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Feeding Management of Milch Cattle and Buffalo: Nutrient Requirements, Challenge Feeding, and Complete Feeding Systems
Feeding management of dairy cattle and buffalo is one of the most important factors affecting milk production, reproductive performance, animal health, and farm profitability. Feed accounts for approximately 60–70% of the total cost of milk production, making efficient feeding practices essential for successful dairy farming. Proper feeding management involves meeting the nutritional requirements of animals during different physiological stages, including lactation, gestation, and the dry period. This article discusses nutrient requirements, challenge feeding, feeding during different stages of lactation, feeding of dry cows, feeding of high-yielding dairy animals, and complete feeding systems used in modern dairy farming.
Feeding management of dairy cattle and buffalo refers to the scientific planning and provision of feed to meet the nutritional requirements of animals for maintenance, growth, reproduction, gestation, and milk production while ensuring optimum health and profitability.
Feed alone constitutes 60 percent of the cost of milk production. Hence, feeding management plays a vital role in farm economics. The nutrient requirements should be determined for maintenance, milk production, maintenance of milk fat percentage, and gestation. Based on these nutrient requirements, the ration should be formulated. In general, the dry matter from roughage should not exceed 2 percent of the cow’s live weight, nor should it be less than 1 percent.
Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle and Buffalo
The nutrient requirements of dairy cattle and buffalo vary according to age, body weight, physiological status, and level of milk production. A balanced ration should provide sufficient nutrients to meet the requirements for maintenance, growth, reproduction, gestation, and milk production. Proper nutrition is essential for achieving optimum productivity, maintaining animal health, and ensuring economic dairy farming.
The major nutrient requirements of dairy cattle and buffalo include:
- Energy: Required for maintenance, body functions, growth, pregnancy, and milk production. Energy is mainly supplied through carbohydrates and fats present in forages, grains, and concentrate feeds.
- Protein: Essential for growth, tissue repair, fetal development, and milk synthesis. Protein requirements increase significantly during lactation and late pregnancy.
- Minerals: Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and trace minerals are necessary for skeletal development, metabolic functions, reproduction, and milk production.
- Vitamins: Vitamins A, D, and E are particularly important for growth, immunity, reproduction, and overall health.
- Water: Water is the most essential nutrient for dairy animals. Adequate access to clean drinking water is necessary to support feed intake, milk production, thermoregulation, and normal physiological functions.
The nutrient requirements of dairy animals increase during early lactation, peak milk production, late pregnancy, and periods of rapid growth. Therefore, feeding programs should be adjusted according to the production stage and physiological condition of the animal to ensure optimum performance and health.
Feeding of Dairy Cows at Different Stages of Lactation
Under practical feeding conditions, it is not possible to exercise much choice among roughages or to vary the ingredients in the concentrate mixture extensively. The farm manager should carefully plan a cropping program to ensure a year-round supply of both leguminous and non-leguminous forages.
One feeding schedule based on the thumb rule is:
| Category | Quantity of Green Fodder to be Fed (kg) for Animals Weighing | Concentrate (kg) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 kg | 300 kg | 350 kg | ||
| Dry Cow | 25 | 30 | 35 |
|
| Milking Cow | 25 | 30 | 35 | 1.0 kg for every 2.5 kg of milk produced at an average fat content of 4%. In buffaloes, 1.0 kg of concentrate should be provided for every 2.0 kg of milk produced. |
Early Lactation
A recently calved high-producing cow is unable to consume sufficient feed to support her milk production. Therefore, the cow should have adequate body reserves to provide nutrients during the period of high demand in early lactation, during which she typically loses body weight.
Challenge Feeding
Challenge feeding means that cows with high milk production potential are fed increased quantities of concentrate to “challenge” them to produce at their maximum capacity. This practice begins two weeks before the expected calving date. Challenge feeding conditions the digestive system to handle larger amounts of concentrate and provides sufficient nutrients to initiate lactation at a higher production level. Two weeks before the expected calving date, feeding should begin with 500 g of concentrate mixture.
The quantity should be increased daily by 300–400 g until the cow is consuming 500–1000 g of concentrate per 100 kg of body weight. After calving, the concentrate allowance should be increased by 500 g per day during the first two weeks of lactation until the cow reaches peak yield, usually during the second month of lactation, on a free-choice basis. Thereafter, milk yield should be evaluated and the concentrate allowance adjusted accordingly.
Challenge Feeding Schedule
| Period | Concentrate Allowance |
|---|---|
| Last 2 weeks before calving | Starting from 500 g, increase by 300–400 g daily until the cow is consuming 500–1000 g per 100 kg body weight. |
| First 2 weeks of lactation | Increase by 500 g per day to the free-choice level. |
| Second week to peak yield (test day) | Free choice. |
| From test day onward | According to milk production as per thumb rules, e.g., 1 kg concentrate for every 2.5 kg of milk produced. |
| Remaining lactation | Concentrate allowance adjusted according to monthly milk production records. |
| All periods | Provide adequate quantities of green fodder and dry fodder. |
Feeding During Mid and Late Lactation
The nutrient deficit period of early lactation is followed by a relatively stable period during which the cow can consume enough feed to meet various nutrient demands, and body weight remains more or less stable. During this period, the cow may be fed a well-balanced ration consisting of good-quality fodder and concentrate according to milk yield and milk fat percentage.
During late lactation, the feed intake capacity of the cow exceeds her nutrient requirements. This is the stage when additional nutrients are needed for the growing fetus. It is also the period during which depleted body reserves can be replenished readily, allowing rapid weight gain.
From 7½ to 10 months of lactation, cows may be fed an additional 1–2 kg of concentrate feed above their maintenance and milk production requirements to restore body condition lost during early lactation.
Feeding of Dry Cows
More than half of fetal growth occurs during the last quarter of pregnancy—the dry period. Feeding of cows during this period is often neglected because they are no longer producing milk. Consequently, high-quality fodder and concentrates are often withheld from dry cows. This practice can adversely affect future production.
A dry cow should be fed an adequate quantity of a well-balanced ration for:
- Maintenance of the cow
- Building sufficient body reserves for the ensuing lactation
- Growth of the fetus
- Production of colostrum with high nutritive value
The body condition of the cow can be improved by providing additional nutrients during the latter part of lactation or during the dry period. If body condition is poor, the quantity of concentrate should be increased. During the dry period, a weight gain of 20–25 kg for smaller cows and 30–40 kg for larger cows should be ensured.
A cow produces only 10–15 kg of dry matter in the fetus, fetal membranes, and fluids. This is equivalent to the nutrients required for the production of approximately 50–100 kg of milk. Thus, replenishment of body reserves constitutes the major additional nutrient requirement of the dry cow rather than fetal development.
The cow can regain body condition either during late lactation or during the dry period. Studies have shown that the former is preferable for the following reasons:
- Feed utilization efficiency for weight gain is higher during late lactation than during the dry period.
- Many disorders such as ketosis, displaced abomasum, fatty liver, retained placenta, and prolapse can be minimized by switching to an all-roughage feeding program during the dry period. The roughage should be coarse enough to stimulate and restore rumen muscle tone.
If the cow is in poor condition at drying off, additional concentrate should be provided to restore body condition.
Feeding High-Producing Dairy Cows
High-producing dairy cows must consume a large quantity of nutrients daily to sustain high levels of milk production. This is not possible with bulky forages alone because of the physical limitation of feed intake imposed by rumen capacity.
However, feeding excessive amounts of concentrate may alter the microbial and chemical environment of the rumen and lead to ruminal dysfunction.
Rumen fermentation can be controlled by:
- Composition of the ration
- Proportion of ingredients in the ration
- Quantity of feed supplied
- Frequency of feeding
- Physical form of the feed
For high-producing cows, the forage provided should be of superior quality, which also helps reduce the quantity of concentrate required.
Crude fiber is very important in the ration of a milking cow because rumen fermentation leading to acetic acid production depends largely on the cellulose content of the ration. Cows require acetic acid to maintain normal milk fat percentage as well as overall milk production.
Ruminant rations should contain a minimum of 20–25 percent crude fiber. Higher proportions of grain in the ration reduce cellulose digestibility and may cause problems such as reduced milk fat percentage, decreased milk production, and, in severe cases, damage to the rumen wall, acidosis, and death.
Frequency of Feeding
Dividing the daily ration into three or four portions and feeding them at multiple intervals has been found to be useful in overcoming this problem. This practice also improves digestibility and protein utilization while preventing the rapid accumulation of fermentation acids.
A high-concentrate ration induces less saliva secretion than roughage-based diets. However, when feed is provided in four or five portions throughout the day, the concentrations of sodium and potassium salts in the rumen return to normal levels.
Mixing of Concentrates and Roughages
Traditionally, concentrates are fed during milking, while roughages are offered either before or after milking. In high-producing cows, when concentrates are fed in large quantities during milking, appetite may be temporarily reduced, resulting in decreased roughage consumption for a period of time. Consequently, four distinct fermentation patterns may occur, two primarily associated with concentrates and two primarily associated with roughages.
Feeding concentrates separately from roughages during a four-times-per-day feeding schedule reduces acid production and increases propionic acid production. It has also been observed that feeding grain on top of silage increases the milk fat percentage.
Feeding concentrates either on top of forages or mixed with forages has been found to promote optimum rumen fermentation. This practice has led to the development of complete feeds that incorporate both roughages and concentrates.
Complete Feeding
To simplify the feeding of dairy cows, complete diet systems have been introduced. A complete diet is an intimate mixture of concentrates and roughages in the desired proportion, processed in such a way as to prevent selective feeding. It serves as the sole source of feed for the cow.
This system reduces labor requirements and allows tighter control of the cow’s nutrition. It also facilitates the application of least-cost ration formulation methods.
Ad libitum feeding of a complete diet to dairy cows has been found to be advantageous because it increases feed intake, preserves milk quality, and results in improved nitrogen utilization. These benefits are in addition to the obvious advantage of reducing the risk of acidosis resulting from excessive concentrate consumption by high-producing cows.
The complete diet feeding system differs substantially from conventional feeding methods because there is no individual feeding approach. Group feeding is practiced, and dietary modifications according to milk yield are less frequent.
Guidelines for Feeding High-Yielding Dairy Cows
Guidelines for feeding high-yielding dairy cows are:
- The ration of a dairy cow should contain a minimum of 20–25 percent dry matter from forages.
- In high-yielding cows, the forages provided should be of superior quality. They should be harvested at the appropriate stage of maturity (approximately 45 days). About 30–50 percent of the roughage should consist of leguminous forages.
- Processing and reducing forage particle size should be avoided except in the case of very coarse fodder.
- When large quantities of concentrates are required for high-yielding cows, they should be fed immediately after roughages or, preferably, mixed with the roughages.
- To ensure proper nutrient intake and maintain an appropriate roughage-to-concentrate ratio, a density × digestibility value of 35 should be maintained.
- The feeding schedule should promote continuous rumen fermentation. Cows should be fed a minimum of four times per day, with each feeding containing both concentrates and roughages.
