How to increase the fat content and milk yield of a cow at home, how to feed
Every farmer strives to get high yields of nutritious tasty milk from cows. Therefore, breeders are always interested in how you can increase the fat content of milk in a cow. Of course, first of all, you need to choose the right breed of cows. As a rule, complex measures are used to increase the fat content (good care, correct diet). It should be borne in mind that with an increase in fat content, the milk yield decreases.
Scientific approach
Fat content depends on several factors. The main ones can be distinguished: the age of the cow, breed, seasonality, care and diet. The scientific method of influencing the quality of milk yield is selection.
The milk of cows bred in Russia does not have a high fat content (on average, 4%). Higher rates are demonstrated by European cows raised in other climatic conditions. Therefore, Russian breeders use European bulls to breed dairy cows. A promising area of work is the crossing of the red steppe breed and the Danish red breed.
Catering
Breeding is a reliable way of breeding cows that give fat milk, but it does not work quickly. Therefore, farmers are trying to get a higher quality dairy product by composing an appropriate diet for pets. What should be emphasized:
- brewer's yeast with chopped barley, oatmeal;
- feeding with fresh hay can increase the fat percentage. Preference is given to herbs, clover with alfalfa or timothy;
- sunflower or flaxseed meal, oilcakes.
It is desirable to feed dairy cows with food with mineral supplements (calcium, phosphorus), table salt.
Conditions of keeping and fat content
In addition to breeding work and the correct diet, an important component of increasing the fat content of dairy products is full care for animals. Good results in product quality appear when using the massage prior to shaving.
The health status of animals directly affects the quality of milk. Livestock are kept in dry pens that are cleaned regularly. It is important to provide ventilation of the premises, but to exclude drafts. Sawdust and straw are used as bedding. To increase lactation, the animals are regularly walked, even in the cold season. Exceptions are ice, strong wind with rain, snowfall and deep snow cover.
Why can the fat content of milk drop?
Sometimes there are cases when, with careful care and correctly selected feed, the fat content decreases, but does not increase. A cow has liquid milk for several reasons:
- sulfur deficiency is observed with a diet containing rotten haylage and large amounts of silage;
- lack of protein provokes slow digestion of fiber (observed when feeding silage in large volumes);
- lack of roughage in the diet;
- summer season;
- a reduced percentage of fiber in the diet (the recommended parameter is not less than 1.1-1.3% relative to the weight of the animal).
Milking technology plays an important role. The fat content of milk will decrease with strong fluctuations in the liquid in the pipeline.
A balanced diet, proper care, adherence to the milking schedule - all these factors increase milk yield and milk quality. The breed plays a decisive role. Although cows kept in the same herd can produce milk of different fat content.
