QUESTION: Could you elabo
rate on some indicators that show
when competition between first
lactation heifers and older cows
becomes a problem?
ANSWER: This question com
es in response to an earlier article
that listed what is expected
between peak milk differences of
2-year-olds and older cows.
The first indicator of course in
this scenario is establishing a ratio
between first lactation peak milk
and older cows.
When this ratio falls below 73 to
75 percent, one consideration may
be that the younger animals are
being shortchanged by older and
mote aggressive cows.
Doing things tight during heifer
development can go a long way in
keeping age difference effects to a
minimum, but often that is not
enough.
Therefore, where do we look
when we think that growth, transi
tion, and health considerations are
at their best?
Often times, when heifers peak
at levels that are less than pre
dicted, other trends can be noticed.
If these first lactation animals
also teach their peak lata than the
normal 75 to 90 days in lactation,
we should suspect that the cause
could be from competition with
older cows.
This time period often has youn
ger animals showing persistency
well over 100 percent from test to
test, but they may take 120 to 150
days to hit peak milk. Reproduc
tion statistics ate usually lower
than the rest of the herd when com
petition is the holdback.
Many times, the performance
paramters can tell us there is a
problem. We need to make physi
cal observations if we ate to be tru
ly successful in determing the
source of our problem. These
observations should include feed
ing areas, water access, and resting
places.
Feeding areas should be large
enough to accommodate feed
availability needs. For those that
have three tows of stalls to one
feed area, it is a common mistake
to not notice the young and more
timid cows being pushed back
until everyone else has their fill.
Make sure the bunk has plenty
of feed left for the second wave of
consumers and make sure it does
not take a 36-inch span to reach it
We need to maximize the time
that feed is available to the cows in
a crowded environment. Bunks
that are acccssbile from both sides
can be too narrow and head butting
can limit feed access, therefore
making it the same as a short fence
line bunk.
One of the biggest problems that
I commonly observe is that the tot
al area of the bunk is not used. Feed
is dispersed so that the ends of the
bunk arc unused or become empty
veiy fast
The fact that you provide 150
feet of bunk for 75 cows is not
important when there is no feed at
the last 20 feet of either end.
Water access is just as, if not
more important than feed access.
Cows have the tendency to drink
more heavily at certain times than
others. After milking is one of
these times.
It is important to be able to
accommodate the number of cows
leaving the milking area at one
time. Causing bottlenecks will
result in less than optimal water
intake. This is especially true when
younger, less aggressive cows are
commingled with older cows.
The last area that I will mention
is that of the resting place.
Do you observe that some areas
in your facility are favored over
others? Guess who will be pushed
to the less desirable areas.
Here it becomes advisable to
correct the problem, because first
lactation or not, there will be cows
Lancaster fanning, Saturday, June 26, 1999-A2S
that are forced to use this poorer
area.
What we especially want to
avoid is first lactation animals
using the floor instead of the stall,
to allow quicker escape from one
of more boss cows that may pick
on these youngsters.
It is not my intention to recall
every reason to segregate first lac
tation from the rest of the herd. I
believe that it is good management
to do so.
The truth is, you need to ask
your cows if this might be good for
them.
Do heifers make less than 73
percent of mature cow peak at the
time when we expect them to
peak?
Take the time to develop obser
vation techniques that will guide
you along with your records in
making management decisions.
ry
momly
Average Farm Feed
Costs For Handy
Reference
To help fanners across the state
to have handy reference of com
modity input costs in their feeding
operations for DHIA record sheets
or to develop livestock feed cost
data, here’s last week’s average
costs of various ingredients as
compiled from regional reports
across the state of Pennsylvania.
Remember, these are averages,
so you will need to adjust your fig
ures up down according to your
location and the quality of your
crop.
Com, No.2y 2.42 bu., 4.34
cwt
Wheat, No. 2 2.44 bu., 4.07
cwt
Barley, No. 3 1.44 bu., 3.08
cwt
1.46 bu., 4.56
Oats, No. 2
cwt
4.35 bu..
Soybeans, No. 1
7.26 cwt
Ear Com 73.13 ton, 3.66 cwt.
Alfalfa Hay - 97.50 ton, 4.88
cwt
Mixed Hay 88.00 ton, 4.4
cwL
Timothy Hay 93.50 ton, 4.68
cwL