Why farmers need to know when to feed their cows

Farmers should desist from feeding their animals on products that are claimed to have good or superior performance. Photo | Michael J. Ssali

What you need to know:

  • Farmers should desist from feeding their animals on products that are claimed to have good or superior performance from people who only identify themselves as experts without verification or marketers of manufacturers.

The best way of evaluating the quality of cattle feed is to present it to the animal as advised by the manufacturer, supplier or your animal health and production service provider; then observe the animals’ response.

Of course all feeds must be properly labelled showing the manufacturer, the ingredients, quantity of ingredients and the mark of certification by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

The supplier should also provide test results for claims they make on the performance of the feeds.

Guide the farmer

If feeds are being recommended by professionals such as animal health and production service providers, the professional must explain to the farmer the reasons for the claim of superior performance based on credible and verifiable scientific or experiential knowledge.

The professional must also be available and willing to address any shortcomings the farmer may experience after using the feeds on her animals.

Beware of fake animal products

Farmers should desist from feeding their animals on products that are claimed to have good or superior performance from people who only identify themselves as experts without verification or marketers of manufacturers.

Last week I came across a farmer who has fairly good producing dairy cattle. His average daily yield is 20 litres per cow but he has animals that go up to 38 litres.

The farmer had a rude shock weeks ago when some marketers visited his land and said their mineral salts had very high milk yield.

The marketers claimed to have imported the salts from South Africa.

The farmer dropped his usual locally made salt and bought a quantity sufficient for one month.

He planned to buy more after his cows improved on milk yield. Unfortunately, the animals drastically reduced production by the third day of feeding. The farmer reverted to his usual salt and the milk yield was back to normal.

When the farmer called the salt marketers, they kept promising to visit the farm but never showed up. Like a computer, the healthy animal body never lies.

 It is simply garbage in-garbage out. If the wrong materials are fed to a cow, the production will also be inadequate.

Reduction in milk production

For a lactating cow, milk is the main production that a farmer observes. A reduction in milk yield is a good indicator of a problem.

If the animal appears healthy and has good appetite, then inadequate feed quantity and quality are the key suspects of a fall in milk production.

In general, the best indicator of the adequacy of the quantity and quality of feed is the body condition of the animal, the colour of the hair and physical condition of the hair such as length and form.

The body condition is usually based on a score of one to five where one is the lowest and five the highest. Well-nourished, high-yielding lactating dairy cows should have a score of 2.25 to 2.75.

To the layman, this means the cows should show their short ribs just slightly. Pregnant cows should have a score of 3.0 to 3.25, meaning their short ribs are barely visible.

Body shape

For heifers and young stock, the short ribs should not be seen at all but there should be no visible fat deposits. For dairy cattle in any stage of production, the hair colour should be consistent with the breed.

Friesians are standard black and white. Ayrshires are red and white while Guernseys are brown and white. Jerseys are mauve with a tinge of black. Well-nourished animals are also strong and move with confidence. Malnourished animals have long, thin dishevelled hair that tends to be curly.

Their faces look sad, especially for calves. The animals tend to move with a lot of caution, possibly because they feel weak.

Interestingly, my experience is that more than 80 percent of dairy cattle in zero grazing are malnourished. They get inadequate and poor quality feed.

Earlier this week I visited a dairy farm in Murang’a County and was impressed by the level of uniformity in the good body condition of the Friesians.

Most people can take good care of the adult milking cattle but calves and other young stock are usually a serious challenge.

I have mostly found them in very poor body condition. The hair is often discoloured, long, thin and curly. The farm I visited had only one poorly kept young stock. The manager explained to me that the calf was neglected after weaning because it was a bull.

Super green grass

I advised the manager that it would be better to dispose of the animal than neglect it. Most farmers, unfortunately, fail to understand that bulls and heifers have the same nutritional requirements in readiness for their different future roles in reproduction.

The bull lays down muscle and develops its sperm-producing organs in readiness for mating in future.

The heifer, on the other hand, lays down fat and develops its uterus and ovaries in readiness for pregnancies. I asked the farm manager how she had maintained such good feeding of her animals.

She just pointed to her vast lot of super green very prolific Napier grass. The manager said it has done wonders to her animals since she started planting it in May this year.

Dr Joseph Mugachia is a veterinary doctor