How to properly start a cow at home before calving, timing
Start - stop milking for a certain period of time before calving. The period when the cow starts up is called dry, the animal's body gains strength before giving birth. Every farmer should know how to properly start the cow before calving in a gradual or forced way, since the manipulations performed affect the health of the newborn calf and milk yield.
General rules for caring for animals
Milk production is stopped by a set of measures:
- a change in diet;
- reducing the portion of the drink;
- gradual cessation of milking;
- a decrease in the duration of grazing in spring and summer.
The recommended launch date is winter months. In winter, the diet of cattle for natural reasons is poorer than in summer, animals consume less liquid, as a result, it is possible to start the cow faster and easier. During the dry period, livestock should be kept in a dry and warm room. If the launch fell on summer days, then the duration of grazing should be no more than 4 hours a day.
It is extremely important to monitor the health of the cow's udder during dry periods. It must be regularly examined, palpated, washed, and massaged before milking to prevent milk stagnation. Such manipulations reduce the likelihood of developing mastitis - inflammation of the mammary gland due to congestion.
Mastitis during the dry period is a common occurrence. Symptoms are swelling, redness, induration, soreness of the udder, curdled or flocculent inclusions in milk, purulent and bloody nipple discharge. The cow becomes lethargic, refuses food, her body temperature rises. The farmer should call the veterinarian immediately.
Pre-launch factors
For each cow, the time when it needs to be started is determined individually. In this case, the following nuances are taken into account:
- the age and physical condition of the animal;
- estimated calving date;
- milk yield.
It is recommended to start a cow pregnant for the first time 3 months before giving birth. A previously given birth cow usually takes 2 months to rest. In animals with medium milk yield, milk production stops after a week from the start. But high-yielding individuals often lack half a month. In this case, the farmers have to start the cow with compulsory medication. The udder of a dry cow is shrinking, this is normal. Just before childbirth, it will again swell, fill with milk.
Diet
The milk yield of cattle is determined by the diet, milk production is stimulated by a high percentage of wet feed.To keep livestock running and reduce milk production in the mammary glands:
- significantly reduce the portion of juicy and concentrated feed;
- more hay is produced instead of reduced feed;
- reduce the portion of the drink.
Water for pregnant cows is given warm, heated to a comfortable temperature, 3 times a day. Do not feed animals with cold or hot water, this can provoke a miscarriage. The diet of a dry cow should contain 30-50% of juicy and concentrated feed, no more than 50 g of salt.
Milking mode
Milking of a cow is stopped when milk synthesis stops, the udder shrinks. In animals giving up to 5 liters of milk per day, such changes are noted on the 5th day. But milking ends on the 7th.
To run the cattle, they milk them according to the schedule indicated in the table.
| Day | Morning milking | Evening milking |
| 1 | + | + |
| 2 | + | + |
| 3 | + | – |
| 4 | + | – |
| 5 | – | + |
| 6 | – | + |
| 7 | + | – |
Startup process
The natural step-by-step method is used to start low to medium yield cattle. With a medical compulsory method, you have to start a high-yielding cow when the natural method does not work. Do not be afraid of a drop in profitability due to the dry period. A simple one will pay off, since a rested and rejuvenated cow will significantly increase milk production after giving birth.
Gradual
To successfully start the cow gradually, a meager diet based on hay and a small amount of liquid is introduced, and a lactation-reducing milking regimen is used, the scheme of which is shown above.
These activities ensure the successful launch of both low-yield and high-yield cattle. To start highly productive individuals, the same principle of milking is applied, only the change in regime is more extended. In the first few days, they are milked 2 times a day. When the amount of milk released is reduced, they switch to milking once a day, according to this regimen they milk for 4-7 days. Milking is completed after the cow's udder has dried out, when the daily amount of milk emitted is less than 0.5 liters.
Forced
When an animal gives a lot of milk, lactation decreases by the end of the start, but does not end. A cow that gave 10 liters of milk gives 3-5 liters, that is, her body does not rest until the next calving.
To start a cow, block the work of the mammary glands, the following veterinary drugs are used at home:
- "Mastometrin";
- Orbenin EDC;
- Nafpenzal DC;
- "Brovamast".
The listed drugs are intended for injection. They not only block lactation, but also reduce the likelihood of developing mastitis during the dry period. The forced way to start the cow has several advantages:
- provides fast and 100% results;
- convenient for large livestock, where there are many pregnant individuals;
- reduces the likelihood of inflammatory processes in the udder;
- prevents the untimely transition of the animal to the dairy-free phase;
- economical (monetary losses are 4 times less than a standard launch).
The medication method of starting does not mean that you can quit the rest of the exercise. When using medicines, livestock must also be fed on a dry diet, and the udder must be clean and healthy.
Launching cows with high milk production
A cow with an average productivity (from 5 liters per day) should be started 2 or 2.5 months before the expected birth. An animal with a high milk yield (from 10 liters) should be launched 3 months before the birth of the calf.
Regardless of the productivity of livestock; the dry period should not last less than 40 days.
While it takes a week for cows giving little milk to go into the dry phase, it takes about 2 weeks to start medium-yield cattle. And high-yielding individuals need a long 3-week start, but even it turns out to be ineffective if the milk yield reaches 15 liters per day. The reason is that in such animals, milk synthesis decreases very slowly. Then medications are used to stop the work of the mammary glands.
The diet is changed immediately. But two-time milking at high productivity lasts 4-6 days from the start, sometimes even longer. When the daily milk yield is reduced to 3 liters, only then the cow is transferred to the standard transitional milking regime shown in the table above. Milking of highly productive cows, like ordinary ones, is stopped after reducing the udder and reducing the milk output to 0.5 liters.
Consequences of an untimely launch
The sooner you manage to start a cow, the better for her body. But it is unacceptable to do it abruptly. Milking reduction should be smooth. A delayed or abrupt start leads to:
- violation of intrauterine development of the calf;
- reduced milk production after calving.
The opposite situation also happens: a spontaneous start more than 3 weeks before the expected birth. The phenomenon is rare, associated with the individual characteristics of the animal's body, usually harmless to the health of a pregnant individual, and to a calf developing in the womb. In isolated cases, the premature termination of the work of the mammary glands signals disease.
The problem of premature launch is only in reducing the period of milk production, which is unprofitable for the farmer. The owner must identify individuals prone to premature launch after the first calving, in the following pregnancies, feed them in abundance with succulent food, root crops. It is necessary to start the cow correctly and on time, regardless of the method chosen. The health of the calf and the amount of future milk yield depend on the correctness of the measures.
