Fodder for cattles
· Fodder management is very important in dairy
farming. The
daily milk yield of cow depends on the type fodder and nutritional facts of the
given fodder.
· High yielding cows should be given 1 kg of
concentrate along with mineral mixture to get 2.5 liters
of milk yield. For
example, if a cow yields 15 liters of milk daily then these cows should be
given 6 kg of concentrate with mineral mixture.
There are three types
of fodder can be provided under dairy fodder-management practices.
1. Dry fodder: wheat
hay, kutti (rice / pady
straw), chokar (wheat
bran)
2.
Green fodder: Any leguminous crops which are good in
protein supplements. For
example: Any gram crop, barseem, maize / corn, masoor and hybrid grass like CO-3 and CO-4,
niper grass etc. These
green fodder crops can be utilized to make silage. This silage is very nutritious and milk yield will be increased. Silage making is very important and
especially it is needed in dry periods. Generally, 2 to 3 acres of fertile land enough to grow green
fodders for 15 cows. However,
the yield of green fodder depends on many factors.
3.
Concentrate and Mineral
Mixture: Mineral mixture:- It is necessary to provide concentrafeed
along with mineral mixer on regular basis to prevent cows from mineral deficiency.
·
All three types such as dry
green and mineral mixture should be accurate proportions for best milk yield.
Note: The cost of feed may depend on the animal milk capacity. On an average, feed may cost about 200
to 250 rupees/day/cow.