nasal dis
charge? Are their eyes looking
bright and lively not dull or tired?
4x4 EQUIPMEN
20 & 23. S HP
ANGLE DOZER BLADE 48" OR 60"
ITAGE 48" SNOW BLOWER WITH
POWER ANGLE CHUTE
• All Attachments Are Front Mount -
Quick Hitch - Hydraulic Lift
• Power Units Full Hydrostatic Four
Wheel Drive
Made In U.S.A.
- Authorized Dealer -
EINEI? SALES & S
sley Road, Lenhartsville, PA I
NEED YOUR
FARM BUILDINGS
PAINTED?
Let us give you a price!
Write:
Daniel’s Painting
637-A Georgetown Rd.
Ronks, PA 17572
(or leave message)
(717) 687-8262
Spray on and Brush in Painting
Are cows quietly moving without
haste or fear and not slipping on
the concrete surfaces? Even when
some cows are in heat and are
mounting each other, arc they still
on sure-footed surfaces?
These questions should stimu
late thinking about whether your
conditions are up to checklist
Maryland Scientist
Wins National Award
ANNAPOLIS, Md. Mary
land Secretary of Agriculture
Lewis R. Riley has announced that
Charles L. Staines, Jr., an entomo
logist in the department’s Plant
Protection Section, has received
the Carlson Award from the
National Plant Board honoring his
distinguished work in the field of
regulatory plant protection.
The National Plant Board
(NPB) established the award in
remembrance of the late lowa
State entomologist and former
NPB President Carl Carlson.
Staines is the third recipient of the
award. He received an inscritwt
wooden plaque pics a $250 cash
award.
“This is a tremendous national
honor for our own Charles
Staines. He docs an excellent job
on a daily basis of making Mary
land’s nursery inspection program
one of the best in the nation. The
nursery industry is growing rapid
ly in our state and it has an out
standing reputation for the high
quality of its product, due in large
part to the efforts of Charles and
our other inspectors. They work
with the industry to protect the
state’s nursery stock from exotic
or harmful pests," Riley said.
Staines also has been instru-
standards. Of course, individual
feeding will always be superior to
any kind of group feeding, or at
least the combination of indivi
dual grain feeding with the free
choice feeding of hay and silage.
In either case, profits will be de
rived from using this checklist
mental in establishing the Mary
land Certified Professional Horti
culturist program designed to
enhance the professionalism of
those employed in the nursery
industry. To date, mote than 500
individuals have been certified at
the basic level. Some 100 people
have earned advanced certifica
tion in the categories of plant iden
tification, pests and pest manage
ment, herbaceous perennials or
landscape contracting. This volun
tary certification program has
received national recognition and
has been used as a model by many
other states.
Staines has also bear active in
developing successful biological
control and integrated pest man
agement programs to control such
unwanted pests as the cereal leaf
beetle, alfalfa weevil, and Mexi
can bean beetle. His expertise has
also been used to identify beetles
that have the potential to act as
biological control agents for
weeds such as thistles.
Charles has been with the
department since 1973. During
that time he has attained numerous
accomplishments that have bene
fited the agricultural industry.
I
No hernia is unrepairable, even after
several previous tailed attempts. We
specialize in outpatient hernia
repairs, and most patients are able to
return to full work with-in several
days.
PLEASE CALL COLLECT OR WRITE
FOR MORE INFORMATION
MIO ATLANTIC SURGICAL
SERUICES
217 Harrisburg Ave., Suite 201
Lancaster, PA 17603
(800) HERNIA 8
MOST INSURANCE ACCEPTED
I