College of Agriculture

Department of Animal Sciences

Course Title: Dairy Production
Course Code ANPR 520
Credit hour 3
 Outline of Topics
1) Milk Production National & International Situation
2) Role of Cattle, Camel, Goat and Sheep in Milk Production
3) Milk Production Systems in the Tropics
4) Recent practices of optimization immune-competency of young
stock, growth rate and puberty
5) Pre & Post Parturition Practices to Maximize Reproduction & Milk
Production
6) Principles of Replacement & Culling
7) Housing, equipment and management in warm climates
8) Modern Milking Management
9) Maintenance of herd health and productivity
10) Small and large scale commercial dairying (project proposal,
establishment and expansion
11) Technical and financial records
Term Paper
 Session 1

Milk Production National

& International Situation
International Situation
Cow milk production worldwide from 2013 to 2019 (in million metric tons)*
Annual consumption of fluid cow milk worldwide in 2018, by country (in 1,000 metric tons)
Global milk production by species
 Top10 milk producers

These countries produce almost 60% of the world production

Per capita milk supply
 National Situation
 Ethiopia is land of lucrative dairy investment and trade
opportunities

 Holds immense potential for dairy development

 Large livestock population,
 Favorable agro-ecological situation
 For improved, high-yielding animal breeds
 For livestock fodder production.

 The dairy sector in Ethiopia has shown considerable

progress over the last decade

 Milking cows - 11.4 million

Volume of milk produced currently
 3,044,977 tons of milk/year (about 4 billion litres)
 This figure is < 1 billion 18 years ago
Ethiopia Population in 2019 - 112,828,394
Average per capita consumption of dairy products
Around 25 litres – very low
 in Addis Ababa about 40 litres
FAO recommendation– about 200 litres

This implies that

 22 billion litres of milk is required

 At the current production rate, there’s an annual shortage
of about 18 billion litres
The dairy sector accounts for
 40% of the agricultural GDP
12- 16% of the national GDP,

Distribution of Ethiopian dairy cattle population

 Distributed over all areas of the country, but
 The 4 regions has the highest number of milking cows
 Oromia (44%)
 Amhara (17%)
 SNNP (22%)
 Tigray (9%)
Milk production based on agro-ecology
 Mostly located in the highlands of Ethiopia
• About 10% of the total milking cow population is found
in lowland areas
Established milk sheds in Ethiopia’s larger cities
• Nine major milk sheds
• They have the best potential for value chain and dairy
sector development,
• Adama-Asella ADA/Bishoftu,
• The Great Addis,
• Ambo-Woliso, Humera, Jimma,
• Bahir Dar-Gondar,
• Hawassa-Shashemene,
• Makelle , Dire-Dawa
Organization of dairy value chain structure
Milk processors collect raw milk from dairy farms,
private milk collectors, cooperatives and unions.
Dairy cooperatives
 Play a significant role in milk collection.
 Size of a single cooperative - 20 up to 400 farmers.
Unions
 Serve as umbrella organizations for 5-30 cooperatives.

Dairy processing
• Is booming in Ethiopia
• Currently >50 active dairy processors
• Most of them operate in the vicinity of Addis Ababa.
Policy/ Livestock Master Plan
• National Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP)
• Transformation of the agricultural sector

The introduction of GTP II 2015–2020

 Livestock Master Plan (LMP),
 It included a “Cow Dairy Development Roadmap”
• Aiming significant increase in milk production
The plan has 2 tracks or proposed interventions to
reach the goal of substantially higher milk production:
1) For the traditional smallholder dairy farming system
2) For the commercial dairy farming system
For the traditional smallholder dairy farming system,
 Crossbreeding through AI and synchronization
 Better feed
 Better health services.
For the commercial dairy farming system,
 Bring more crossbred cattle into the farms,
 Expanding the number of farms,
 Increasing the availability of forage & concentrated feeds
 Improving the marketing and processing of milk.
Expectation from the plan
• 93% increase in milk production
• Create opportunities for supplying more dairy products to
Ethiopian consumers
• Pave the way for export of dairy products

In numerical terms
• A milk surplus of 2.5 billion litres will be available for export
in 2020.

• The contribution of the dairy sector to GDP will rise from

28 billion ETB in 2014/15 to 52.9 billion ETB in 2020.

Ethiopia Livestock Master Plan

Roadmaps for Growth & Transformation
 Challenges of the sector
1) Short lactation length: Local breeds about 150 days ; improved dairy
breeds about 305 days.
2) weak and less effective AI delivery system
3) Critical shortage of feeds and water.
4) Supplementary feeds are either too expensive (in short supply)
5) Unreliable supply good quality water
6) Weak animal health services
7) No national herd registration and identification system,
8) No milk recording scheme
9) No institutions engaged in provide training courses targeted to
smallholder farmers
10) Farmers aren’t organized.
11) Limited institutional capacity of the ministry
12) Lack of formal education by farmers and have little or no training in
dairy farming
13) Low productivity - local breeds provide about 1.5 litres/cow/ day; Exotic
about 25 - 30 litres
14) Limited access to improved dairy genetics - Improved dairy animals are
estimated about 1 million
Special Attention Needed by the Government to Transform the Dairy Sector

1) Establish a National Dairy Board to improve production, promote

dairy consumption and regulate the sector
2) Provide appropriate incentives to the private sector
 Access to land, water, electricity, removal of taxes and
import regulation.
3) Promote the dairy sector – e.g., integrating milk in child feeding
programs
4) Establish targeted dairy extension systems, like dairy advisory
services and technical management support.
5) Improve the availability of vital inputs from production to
processing such as quality forage seed, veterinary drugs and milk
processing equipment.
6) Support dairy development and marketing through cooperatives
Any Question ?
 Session - 2

Role of Cattle, Camel, Goat and

Sheep in Milk Production
 Cattle
 Cow is the most common milk producing animal in
the world
• Both in No. of animals & quantity of milk
Exception
• Indian, Egypt, Mediterranean regions, Middle
East parts, some African’s areas,
• Buffalos, sheep, goats have important
contribution on national’s milk productions.
• In Africa, most cattle found in East & North Africa
 Dairy cows
 Asia 35 %, Africa 23 %, America 21%,
 Europe 18 %, Oceania 3 %

Average human requirements for milk per year

• 240 to 300 liters per capita, or
• 0.5 liters a day (minimum) or 180 liters per capita

Milk consumption per capita

 World average - 107 liters
 Europe - 380 liters
 Northern America & Oceania - 280 liters
 Southern Asia - 50 liters
 Eastern Asia - 20 liters
Per Capita Consumption (person/ year)
Country Standard
Africa 27 kg/year
Kenya 90 kg/year
Uganda 50 kg/year
Ethiopia 25 kg/year
Projected trends in milk consumption by
region (1993 – 2020)
Region Annual growth of milk
consumption
China 2.8 % per year
India 4.3 %
Latin America 1.9%
Sub-Saharan Africa 3.8 %
Developing world 3.3 %
Developed world 0.2 %
World 1.7 %

Source: Compiled from Delgado et al., 1999

Lactation length
• Dairy breeds -305 days
• Cross bred – 270 days
• Local – 200 days
Milk yield
Dairy breeds –
 Holsteins - 6,577 kg,
 Ayrsire - 5,307 kg
 Jersey - 4,536 kg
Cross bred - 6 liter
Local -1.9 liter
Milking frequency
• Dairy breeds - twice daily
• Cross bred -
• Local -
 CAMEL
• Mainly used for milk production in Ethiopia
• Withstand high temp. & Water deprivation
• Ability to maintain milk production through the dry
season.
• Dairy potential appeared higher than that of the
cow reared under the same climatic and feeding
conditions.
Note
• The annual camel milk production in Ethiopia often
reported to be surplus during the rainy season
 Camel milk
• Very similar to goat milk; Similar to cattle milk
• Slightly salty and sharp test (slightly acid).
• Camel milk cannot be made into butter in the
traditional churning method
• The fat globules are very small and bound to the
protein
• That is why it is difficult to extract fat by the
usual method of churning sour milk.
• In Ethiopia, the milk is considered an aphrodisiac
Lactation length
12 to 18 months under pastoral system
(9 to 18 months)
 up to 2 years
 12 months under pastoral production
systems

• Maximum milk yield – 2nd and 3rd month of

lactation

• Richer in fat & protein than cow milk

 Camel’s Milk
Low High

Fat K

Lactose Fe

Iron

vitamin C
 Milk Yield

• Ignorance about potential of camel

• Surplus milk is produced during rainy season
 Annual camel milk production very low
 Camel milk considered an aphrodisiac
 4 to 6 liters /day
 ~ 10 litres/day - under improved management
 1,000 to 3,300 litres/lactation reported in Africa
Milk yield and Lactation length in Ethiopia
(by different authors)
 Top Camel Milk Producing Countries

1200000

1000000

800000

600000

400000

200000

0
Somalia Mali Ethiopia Saudi Niger United Kenya Mauritania Chad Eritrea
Arabia Arab
Emirates

Production (MT)
 Water Content
 Camel milk is 84 – 90 % of water

 The most important factor in camel milk

its water content, because young camels
and humans living in drought areas are
in need of fluid to
• Maintain homeostasis
• Maintain thermo neutrality
•When drinking water is
scarce the camels come in
to a situation called “milk
dilution”

What is it?
 “ Milk Dilution”
 It is adaptation behavior
 Secretion of diluted milk when drinking
water is scarce
Dilution involves
 Reduction of fat, lactose, protein, Ca, Mg
 Increases in Na, Clorine, phosphorus,
 Physiological Explanation
ADH, Prolactin, Oxytocin will be
secreted in the blood stream

ADH , Prolactin, Oxytocin have an anti

diuretic effect:
 Withdraw H2O from intestines
 Secret water into the milk
Camel milk is rich in vitamin C,
 Three times that of cow milk
 One-and-a-half that of human milk.
(Vitamin C content 5.7 mg percent)

As lactation progresses vitamin C content

increases.

Camel milk content of vitamin C is important

from in areas where fruit & vegetables are
scarce
 Sheep
• Sheep‟s milk production reported by few countries
• Milk from sheep is rarely used in some countries
• Milk is used to produce cheese
Milk yield
 1 kg (1 liter) for about the first three months
 0.3 liter/ewe/ day more common
 50 l in a 100 day lactation
 2–3 liters/ day outstanding ewe
Peak lacatation period
• Maximum within 1(2) two months after lambing
Milking frequency - once per day
 … Sheep
• Compared to cow‟s milk,
• Sheep‟s milk has high solids content
• Sheep milk have much higher fat and
protein
• Cows have similar total solids to goats

• Made into cheese, yoghurt, butter, ghee

 GOAT
 Popular as milk producers (Poor man‟s cow)
Milk yield
 Non-dairy breeds - up to 0.5 liters
 specialized dairy breeds - 2–4 liters/ day.

 Goat‟s milk resembles cow‟s milk

 The milk has small fat-globule size making it easier to
digest

 Sodium, Iron, Copper contents are relatively high in

goat‟s milk

 TB is less frequent in goats than in cattle

Significance of goat milk production in developed and
under developed countries:
 Economic,
 Medical,
 Gastronomic

Purpose of goat milk

 Provide gourmet foods to connoisseur consumers (specialty

gourmet interests)

 Certain therapeutic values in medicine and human nutrition

 Alternative dairy products due to medical afflictions such as

allergies and GIT disorders
 An ideal substitute for patients who suffer from
allergies against cow milk or other food sources.
Goat Milk Characteristics

 Reported to possess unique characteristics (compared

to cow milk):
 High digestibility
 Distinct alkalinity
 High buffering capacity
 Certain therapeutic values in medicine and
human nutrition (Walker, 1965 ; Park, 1994)

 Goat milk serves 3 types of markets around the world:

1) Home consumption
2) Specialty gourmet interests, and
3) Medical needs
Goat milk cheese
 Originated in Mesopotamia
 Developed in the Mediterranean countries
 Greece, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Iraq, Iran, France, U.S.

Goat cheeses have gained popularity since the early

1980 among:
 Ethnic groups,
 Health food consumers,
 Connoisseurs, and
 Private goat farmers

Other manufactured goat milk products consumed in

lesser volumes than cheeses:
 Yogurt, Kefir, Acidophilus milk
 Butter, Ghee,
 Powdered and condensed Products
Acidophilus milk
 Made from goat milk by adding lactobacillus acidophilus,
which can convert a high amount of the lactose to lactic acid
(2%).
 Pasteurized milk is inoculated with lactobacillus acidophilus,
which destroys other competing bacteria antagonistic to man
in the lower intestine
Kefir
 Made from pasteurized, fat standardized (decreamed) goat milk
 Produced by a combined acidic and alcoholic fermentation of
symbiotic lactic acid bacteria and yeast “ kefir grains. ”
 It is an acidic, slightly foamy product
 Usually contains 0.6 – 0.8% lactic acid, 0.5 –1.0% alcohol and
carbon dioxide.
Ghee
 An Indian (and middle east) clarified butterfat product
 Manufactured by fermenting whole goat butter fat
 Proximate composition of goat milk is similar to cow milk

 But there is slight difference

Particulars Goat milk Cow milk

Fat more Less
Protein More Less
Minerals more Less
Lactose Less More
Casine Less More

 The lower casein content of goat milk is closely related

to slower coagulation properties and lower yield of
curds during cheese manufacturing
Goat milk has
 Lower levels of cholesterol than cow milk

 Smaller fat globules

 These smaller fat globules provide

 Better dispersed and naturally homogenized
milk fat, and
 Better digestibility compared to cow milk with
smaller fat globules

Reason

 A greater relative surface area of fat globules is

exposed for digestive action by lipases
(Jenness,1980)
Goat milk proteins

 Are more digestible than cow milk

Reason

 Due to the smaller, softer, and more friable curd

formations of goat proteins during acidification in the
stomach, providing stomach Proteases easier
digestive actions (Park, 2006 ).

 Milk of Nubian breed contains significantly higher levels of

major buffering components, such as proteins, Non-
protein N, and phosphate (P2O5) than milk
Minerals

 Goat milk contributes importantly to the mineral nutrition of

people in developing and underdeveloped countries,
especially for Calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P)

Particulars Goat milk Cow milk

Calcium (Ca) Higher Lower
Phosphorous (P) Higher Lower
Potassium (K) Higher Lower
Magnesium (Mg) Higher Lower
Chlorine (Cl) Higher Lower
Sodium (Na) Lower Higher
Sulfur (S) Lower Higher
Vitamins
 Vitamin B content in goat and cow milk is mainly
independent of diet due to rumen synthesis

 Foliate is necessary for the synthesis of hemoglobin

Colour
 Goat milk is white in contrast to most cow milk,
because goats convert all β- carotene (yellow
color) into vitamin A (no color) in milk
Goat Milk & FAO - WHO Requirements for Human Infants

Goat milk has

 adequate amounts of vitamin A and niacin,
 excess amount of Thiamine, Riboflavin and Pantothenate
 Excess amount of Protein, Ca, and P
Therefore, recommended for human infants
Particulars Goat milk Cow milk
Vitamin A Higher Lower
Folic acid Deficient 5X more
Vitamin B12 Deficient 5X more
Pyridoxine (B6) Deficient Deficient
Vitamin C Deficient Deficient
Vitamin D Deficient Deficient

Both goat & cow milk are deficient in pyridoxine (B6), vitamin C &
Vitamine D, indicating a need for supplementation in human nutrition
 The End
Alphabet (26 letters) - 13 countries worldwide
 Section 3
Milk Production Systems in the Tropics

 Are concentrated near consumption centers

 Their productivity are influenced by agro-

ecological factors and traditional consumption
habits (Leeuw et al., 1999).
Dairy production systems in the tropics
 Can be categorized into traditional and improved
production systems

Traditional system - subsistence

 Pastoralist and agro-pastoralist systems

Improved production systems

 Intensive smallholder,
 Semi-intensive/intensive
 Urban/peri-urban dairying systems (Debrah,
1992).
Milk Production Systems In Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa?
Milk production is
1) Traditional and subsistence
2) Improved production systems

3 major land-based systems

• Pastoralism – Maasai, Borena,
• Agro-Pastoralism – Fulaniin ( Nigeria )
• Crop-livestock
Sub-saharan Africa

 has failed to attain self-sufficiency in dairy production

despite milk's contribution to gross domestic product
and its value as a food (Debrah and Berhanu, 1991)

 Depended on dairy imports (commercial and food aid)

to satisfy rising domestic demand.
 Milk Production Systems In Ethiopia

The purpose of classification of milk production systems

 To develop strategies and interventions relevant to
the various systems which may vary in the type and
degree of severity of constraints, resource base
and enterprise patterns.

Milk production system in Ethiopia

• For the classification of livestock/milk production
system in Ethiopia, most researchers used different
approaches at different time
The different criteria for their classification are:

 Principal ecological zones of the area (agro-ecology

characterization),

 Socio-economic structures of the human population,

 Climate,

 Land-holding size of the farming systems (farming

systems),

 The underlying livestock production systems and

 The species of livestock and type of breed used for

milk production.
As classified by Ketema & Tsehay ( 1995)
 Pastoralism
 Rural Highland smallholder
 Urban and peri-urban small-scale
 Intensive large scale

Intensive large-scale systems

 The commercial system
 Produces milk mainly for market
 Generally operates in urban and peri-urban areas with or
without holdings of land for feed production.

Rural milk production system

 Subsistence systems which produce milk mainly to meet
household needs for milk products.
 Pastoralism, Agro-pastoralism, Mixed crop-livestock
production
Pastoraslism, agro-pastoralism, Rural Highland
smallholder (mixed crop-livestock)

 Supplies
 97% of the total national milk production, &
 75% of the commercial milk production.

 Largely dependent on low producing indigenous

breeds of cattle
 Peri-urban dairy production systems

• Found in the outskirts of the capital city and regional cities

• Mostly concentrated within a radius of 100 km around AA

• Feed resources - agro-industrial by-products , purchased

roughage.

• Small and medium sized dairy farms

• Crossbreed dairy cows.

• Primary objective of milk production - generating income

 Urban Dairy Production System
• Specialized businessmen owned farms,

• No access to grazing lands

• Keep exotic dairy stocks.

• In and around the capital AA and most regional

cities and towns.
 Large scale Dairy Farming
(Intensive Dairy Farming)
• Specialized market oriented dairy operation
• Practiced by co-operative and private
commercial farms.
• Located in and around AA
• Basically keep exotic dairy stock.

Note:
• Urban, peri-urban and intensive dairy farmers
produce 2% of the total milk production of the
country.
Getachew and Gashaw (2001) distinguished the Ethiopian
milk production system in to five categories:
1) Traditional pastoral livestock farming,
2) Traditional highland mixed farming,
3) The emerging smallholder dairy farming,
4) Urban and peri-urban dairy farming and
5) Specialized commercial intensive dairy farming

This classification is based on:

 Agro-ecology characterization of the area,
 Socio-economic structures of the human population
and the species of livestock and
 Type of breed used for milk production.
Mekasha (1999) distinguished the Ethiopian milk
production system in to five :
1) Pastoralism,
2) Agro-pastoralism,
3) Mixed farming,
4) Intensive dairy farming
5) Peri-urban milk production

This classification is based on:

• The farming systems,
• Principal ecological zones, and
• The underlying livestock production systems.
Zegeye (2003) distinguished the Ethiopian milk
production system in to four main dairy
production systems
1) Pastoralism,
2) Highland smallholder,
3) Peri-urban and
4) Urban milk production system

This classification is based on:

 Climate,
 Land-holding size and
 Farming systems
Pastoralism
 Mainly operating in the rangelands
 Milk production is seasonal, surplus in the wet season.

According to Getachew and Gashaw (2001),

 The lowland accounts for 27% of the milk produced.
 Because of the erratic rainfall pattern and related
reasons, resulting in shortage of feed, milk production
per unit is low and highly seasonal.
 More milk will be produced in the wet season
 milk production is the major activity as food and
income source,
 The dominant species of livestock in their population
order are cattle, camel, goats, and sheep
Highland smallholder production system

 Operates in most highlands of Ethiopia

 Increasing population,
 Decreasing share of pastureland for grazing;
 With increase in the cultivated area, there is a
need to continuously produce more animal
draught power.
 As a result, rural farmers in these areas
incorporate small-scale dairy production
with crop farming with the objective of
producing animal power (oxen) for tilling the
land (zegeye, 2003).
Major Constraint of Dairy Development System
In Ethiopia
• Technical and Non-technical constraints

Technical constraints
 Animal health ,
 Feed and nutrition
 Genetics
Non-technical constraints
i) Human population
ii) Livestock population
 Question

Why low adoption of interventions by

agricultural systems in general and dairy in
particular?
 Question

Why low adoption of interventions by

agricultural systems in general and dairy in
particular?

 Many reasons

 Due to blanket recommendations of

technologies and improved practices which are
highly diverse in agro-ecological and socio-
economic conditions.
THE END
 Session 4
Recent practices of optimization
immune-competency of young
stock, growth rate and puberty
Optimization

 The process of make the best or

most effective use of (a situation
or resource)
 Immunocompetence
Definition
 The ability of the body to produce a normal immune
response following exposure to an antigen.

 The ability of immune system to respond appropriately

to an antigenic stimulation, and unleash an immune
response “cascade”.

 The ability to defend one self against potentially

damaging microbes and parasites.

 Immune competence is the opposite

of immunodeficiency or immune incompetent or
immune compromised.
Examples

• A newborn who does not yet have a fully functioning

immune system but may have maternally transmitted
antibodies: Immune deficient

• a late stage AIDS patient with a failed or failing

immune system: Immune-incompetent

• A transplant recipient taking medication so that their

body will not reject the donated organ:
Immune compromised
Several systems are involved with
immunocompetence
 Barriers,
 Surveillance,
 Combat,
 Control,
 Documentation

Barriers
 Skin & mucosal barriers (e.g., respiratory
tract and digestive system).
 Formed with commensal microbiota
Surveillance – and - Combat
 Residential leukocytes
E.g., Macrophages, Neutrophils, Eosinophils, Basophils
 The calf born with these cells (Considered innate)
 They are fully functional before having any
exposure to bacterium

Documentation
 Specific antibodies document pathogens (in mature
animals)
 General Concept of the Immune System

 Consists of 2 distinct systems which work in

tandem to prevent infections

1) Innate immune system

 Response is immediately effective, but does not
improve over time

2) Acquired immune system

 Immunity takes days to weeks to develop, but
has “memory” i.e., it responds faster and more
effectively to pathogens it has seen before
 Innate Immunity
 An evolutionarily ancient mechanism to fight disease

 A non-selective immune system

 The term implies that it is stable (unwavering)

 Consists of readily available mechanisms to fight the 1st stages

of infection

 Provides the 1st line-of-defense against pathogens (front line

barrier)
 Bacterial, Viral, Protozoal, or Fungal
 It does not modify itself depending upon the type of pathogen
challenge
 … Innate Immunity
 Locate sites of infection, attack and kill pathogens before
they have the opportunity to proliferate and cause a
significant infection

 Prevents infection by targeting general properties of

pathogens

 Developing antibodies against specific pathogens requires

several days to several weeks

 Provides the time required by the acquired system to

develop an antibody response against a specific pathogen.

For example, few pathogens can withstand the low pH of

the stomach (abomasum) and most should be digested by
the digestive enzymes of the GI tract
 … Innate Immunity

Consists of three different components

 Anatomic
 Physiologic
 Cellular
 Anatomic component

 The epithelial barriers to infection provided

by the skin, lung, mammary, and GIT

Physiologic component
 Secretion of hydrochloric acid and digestive
enzymes by GIT aids in preventing entry of
pathogens into the body
 Cellular Component
 Consists of phagocytic cells
e.g. Neutrophils, Macrophages

 Identifies pathogens by their presentation of

distinct pathogen-associated molecular patterns
(PAMPs)

 Pathogens contain molecules not typically

found in mammalian cells and, via this strategy,
cells of the innate system are able to recognize
foreign cells.
 … Cellular Component

Pathogens contain molecules not typically found

in mammalian cells
Hence
• Cellular component (cells of the innate system)
identifies pathogens by their presentation of
distinct pathogen-associated molecular
patterns (PAMP)
• via this strategy, cells of the innate system
recognize foreign cells
Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMP)

What are they?

• A relatively small number of molecules that are common

components of many infections agents

What is the function of phagocytic cells ?

• Locate sites of infection, attack, kill pathogens

before they have the opportunity to proliferate and
cause a significant infection
Regulation of the innate system?

The innate system is regulated and may be

strengthened or weakened by:

 Plane of nutrition, or

 Stress
How do nutrients support the immune system?
 Via provision of antioxidants (general mechanism)
Nutrients with anti-oxidant properties that support immunity
 Vitamin C, Vitamin E,
 Carotenes,
 Selenium, Zinc,

The following have immune regulatory properties in cattle

( Spears, 2000)
• Vitamin A , Vitamin E,
• Selenium, Chromium,
• Copper, Cobalt
Carotenoids (i.e., β-carotene)

 Plant pigments and viewed as a source of vitamin A

 Has immunostimulatory properties (Bendich & Shapiro, 1986)

 These properties is independent of their roles as precursors of
vitamin A.

 Increased neutrophils killing activity (Michal et al., 1994)

Vitamin E and Selenium ( Se)
 They play essential roles in support of the immune system
in ruminant animals.
 Related to their functions as anti-oxidants.
Se
 Enhanced neutrophils killing activity ( Hogan et al., 1990)
 Reduces incidence of diseases including intra-mammary
infections (Smith et al., 1984)
 Increase antibody responses of dairy cattle (Cao et al. , 1992)

Zu and Cu
• They support immunity as they are associated with
many proteins.
• Zn deficiency might compromise immunity
Dietary sources of the immunostimulatory of the following
are less important in ruminants.
 B-vitamins (B6, B12, Folic acid),
 Vitamin C,
 Essential amino acids

Why?

 Because, they are either

 Endogenously synthesized (e.g, Vitamin C) ; or

 Provided by a healthy microbial population (e.g,

Essential amino acids, B-vitamins).
 Acquired (adaptive) immunity
 Characterized by the production of antibodies,
 which are directed against specific antigens
 Pathogens can be phagocytosed & digested
e.g., Macrophages, B lymphocytes
 Digested pieces of pathogens are presented on the
surface of the antigen-presenting cell to a T-helper
cell (TH cell)
• The TH cell may then stimulate clonal expansion of a B-
cell lineage, which then secretes antibodies
T cell (T Lymphocyte)

• Type of lymphocyte (a subtype of WBC)

• have T-cell receptor on the cell surface.

• They are called T cells because they mature in

the thymus from Thymocytes

• Gamma delta T-cells can effectively present

antigens to other T-cells
 T cells (Gamma delta T-lymphocytes)

 They are at normal levels in the neonate

 The total No. of gamma-delta cells does not change,
but
 T gamma-delta decreases (%) as % of B-cells increase
 T gamma-delta decreases (%) as No. of T-cells increase

 Activation of T-lymphocytes is slightly less depressed

at birth and remains constant through 28 days after
birth
• Different types of antibody molecules produced
by B cells include IgM, IgG, IgA, and IgE

• Other cells of the acquired immune

response include T-lymphocytes (T-cells)
 T-helper cells & T-cytotoxic cells
T-cytotoxic cells
• Kill infected cells
• They are important in defense against viruses

T-helper cells
• Help other cells respond to infection by producing
cytokines and expressing co-stimulatory
molecules
T- helper cells (TH cells)

• Receive their first stimulus to respond from “antigen

presenting cells”

• Antigen presenting cells live in many tissues and constantly

sample the environment, looking for infectious agents.

• When they identify infectious agents, antigen presenting

cells pick them up and break them into pieces called
“antigens”, which they “present” to young T-helper
cells

• T-helper cells assist other WBC in immunologic processes

 Maturation of B cells,
 Activation of cytotoxic T cells & Macrophages.

• These cells are also known as CD4+ T-cells because they

express the CD4 glycoprotein on their surfaces
Different types of T-helper cells

TH 1
TH 2
TH 10
TH 17

They drive different types of immune responses

appropriate for different types of infection.
• Antigen - a substance which induces an
immune response.

• Antibody - a protein produced by the body in

response to and counteracting an antigen
 Antibodies

 Antibodies may take on a variety of forms

and are referred to as immunoglobulins (Ig)

Most common immunoglobulins isotopes

 IgM, IgG
IgM

 They are the first antibodies to be produced by

the immune system in response to an infection

 Although they arrive on the incident quickly

following an infection, they possess
relatively low affinity against antigen
 IgG

 The more powerful IgG isotypes require

additional time for their development

 The more powerful IgGs are

 IgG1
 IgG2
 IgG3
 IgG4
Relationship of innate & acquired immune system

 They work in a complementary way (communicate

with each other)

 Up-regulation of the innate system provides an

important feed-forward system for antibody
production.
e.g; Activation of Neutrophils by invading
pathogens causes Neutrophils to release IL-1β
which, in turn, stimulates the acquired system
 Leukocytes and Granulocytic cells
(Macrophages, Neutrophils, Eosinophils, Basophils)
 They are fully functional before having any exposure
to microbial associated molecular patterns from
bacterium.
For example,
• Calves are born with Neutrophils that circulate in the
blood
• When Neutrophils receive signals to leave circulation,
they undergo diapedesis (adhesion) and migrate to
the site of infection to phagocytose (engulf)
bacterium
• Intracellular enzymes and free-radicals (oxidative burst)
are released to kill the bacterium.
Macrophages
 A large phagocytic cell found in stationary form in the tissues
or as a mobile WBC, especially at sites of infection

Neutrophils
• Some undergo apoptosis (proper cellular death)
• Some become necrotic (death of most), and
 danger-associated molecular patterns are released
• Are short-lived, replaced every 24 hrs in healthy cattle

Eosinophils
 WBC cell containing granules that are readily stained by
eosin

Basophils
 A type of WBC, produced in the bone marrow
 Part of immune system and play a role in its proper function
 Also found in many tissues throughout the body
 If their level is low, it may be due to a severe allergic reaction
 Immunity in the Fetal Calf
What is Immunity?
• Reactions by an animal’s body to foreign
substances such as microbes, independent of a
physiological ( pathological) result of the reaction.

What do immunity will do?

• In response to invasion of pathogens, the immune
system first executes innate and then acquire
host defense systems of high diversity.

When the fetal calf reaches 150 days of gestation

 All T-cell & B-cell receptor development completed
 Innate immune cells
 All essential immune components are present in the
neonate at birth,
 Not fairly functional till 2-4 weeks of age

The innate immune cells include

 Granulocytes (Neutrophils),
 Macrophages
 Natural killer cells, and
 gamma delta T-lymphocytes.

These cells
 Kill infectious agents by various means, and
 Secrete chemical signals (cytokines) that activate other
immune cells.
 Neutrophils numbers in the newborn calf

 They are 4X higher than 3-week-old calves

 The neonatal Neutrophils & Macrophages have

reduced phagocytic ability

 Their Phagocytic ability will increases following the

ingestion of colostrum.

 By 1 week of age, Neutrophils are functional and able

to mount an effective response

 Natural killer cells are low at 1 week of age (3% of

total lymphocytes), but increases to 10% by 6-8
weeks of age
 Acquired immunity in the neonate
• The neonatal calf is a gamma globulinemic
and is dependent on colostral intake for
immunoglobulins

• It is produced by B-lymphocytes (B-cells)

Is found
 In plasma,
 In milk
 On the surface of the respiratory tract (RT)
 On the surface of gastrointestinal tract (GIT)
 On the surface of urogenital tracts (UGT)
 The B cells

• The No. of B-cells greatly reduced in the neonate at 4% of

the total lymphocytes at 1week of age

• This low number coupled with the TH2 (T-helper2) environment

induced by the calves endogenous corticosteroids, maternal
and placenta hormones

• This results in a lack of an antibody response until at least 3

weeks of age.

• The No. of B-cells increase gradually to 20% of total

lymphocytes at 6-8 weeks of age.
 How do antibodies work?
Antibody molecules
1) Bind to pathogens and prevent them from
infecting the host (neutralizing antibody),
or
2) Target them for destruction by immune
cells (opsonizing antibody)

Opsonin: An antibody which binds to foreign microorganisms

making them more susceptible to phagocytosis
Note:
 Cell mediated responses to vaccines (active
immune response in young calves) can be
induced very early

 However, animals must be 3-4 weeks of age

before vaccines will induce robust
antibody responses that will develop in 10-
14 days following vaccination.
 Recent Practices of Optimization

Immune-competency of Young Stock

Importance of vaccinating at the recommended time
 To stimulate the production of antibodies

Vaccination Doses
Primary dose- for the 1st time

Booster dose
 Given following the primary dose
 To remind the body „remembers‟ to make antibodies
 It ensures the production of antibodies at a much
faster rate
 Results in longer lasting protection against disease.

Annual boosters
• Given 12 months after the last dose to boost
protective immunity for the next 12 month period
Vaccinations are given

 by Subcutaneous injection

 In the area indicated in the following picture ( as

outlined by the triangle)
During vaccination
 Avoid vaccinating cattle when wet (in dusty yards)
 Avoid vaccinating through soiled skin

If vaccination is required to be given in wet

( dusty yards) or soiled skin:
 Clean skin with a paper towel and administer the
vaccine.
Principles of vaccination - How vaccines affect antibody level
Disease 1st time vaccination Vaccination
interval
Tetanus Few days after delivery

FMD (Afe Teger) 6 months of age Every 6 months

Black leg 6 months of age Every 6 months

(Aba Gorba)
Render pest (Desta) 6 months of age Every year

Antrax (Aba Senga) 6 months of age Every 6 months

Pasteurolosis 6 months of age Every 6 months

(Goro Tenase)
CBPP (Sanba) 6 months of age Every year
 Growth rate and puberty

What is growth?
 It is defined as an increase in size (weight) of
an animal an increase in its mass.

Processes involved in growth (tissue growth)

comprises:
 Cell multiplication (hyperplasia)
 Cell enlargement (hypertrophy)
 Differentiation
Hyperplasia or increase in cell number due to cell
proliferation (cell division or mitosis) and
recruitment from stem cell populations;

Hypertrophy or increase in the size of cells; and

Differentiation
 Precursor cells achieving mature functioning
 Often this process cannot be reversed.

Normally, the pattern of growth is a

traditional sigmoid curve (S-shaped)
 Animal Growth

Chronological growth
 The increase in size or body function due to
an animal growing older

Physiological growth
 the increase in size or body function due to
increases in tissue and organ growth and
development
Livestock Growth Curve

 The Growth Curve is commonly represented as

the gain in weight over time

 Livestock growth curve generally separated into

3 phases:
A) Prenatal
B) Pre-weaning
C) Post-weaning
Prenatal
 The increase in weight from conception to birth
(i.e., zygote, embryo, & fetal phase). The factors
that affect prenatal growth are AOD, uterine
quality, and gender of fetus
Pre-weaning
The increase in weight from birth to weaning-
age/body size of dam- milk production – gender,
no. of teats/litter size (>14 teats in swine; no > 9
kits in rabbits), “cross-fostering
Post-weaning
 The increase in weight from weaning to harvest.
It is affected by pre-weaning background –
genetics – gender – environment – nutrition
Livestock Growth Curve
 Compensatory or catch-up growth
• Domestic animals experience compensatory, when
growth acceleration follows an early-life
growth restriction.
• Occurs when nutrient intake restrictions are relieved,
such as when the forage-plentiful rainy season begins
following the low-rainfall months of the year.
• animals exhibit compensatory growth when
consuming diets that supply 15 to 40% more
nutrients than required for maintenance.
• During compensatory growth animals experience
many physiological and metabolic changes.
These changes include
 Greater BW gain
 Higher efficiency of energy for live weight gain
 Greater appetite
 Increased feed intake capacity
 Altered endocrine profiles

Compensatory growth is seasonally associated

with better grazing supplies of legumes and
grasses in the rainy season, which resulted in an
ADG.
Compensatory gain
 A very rapid growth when an animal on nutrient poor
diet switched to nutrient rich diet
Factors affecting growth

 Hormones
 Genetics
 Nutrition
 Physical environment
 Management
 Antibiotics/Feed Additives/Implants
Hormones
 Hormones are chemical messengers that
coordinate growth and development of body
tissues structures, and organs so as to help
ensure “homeostasis”

 Homeostasis: Is the property of a system that

regulates its internal environment and tends to
maintain a stable, relatively constant condition
of properties such as temperature or pH
Genetics
 genetic predetermination at conception of animal‟s body
size and growth rate
 Pre-weaning growth largely dependent onmilk
availability, but post-weaning growth gain is largely
dependent on the animal‟s genetics
 Genetic or hormonal imbalance can harm growth
potential

Nutrition
 Diet affects immediate and subsequent growth traits

Too much= fat deposition= bone & organ growth and

development
Physical environment
 Shelter, Flooring, Cage size,
 Population density,
 Sounds,
 Climate affect growth
Management
 Animal care and well-being
Antibiotics/feed additives/implants
 Reduce incidence of disease
 Increase growth and nutrient efficiency
 Alter rumen micro-organisms which may improve
nutrient utilization
 Growth Related Hormones

 Somatotropin (ST, “Growth Hormone”)

 Thyroxin

 Androgens (Testosterone)

 Estrogens

 Glucocorticoids
Somatotropin (ST, “Growth Hormone”)
 secreted from the anterior pituitary,
 regulates development of bone and muscle,
 increases milk and meat yield ( bST =bovine ST)
 by repartitioning nutrients from fat to the mammary
tissue
 by increasing protein deposition by 30% and decreases
fat by 45%

Thyroxin
 secreted by the thyroid gland
 regulates basal metabolic rate
 too little impairs bone and muscle growth – “hypothyroidism”
 too much thyroxine results in less nutrient utilization due to
high metabolic rate –“hyperthyroidism”
 exogenous hormone used to increase feathering in poultry,
wool and milk production in sheep
Testosterone
a major androgen that is produced in the testes and in
the adrenal glands
is involved in secondary sexual development in males
increases bone and muscle growth in males and
females
Estrogens
 secreted from the ovaries, increases muscle growth in
ruminants and fat deposition in poultry, slows growth of
these tissue types in other species
Glucocorticoids
 secreted from the adrenal glands
 involved in stress and inflammation
 stimulates feeding (increase appetite) repartitions
nutrients (to produce energy for growth)
 Who determine animal growth?

 The amount of dietary net energy available for

gain (NEg)
(after satisfying maintenance requirements)

NEg ( Net energy for gain)

• It is the energy content of deposited tissue

• Represents the proportion of fat and protein in

empty body tissues.
 Growth rates and targets
 The nutrient requirements for growing replacement
heifers depend on
 the characteristics of the animal,
 its environment and
 management conditions.

 The targets for different physiological body weights in

a particular herd or population of cattle are
determined by the mature size of the reared animals.
Measures of Growth
 Measurements can be objective or subjective,
 Varies by the intended use of the animal

Measures of Growth for Meat animals

 Live weight,
 Body condition score ( BCS)
 Loin eye area,
 Back fat thickness

Measures of Growth for Breeding animals:

 Ability to produce offspring
 Live weight
 Age at first estrus
 Testicle size
 Other specialty products - Milk, Wool, Eggs
 Animal body composition
is described by either
1) Proportions of muscle, fat & bone in the
carcass or

2) Proportions of chemically measured

amounts of water, protein, lipid & ash in
the whole body.
 Carcass of Animals

Carcass Composition
 Three main constituents (bone , muscle , fat)
 Total amount of increase or change as growth occurs
Younger animals > bone & muscle than older animals > fat
Carcasses of animals of different mature-size:
 50% muscle,
 35% fat,
 15% bone despite variations in mature weight
Rate of tissue proportion changes depends on:
 species, breed, animal type, gender, diet, age

The differences in body composition determine the nutrient

requirements for animal growth.

Animals with the same BW, but with different Mature sizes, will
have different nutrient requirements.
 Puberty
• Age at which animals are capable of
reproduction

• Puberty is the age in postnatal life when

gonads produce gametes and sex hormones in
sufficient quantities to enable an animal to
reproduce

• It is a gradual process of maturation of the

endocrine and reproductive systems enabling
the animal for successful reproduction.
Exotic heifers reach sexual maturity
 At about 8-12 months of age;
 With 30 - 40% BW of adult

Zebu heifers attain sexual maturity

 at about 18-24 months of age

Heifer should be about 2/3rd of her adult

body size
Physical maturity in cow appears:

 At about 12-18 months of age

 With 65-70% of BW of same breed

BW is detrimental factor for sexual and

physical maturity than age

Hence, heifer should be bred when its BW

attain 65-70% of given breed
Weight & age at which 1st heat appearance

Breed Weight Age

Zebu 170 - 220 kg 12 - 24 months

Friesian 250 - 350 kg 8 - 10 months

Physiological Mechanisms Controlling Puberty

Fundamental requirement for onset of

puberty is:
Secretion GnRH from hypothalamus to stimulate
LH
Follicular development,
Synthesis and secretion estradiol 17β (E2)
Hormone Source Action in female Effect on ovary

GnRH Hypothalamus Release FSH and Follicular development;

LH ovulation

LH Pituitary Stimulates ovulation Formation of CL

& P4 secretion
FSH Pituitary Follicular Development of
development, follicles
E2 synthesis
Estradiol Follicle, Sexual behavior
placenta
Effects of Nutrition on puberty

• Energy & protein are essential to optimize reproduction

• Pubertal age in heifers determined by nutritional status

during early sexual maturity period

• Malnourished females lack ovarian activity owing to the

suppression of LH

• Nutrition effects synthesis and release of GnRH, FSH, LH

and GH due to its action on hypothalamus and anterior
pituitary respectively

• Acute /chronic dietary restriction results in a gradual

reduction of growth rate
The End
 Secession 5

Pre and Post Parturition Practices

to Maximize Reproduction & Milk
Production
What is Parturition?

 The process of giving birth

 This involves the preparation for and action of
expulsion of the mature fetus from the security of the
intrauterine environment into the harsher outside
world.
 The process of reproduction in the cow is only successfully
completed when a healthy neonatal calf is standing at its
mother‟s side.
 Parturition is accompanied by the onset of milk
secretion(lactogenesis), so that the neonate is provided with
an adequate supply of nutrients immediately after birth.
 The two processes are controlled by similar endocrine
mechanisms and are closely synchronized.
 Stillbirths and neonatal mortality may occur in up to 5% of
calves.
 Pre -parturition practices
• The pre-parturition practices would involve
management practice of pregnant heifers - pre-
partum (24–36 months).

Feeding
 good quality roughage
 concentrate as a supplement to pregnant heifers in
poor condition
 Mineral supplement to prevent metabolic diseases
such as milk fever.
vaccination
 Vaccinate against FMD, Hemorrhagic septicemia, etc

 De-worming routinely for external & internal parasites

Observe for approaching parturition signs

 Are that it becomes uneasy and separates from the
herd. Signs of calving include enlargement of the
udder and belly, and discharge from the vulva

 In this period, one must be alert for heifers‟ mastitis

(Mastitis before calving) and abortion.
Preparation to calving
• Prepare the calving area (hygienic, dry, well
bedded, quiet, isolated)

• Transfer cow to calving pen two ( one) week

before calving.

• Keep cow on a light, laxative diet

• Water aldibtium

• Proper udder protection measures

 At parturition
Don‟t interfere with normal calving
 In abnormal presentation (difficulty in birth) seek
professional help
Don‟t allow cows to eat placenta (may cause
Indigestion)
Under normal circumstances expulsion of placenta
should occur within 4-6 hrs after the birth of the calf
In case of retention of placenta, remove it manually
after 12 - 18 hours
If delivery is determined to take longer than 24
hours and the allantoic sac has not protruded
 Assistance from a veterinarian.

If there has been no expulsion of the fetus or any

contractions for more than 2 hours after the
rupture of the allantoic sac,
 Veterinary assistance will be required
Post Parturition
Practices
 Neonetal care & care immediately after delivery
 Clear the air ways with a dry towel (clean and dry hay). This
will stimulate respiration and blood circulation.
 Disinfect navel cord – prevent omphalitis, by tincture of iodine
Feeding colostrum
 1-2 hrs after birth, maximum with in 6 hrs after birth
 The optimum time for absorption of antibodies through calf‟s
small intestine is in the first 6-8hours.
 Colostrum should provide the calf with 10 to 15 % of its body
weight.
 It is essential that the calf receives enough colostrum during
the first 12 to 24 hours to prevent early infection.
The colostrum
• is high in nutritive value;
• it contains antibodies IgG and IgM from the cow‟s immune
system which form passive resistance to many infections
In the absence of the colostrum:
• a mixture of 2 eggs in 30 ml castor oil is good.

Within 2 hrs first suckling „meconium’ is passed

Advantages of colostrum feeding:

• Fortify the calf‟s disease resistance
• Have vitamins, minerals
• Laxative that clears the meconium
• Disinfect the bowel
 Observe the cow for the natural expulsion of the fetal
membrane
 3-8 hours after calving or within 12 hours.
 If retained over 12 hours, assistance from a
veterinarian.

 Remove the fetal membrane from the calving area or

pen floor, clean the pen and the rearing area of the
dam to reduce risk of infection by flies.

 Feed the cow with good quality and quantity of

food
 Cow has less appetite, may remain stressed
from delivery.
 Reading assignment !!!
(Appears in the examination questions)

 Mechanism of immunoglobulins absorption and

factors affecting the mass of Ig consumed by
the calf

 Colostrum and colostrum quality, colostrum

processing and economic interest in colostrum
feeding

 Newborn calves management

 Calves from 3 days to 1 month
• Feeding with whole milk is expensive so milk replacer is used
for routine feeding, which is twice a day.
• Bucket feeding is commonly used;
• it should be cleaned well between uses to avoid digestive
disorders due to poor hygiene.
• Train the calf to take concentrate and roughage at about one
week of age.
• Solid food stimulates rumen development. In the pen, clean
water must be available at all times.
• Calves are numbered using an ear-tag or tattoo.
• Removal of extra-teats could be done in the first weeks.
• Common health problems during this period are omphalitis
(navel-ill), diarrhea (scours), respiratory infection
(pneumonia) and arthritis.
 1 month of age to weaning (3–4 months)
• Dehorned at 1-2 months of age.
• All female calves should be vaccinated against
brucellosis (S19) at 3-8 months of age.

• Weaning at about 3- 4 months of age or when the calf

is able to eat roughage and concentrate of more than
1kg /day or at calf body weight between 80 to 90 kg
(depending on the breed).

• De-worming against internal parasites such as

roundworm, tapeworm and flukes. Also, eliminate
external parasites such as ticks by spraying.
• In this period problems to be aware of, are parasites,
bloat and arthritis.
 Calves 4–12 months of age
• Vaccinate against FMD (foot-and-mouth
disease), hemorrhagic septicemia and/or
anthrax every six months.

• De-worm against internal parasites such as

roundworm, tapeworm, flukes and also
eliminate external parasites such as ticks, by
spraying.

• In this period problems to be aware of include

parasites, tick fever, pneumonia, diarrhoea,
bloat and arthritis.
 Heifers 12–18 months of age
• Record the growth rate - not < 270 kg in crossbred or
300 kg in pure-bred cattle at first service.
• Brucellosis and Tuberculosis test
• Vaccinate against FMD , etc every 6 months.
• De-worming every 6 months.
• Heat detection
• Heifers requiring repeated insemination (more than
three times) need to be checked by a veterinarian
• Heifers over 18 months old and/or weighing more
than 270 kg which have not shown signs of estrus
need to be checked by a veterinarian.
• Pregnancy diagnosis should be done on each animal
at 45 to 60 days after the last insemination.
 Dry period

• Maintaining good feed management

• Hoof trimming can be done
• Treat for internal and external parasites
• Maintaining the routine vaccination program
• Check for pregnancy diagnosis before the cow to dry off
• Drying-off at least 2 months before the coming
parturition
• Prevention of mastitis during the dry period and after
calving
The End
 Section 6

Principles of
Replacement & Culling
 Introduction

• It is necessary to bring new animals into the herd

every year to replace those that are culled.

• The policy for culling cows from the herd can have
dramatic effects on the reproductive performance of
the herd.

Culling policy
• Planned culling i.e. deliberate policy,
• Unplanned culling (e.g., following disease or injury)
• To maximize genetic progress, a high
proportion of cows should be culled each
year and replaced with higher genetic
merit heifers.

• Cows need to remain in the herd for 5 or

more lactations to maximize economic
returns

• Heifers in their 1st , 2nd , even 3rd lactations

will not be yielding up to their genetic potential.
 Culling rates > 20% are not advisable
 Culling rates should never exceed 25%
Reason?
 there would be a higher proportion of first calved
heifers in the herds, therefore reducing average milk
yield.
If the culling rate is higher
 more heifers will be reared and
 this requires more resources

 It is desirable to reduce the level of unplanned culling

 Planned culling of poor yielders (temperamental cows)
can be carried out.
 Frequent causes of culling

• Fertility (failure to conceive is easily)

• The most common reason for culling

• Problems associated with feet and udders

Cows culled for „infertility‟ = barren

Replacements may be bought in as:
• in-calf , or
• newly calved heifers, or
• cows

• The potential of such animals could be more uncertain

than that of home produced stock

• The new animals could either introduce disease into

the herd or fall victim to a disease that is endemic in
the cows already in the herd and to which they are
immune.
• An ideal herd should produce approx. 50 % of
females.

• In practice it is often necessary to rear nearly

all the available heifer calves

• The two main requirements in rearing

replacement heifers are that they
• should grow at a rapid rate and
• calve at as early an age as possible.
• The earlier heifers calve, the sooner they can replace
cull cows in the milking herd and
• the quicker the rate of genetic gain in the herd
(Assumption: Replacements are superior to culls)

• If replacement heifers calve at earlier age they will

overall be less of a drain on the farm‟s resources
• so that they could be used to support more
milking cows or other enterprises.
• The earlier in life that heifers start to produce milk,
the higher will be their lifetime production.
• If heifers are too old at first calving, they may be
more likely to suffer dystocia, perhaps because of
excessive weight gain.
• The target age at first calving is approx. 2 years
About Replacement heifers
• Health record of the purchased animals

• Information on vaccinations and health

problems

• breeding certificates and individual cards from

former owners are valuable

• Quarantine before new animals can enter a

farm
• High cull rates have been considered a
sign of management failure

• Replacing a cow too soon loses money,

because culls incur the cost of
replacement (purchase minus salvage)
sooner than desired

• There are 2 types of costs involved in

culling a cow
• Cash costs and economic costs
Cash costs
 are simple to calculate
 Price of the replacement heifer minus the
salvage value for the culled cow

Cash costs do not accurately reflect the

economic impact of a cull cow.
The End
 Secession 7

Housing, equipment and management

in warm climates
 Objectives of cattle housing

• To provide comfortable environment

• To provide comfortable & safe working

environment

• To minimize injury to stock

• To minimize transmission of diseases

 Housing

 Before establishing a dairy farm,

consideration must be given to

Site

All core and support facilities

 Site selection
• Topography - well drained area, higher elevation

• Prevailing wind direction

• Direction of the house

• front of the house should face east-west in the tropics.

• Distance from residential area

• Probability of future expansion

• Availability of labour in the area

• Availability of social services

 Access to public utilities
 A commercial dairy farm needs good access to roads,
electricity and water
Road network
 For the dispatch of fresh milk and supply of feed
 important impact on milk quality transportation costs
 This is important especially for long term planning
Electricity supply
 A connection to the national grid is preferred
 electricity is required for farm operations like
automated milking, cooling, feed milling/chopping.
 high voltage (3-phase) power connection
 a requirement for milking and cooling processes.
Water supply
• Availability of sufficient clean water is important for animals,
farm processes, humans
• continuous supply of clean, fresh water must be guaranteed
to avoid shortages of drinking water.
• needed for cleaning farm equipment - milking machines, milk
cooling tank, for cleaning of floors in the milking parlour, and
milk room.
• Connection to the national grid if possible. If not possible
installation of a deep well or borehole

Water drainage
• Especially in the event of heavy rainfall, excess water must
be channeled away from the farm site to existing water
reservoirs, drainage canals or the local sewage system.
• Rain water catchment may help to create (seasonal) storage
for drinking water for a limited herd size.
Core and support facilities
 Cattle barn or the cow house
 Milking parlour and other utilities,
 Feed storage,
 Manure storage,
 farm machinery, etc
 Water,
 energy use,
 fodder production and pastures
 Dairy farm lay-out principles
 The optimal lay-out of a dairy farm takes into account the
following principles
Principles
• One central entry and exit point

• One central square

• Central view on the farm/central square

• Straight and short lines for all traffic (people and vehicles)

• Fenced premises

• The route to pasture and arable land is separate from the

central entry and exit point.
 Explanations

One central entry and exit point

• enables the farm to check vehicles and persons
coming in and going out

• Facilities for disinfection of vehicles and persons

entering the farm can be placed here

• One central gate allows for strict control and

monitoring of vehicles and persons coming in and
going out

• The amount of space needed for drive ways is

minimized.
One central square
• All on-farm traffic movements and work processes should
start from here

• The buildings and the main working areas are ideally

located as close as possible to the central square.

• Entries and exits of all buildings are situated at the

square-side in the most logical place.

• This lay-out gives a very good overview over most

processes that are happening on the farm and short
walking distances.

• People are close together and this supports easy

supervision and communication
Central view

 The farm house (office) should be placed in such a

way that the farmer or farm manager has a good
view on the central gate and the central square.

 Windows at the place where people sit (office,

kitchen and canteen) should be facing the central
gate and the central square.

 In this manner farm workers can be continuously

supervised and visitors are immediately detected.
Straight & short lines for all traffic movements:

• Vehicles, Cows, people, and moveable machinery

should move in straight lines on the farm

• This makes it easy to drive around with farm

machinery (time saving, less accidents) and the
space needed for drive and walk ways is
minimized.

• Regarding buildings: designing the farm in straight

lines makes it easy to expand buildings.
The premises are fenced & can be enclosed with a gate

• It is advisable to fence the farm and put one main

entrance, possibly with an additional gate at the cow
house area.

• This will enhance safety and prevent other animals to

enter the farm and bring in contagious diseases.

• At the central gate hygienic measures for vehicles and

humans can be executed.
Separate route to pasture and arable land

• The arable land and pastures should be fenced

and need to accessible through a separate
route rather than through the main gate.

• This allows for separation of vehicles and

animals from outside and inside the farm (bio-
security, safety).
 Dairy cow house design
An efficient and effective dairy barn or cow house design is
based on the following principles:
Cow comfort
Labour efficiency, safety and comfort
Simple, robust, flexible and expandable
Durable, cheap
Straight lines
Concentration of labour
Optimizing and separating flows:
 Cow flow (over the day, over the year)
 Feed flow
 Manure flow
 People flow/work flow
 Materials flow
 Information flow
 … Dairy cow house design

The preferred stable is designed in such a way that it:

 Can accommodate animals of all age groups separately
in a free walking area all year round.

 Must facilitate
Labour processes – e.g. Milking, feeding
 Manure collection in a safe and efficient manner

 Must provide
 High cow comfort for optimal milk production
 Good ventilation
 Protection against unfavorable weather conditions
(e.g. heat, rain, wind).
Important parameters for the design of the cattle barn:
 Cows in lactation
 Dry cows (Far off/Close up)
 Maternity (calving area)
 Calf rearing (age 0 – 3 months) in calf boxes and
 Female young stock (age 4 -7 months
 Female young stock (age 8 – 11 months)
 Heifers (age 12 – 15 months)
 Pregnant heifers (age 16 – 19 months)
 Pregnant heifers (age 20 months – delivery)
 Breeding bull(s)
 Cow handling and treatment area
 Milking parlour
 Milk- and machine room
 Office and sanitation room
 Accommodate dairy cattle
Most common types-Free stall, Loose housing, Tie stall

Tie stalls (Tie-up house )

 Cow is restrained /tethered/tied-up in a separate stall
 Stall - Single (double) row arrangement
 Double row arrangement:
Tail- to - tail ; head - to - head
• Feed is delivered in a trough in front of cows
• Milking takes place individually in the stall
• by hand or machine
• Machine - bucket or a pipeline system

• Manure is collected in a gutter behind the stock

 Drawbacks
 Restricts the ability of each cow to self-groom itself, particularly
if the tether rope or chain is too short,
 Extremely uncomfortable
 Suffer feet problems & become stiff if tied up all year
round.
 Predispose to leg disorder
 Swollen knees,
 Joint stiffness due to restriction of movement &
insufficient bedding inflammation of knees & hocks
 Reduce lying and resting time which can lead to
increased lameness
 Frustrating because lying down with the head constrained is
more difficult
 A high incidence of trampled teats
 Heat detection demands more attention in tie stalls

Can lead to abnormal behavior

Swinging from side to side, shifting/moving back & forth
Stand in dull state if not eating or otherwise stimulated
Stereotypical activities - bar biting, tongue rolling

Tie stall provides the least cow comfort of the 3 systems

because animals are restrained & cannot exercise at will

What to do?
 Provided an easy to clean, soft surface on which to lie
down. E.g; rubber mats or straw
 Stall Size
 Stall Size depends on the
 Size of cows
 System of manure removal

For Holstein-Friesian cows 500-600 kg

Stall width(m) Stall length(m) Gutter system

1.10 -1.20 1.50 -1.60 Stall with open gutter

1.10 – 1.20 1.40 – 1.50 Stall with covered gutter

Drinking bowl
 Provided water, Triggered by nose plate
 Arranged at rate of 1 bowel/ two stalls

Manger (feed trough)

 Width = 0.5-0.6 m
 Separated from the stall by a curb with rounded edges
about 0.15m high.
 Bottom of manger - 40-50 mm higher than stall level.

Gutter (dung channel, drain)

 Manure is collected in to gutter
 may be open or covered with steel grates.
 Dung is removed manually or mechanically
 Slope = 2 - 2.5 %
 Loose housing

• Cows are not tied up and walk freely

• Have a loafing, lying, feeding areas

• The feed trough is separated from the loafing alley

by either a feeding rack or wire rope.

 Requires more use of bedding material

Cows are forced to walk frequently,
• Manure is spread over a large floor area

• Manure to be collected by scraping the dung by

hand or sometimes mechanically into a manure pit

• With adequate water supplies, rapid flushing of

large amounts of water can clean alleys, directing
effluent into a pond.

• Milking is usually carried out in a specific milking

parlour or area in the shed.

• Feed trough is separated from the loafing alley

• by feeding rack or wire rope
 Loose housing types

1) Loose house with a common lying area with

open lounging

2) Loose house with cubicles (free stalls)

 In open lounging systems
• Cows can lie down anywhere

• Cows are allocated a particular place to rest

• Floor can be earthen (cement), with bedding

material, the base being well drained

• Loafing area behind feed troughs should be

cement (3 m wide)

• Each cow should be allocated 9 m2 resting area

 Free stall (cubicle housing)
• Free stall gives a higher level of cow comfort.
• Cows are cleaner
• There is a lower incidence of teat/udder injury
• In free stall design, cattle can use a (fenced) free
walking area (dry lot) outside the barn structure.
• Investment is comparable (slightly lower) than loose
housing
Reason
 in the same surface of free stall barn, a higher
number of animals can be kept
 but, construction costs per square meter are higher
 … Free stall
• It is a feed pad with the addition of specific
bedding areas for the stock to lie down

• A covered shed and may include loafing area,

• also be loose housed where they can stand,

ruminate or idle

• Each cow is provided with a stall which she

may enter and leave at will
 … Free stall
• Individual cow bedding cubicles, where partitions
orientate stock for comfort and sanitation,
• Providing each cow with a dry and comfortable place
to lie down and rest and ruminate.
• One stall for each lactating cow
Stalls arrangement
• Single (more than one) row with a central feeding alley
or with feeding alleys along the sidewalls.
• Head-to-head (facing one another) or (tail-to-tail)
• A central cow alley, 2.2 m wide between the cubicles
• If the stalls are head-to-head, two cow alleys behind
each row are necessary.
• Usually one of these alleys is combined with feed alley.
 … Free stall

• Stall dimensions should be based on the largest 25% of the

herd to allow for increase in cow size through improved feeding
and genetics over time.

• They should also provide for adequate lying down as well as

necessary forward and sideways lunging to stand.

When well designed and managed,

• Free stalls provide the ideal system for intensively managing
dairy cows off pasture
Because
• Each animal is provided with a specific place to rest
• Their management (feeding, cleaning and relaxing) is
potentially optimized
• The system can operate efficiently with minimal labour
 Drawbacks of free stall
 Relatively expensive to construct

 Can become very unprofitable if stock suffer from poor

welfare, animal health and milk quality due to poor
feeding and herd management.

 Stalls must allow enough room for the largest cow to

freely enter the stall, lie down, rest comfortably and
easily get to her feet to exit the stall.

 Cows need to lunge forward to lift their hind

quarters first when rising
 Too long or too wide stalls are bad

Why?

 Allow the animal to move forward and feces and urine

deposited within the stall and not in the alley way.

 Shoulder and neck rails are needed to force cows

backwards to further prevent cows from soiling the
cubicles, when they stand up.

 Rubber mats are common and can vary in thickness for

<10 mm to >25 mm.
 Monitoring free stall use

Ways to monitor cows’ use of free stalls & free stall sheds:
 Do cows appear comfortable when standing or lying?
If not, stall dimensions and bedding may need
attention.

 Do cows have to push, bang and/or bump against stall

components to lie down, get up or change positions?

 Do cows stand half in or half out of the stalls?

 Do cows stand in the stalls in an angular fashion? This

indicates the stalls are too wide.
 … Monitoring free stall use

 Are all stalls used equally? If not, there would be a reason

why some are not chosen by the cows.

 When cows normally rest (between 10 PM and 4 AM) are

more than 20 to 30% of the herd standing in the stalls? If
so, stall comfort may be questionable.

 Are cow‟s udders, tails or hindquarters dirty? This could

indicate dirty bedding but may also be due to low fibre
diets and very loose manure.
The most important parameters for the design of the
cattle barn are:

 Cows in lactation
 Dry cows (Far off/Close up)
 Maternity (calving area)
 Calf rearing (age 0 – 3 months) in calf boxes and group
housing
 Female young stock (age 4 -7 months)
 Female young stock (age 8 – 11 months)
 Heifers (age 12 – 15 months)
 Pregnant heifers (age 16 – 19 months)
 Pregnant heifers (age 20 months – delivery)
 Breeding bull(s)
 Cow handling and treatment area

• Area is usually closely located to the milking parlour

• Used to single-out cows from the herd for purposes of

individual attention, e.g; Hoof-trimming, AI, Veterinary
treatments

• For farms having dairy herd of more >60 cows is

recommended for individual monitoring (treatment)
e.g. animals with lameness, mastitis, other conditions
that would call for regular attention
 Milking parlour
• The location at the farm where cows are
generally milked twice a day

• Is equipped with stationary milking machinery

and a safe and hygienic working environment
with sufficient light and ventilation

• From an ergonomics point of view a milking

parlour provides a good position for milkers to
work safely and keep a good view at udder level.
 Milk- and machine room
• Dedicated area for the reception, cooling and storage of milk.
• Place where the dispatch of fresh milk takes place.

• It is also used to manage the cleaning of milking equipment,

utensils and milk cans.

• Situated adjacent to the milk room is the machine or equipment

room in which compressors and vacuum equipment are placed.
• The heat radiating equipment is physically separated from
the cooling equipment.

• The cooling equipment is instead located in the milk-room to

avoid inconsistent flows of (heated) air and contamination by
oils and lubricants.

• Where applicable this is also the place where the milk testing
equipment is stored.
 Office and sanitation room
Necessity for proper management and administration.
• Farm recording,
• Herd fertility and AI,
• Animal health and veterinary care.
 (cold) storage of
 Veterinary medicines,
 Artificial insemination utilities
• bull semen
 Spare parts of the milking equipment

A sanitation unit shall be in close vicinity of the

office with toilet ,washing area, changing room
 Barn design (side view)

The front of the house should face East-West direction

Barn layout (top view)
Drinking bowl
• Provided water, Triggered by nose plate.
• Arranged at rate of 1 bowel/ two stalls

Manger(feed trough)
• Width = 0.5-0.6 m
• Separated from the stall by a curb with rounded edges
about 0.15m high.
• Bottom of manger = 40-50 mm higher than stall level

Gutter (dung channel, drain)

• Manure is collected in to gutter
• may be open or covered with steel grates.
• Dung is removed manually or mechanically
• Slope = 2 - 2.5 %
Isolation/separation area

 Size = 3 X 4 meters (including gutter & feed trough)

 Location - at one corner away from other dairy

houses; Closer to dispensary

 Separate drainage of every isolation stall

 Separate water & feed trough

 Total No. of pens =1:20 (isolation pen: milking cows)

 Solid partition between two pens= 1.5 m high

Maternity Stall/ Pen
 Pregnant cows move to it 2 to 8 days before date of
calving

 Well lighted, easily cleaned, ventilated, free of drafts

Floor of the pen

 Rough finish in order to prevent cows from slipping
 Slope = 2 - 2.5% towards the drains.

 Total Number= 5:1 pregnant cow to calving pen ratio

 Size = 3m X 4m, (including gutter & feed trough)

 Wall length = 1.30 m (0.5 m open above door length)

 BARN FOR MILKING COWS

a) Floor construction
 Concrete , The base /depth - 45 – 70 cm

 Finished with 8 to 12 cm thick layer

 Slope = 2 – 2.5% towards drains

b) Floor space requirements

 Stall width - 1.20, Stall length - 1.75 meters,

If no partition stall width increased by 50 to 100 mm

 Roof
 Supported by pillars over the walls.
 The height of the roof (at the center) from
Wall
 Width - 0.3 m. ;
 Height - 3 m on sides ;
 0.5 m open between wall and roof
Door
 Height – 2.4 m;
 Width - 2.75 meters
Manger/ feed trough
 Width - 0.60 meters,
 Height - 0.50 meters ;
 Depth - 0.40 meters;
 Thickness - 0. 25 meter
Slope
 2 - 2.5 % towards drains

Gutter
 Width - 0.60 meters
 Depth - 20 cm depth
 Slope - 2- 2.5 %.

Feeding passage (feed alley)

2.40 meter wide
Bull house
• House size - 3 m X 4 meter.
• Exercise area - 9m x 3m ; Mating area - 3m x 40m

Milk house
• Placed at the center; Slop = 2% - 2.5%
• Size = 4 x 4.5 meter (enough for 200 - 450 liters of
milk/day)
• Fine mesh wire on the widows to keep out flies
• Interior walls light color and washable.
• All doors open out from the milk room
Dry cow’s barn
Housing requirements are similar to lactating cows

Heifer’s barn ( big heifers)

Housing requirements are similar to lactating cows

Feed store
 Well drained, floor has to be made of concrete
 The size depends on the
 Type of the dairy unit,
 Type of feed used and
 Type of equipment utilized
Hay shade - Roof shall be water proof

General store
• Capacity depends on available instruments,
equipments
• Future expansion

Office, Guard shade , Toilet, Water tanker, Fence

Manure pit
 Length X Width X Depth (11, 3, 1meter)
Open lot with shelter
 Dry cows , heifers and milking cows

Concrete silo (silage pit)

 Length - 10 meters
 width - 4 meters
 depth/height - 2 meters
Foot bath
 2 m in length & 0.15 m depth just by the collecting
area
 Copper sulphate (3-5% mixed with clean water as
disinfectant
External (outside) water trough

 For cows and heifers

• long enough to allow 10 % of animals to drink at
one time.

 For caves up to 5 months old

• long enough to allow 10 % of the calves drink at
a time.
• H x L x W x D = 0.2; 0.4 to 0.5 m; 0.4m; 0.20m
Housing for young stock

 Calves should be separated from milking cow

 House can be entirely separate building
 The area needed to house young stock depends on
their number and on the type of housing.

Generally , group young stock in to four groups:

 up to 1 month old,
 2-5 month old,
 6-22 month old,
 22 months old and above
Calf pen
• Must contain 2 small water and feed buckets
• Shall be double sided (two row, head-to-head),
• Cemented floor, near by milking room (10 m)
• Provide good ventilation
• Pen partitions shall be solid, smooth

Generally calves should be housed separately

• To avoid sucking each other
• To avoid swallowing hair leading to hair balls
• causing bloat
• To ensure receiving their own ration
i) Calves up to one month of age
 Individual pen, well drained, protected
 Calf pen to pregnant cows‟ ratio = 1:5
 Pen size for 1 month old (W X L X H) = 1m X 1m X 1.50
 Pen size for 2 months old (W x l x h) = 1.25 x 1.50 x 1.50

ii) Pen for calves up to 5 months of age

• Calves 3 – 5 months old are housed in separated house
• Group pen is the suitable housing system
• Space (W x L x H) 1.25; 1.20; 1.20 to 1.50 m
• manger length - 0.50 meter

iii) Heifers
• Housing requirements are similar to lactating cows
WASTE DISPOSAL
 Flow by gravity or pump it , Composting ponds

Common manure handling systems (for free stall barn)

 Manual scraping , Flush, Mechanical alley scrapers

Manual scrape systems

 Manure is scraped to the end of the barns by a skid steer or
mechanical loader with a scraping attachment.
 Manure is stored temporarily in a solid stack, or loaded directly
onto a manure spreader.
 When being pulled, the plough's blade splays across the entire
alley between two curbs.
 After completing a pass, the chain or cable reverses direction
and pulls the plough backward as the plough's blades fold
together so as not to pull manure the opposite direction.
Mechanical alley scrapers
• hinged „V-shaped‟ plough driven by cable (chain)
• Continuously (periodically) dragged forward to
draw manure to the end of an alley.

Flush system
• Tank delivers copious amounts of water to flush all
manure off the alleys.
• Effluent go into settling pond to settle out before
the effluent enters the Lagoon
• Lagoons constructed with clay or compactable soil.
• In sandy (lighter soils), must line lagoons with
compacted clay or synthetic liners
The End
Session 8 - Modern Milking Management

 Milking methods
 Milk quality
 Milk handling and marketing
 Milking methods
What is milking?
• Process of persuading the cow to let down its milk and
allow the dairy farmer to remove
Objective of milking
to obtain the maximum quantity of clean milk within
the short period of time without causing injury to the
udder or teats.
If milking is incomplete there is a tendency for cow to
dry off too soon & chances of udder infection
Methods of milking
• Hand and Machine milking.
NOTE
• Milking rate of cows is inherited and influenced
by teat characteristics i.e.
• teat size and its placement,
• teat orifice size and
• tone of the sphincter muscle.

• The rate at which milk flows from the udder is

determined by physical and physiological
factors in the cow, the skill of the hand milker
and the efficiency of the milking machine.
 Hand milking
• Good hand-milkers can obtain more milk from cows than do
machines.

• A skilled hand milker can milk 10 cows per hour.

• advisable to start milking from the two front quarters because they
can be reached easily and do not hamper the milking of the rear
quarters when they are empty.

• After milking the two front quarters the rear quarters shall be milked

• Do not milk intermittently a front and rear quarter at the same time.

• The way of milking should be gentle but firm.

• Do not pull the teat as this can cause mastitis.

 Machine milking
Principle of operation
• To draw milk under vacuum from the cow‟s teats and
supply some massaging action to prevent engorgement of the
teats under vacuum.

• The resultant „squeezing‟ action has no role in milk removal, but

allows the teat to relax and blood to flow through the teat,
avoiding congestion.

• Milking machines rely on evacuating a closed area around the

teat at regular intervals (about once a second).

• The most commonly used levels for milking machines for

milking cows are 50 kPa and 44 kPa.
 Milking routines
Hand washing and reassembling of equipments
 Wash hands and forearms with soap and warm water.
 reassemble milking equipment before milking,

Washing the udder

udder and teats should be washed
for at least 30 seconds with running water ( sanitizing
solution) to remove dirt and stimulate letdown.
 running water is recommended to prevent
mastitis instead of using a cloth and bucket of
sanitizing solution.
 If a bucket of sanitizer is used for washing,
(especially a chlorine based compound) change
it frequently i.e. after every six cows.

Drying the udder

Remove and examine fore milk
 Draw 1-2 squirts of milk from each teat into a strip cup or
onto a well-drained floor.

 First milk is always high in bacteria and WBC and should be

discarded.

 Discarded abnormal milk, not mixed with milk from normal

quarters.

 Care should be taken when drawing the foremilk so as not

to force milk back into the udder.

Putting on teat cups when milk is let down;

Removing cups when milk flow has ceased

Teat dipping/spraying
Note
Soap should not be used to wash udder because
it is hard to remove
May cause udder to crack
May cause teat cups to slip (crawl) on the
teats.

• After milking all cows milking equipments must

be thoroughly cleaned.
Good cleaning practice include

• Cold-water rinse immediately after milking and boiling-water

rinse after each milking;

• Hot detergent wash after each milking;

• Washing by hand all parts not properly cleaned by rinse;

• Weekly cleaning of rubber wares like teat-cup liners;

• Occasional cleaning of vacuum (air) line;

• Regular maintenance checks on milking machines and cleaning

the shed and yards.
 Essentials of milking machines

Milking cluster
vacuum system
 interceptor jar
 sanitary trap
 regulator
 vacuum gauge
 Pulsator
 vacuum pump
 Vacuum line
 transport pipeline
 Milking cluster
Milking cluster consists of:
4 teat cups - each cup have:
# Shell
# Rubber liner
# Short milk tube
# Short pulse tube
Claw
Long milk tube
Long pulse tube
The air admission hole to stabilize the vacuum must be
kept clear

Total all up weight = about 2.5 kg.

Cluster
 The teat cups
• Connected to claw
- by short milk tube & short pulse tube
• Further connected to milking and pulsation vacuum
- by long milk tube & long pulse tube
To stabilize vacuum in teat cups during milking,
• Claw has a small air admission hole,
(≈0.8 mm in diameter, admits approx. 7–8 liters of
air/min into claw)
Air helps
• To carry the milk away,
• Prevent flooding and
• Prevent violent vacuum fluctuations.
 Teat cup shells

Teat cup shells are made of:

• Stainless steel (normally)

• Plastics

• Plastics & metal (combination)

Cluster
Teat cups
 Teat cup liner

 Has flexible rubber sleeve

 Space between shell & liner is called pulsation
chamber
Pulsation chamber
 Connected to pulsator via the claw
 Is created during assembling the shell under tension

Pulsation chamber = Annular space

Inside teat cup liner 40-50 kPa (constant vacuum) is applied

Most efficient milking obtained by 50 kPa with regular pulsation
Milking machine
 Claw
Claw connects
• Short pulse tubes to long pulse tube
• short milk tubes to long milk tube

Made of stainless steel or plastic

Milk from teat cups

 combined in the claw
 transported to the milk line (bucket) in single milk hose
Claw weight ≈ 0.5 kg
If too little
 Incomplete milking because of high levels of stripping
If too much weight
 milking units falling off during milking
 Vacuum pump
Type - Several types; operated by
• an electric motor or
• small internal combustion engine
Function
• Extract air from the pipeline system.

To prevent solid and liquid material being

drawn into the pump
• Interceptor/trap vessel is fitted in the main
vacuum line adjacent to the pump
Vacuum pump
 Vacuum regulator
 Automatic valve near milking units
 Admits air into the pipeline when the vacuum
increases above the predetermined level
 Regulators sense pressure changes in the vacuum
pipeline
 Have air filter to filter the incoming air
 Readily adjustable
 Good regulator should be able to control the vacuum
within +2 kPa of the working vacuum when nominally
closed.

 Function – to help maintain a stable vacuum

Vacuum regulator
 Interceptor (interceptor jar)
• Part of vacuum system
• Prevents contamination of the vacuum system
with milk
• Trap fitted in the main vacuum line to prevent
liquid & dust being sucked into vacuum pump
Interceptor (interceptor jar)
 Vacuum gauge
Function
• indicate vacuum in the pipeline system (abnormal
levels, fluctuations)

Vacuum gauge
• Allows efficient running of the vacuum to be
monitored
• Continually shows vacuum level
• Should be accurate and reliable
• Most have dual graduations, kPa & mmHg
• Lines on dial indicate working vacuum level
Vacuum gauge
 Pulsators
• Valve that alternately admits atmospheric air
& vacuum into pulsation chamber
(between rubber liner & shell)

• Valve admit air to prevent vacuum level rising

above 50 kPa or shut off air to prevent the
vacuum falling

• This causes liner to open & close during

milking
 Pulsator…
• Activated by vacuum (electrical signal) from
pulsator controller

• When the pulsator vacuum = vacuum inside

the liner and in the milk line
sucks milk from the teat.

Function of pulsators
• Prevent congestion of teat tissues

Congestion = accumulation of blood & other fluids)

Pulsator
 Recording jar

• A calibrated glass recorder jar

• Records milk yield from individual cows (before milk
is pumped to milk line).

Milking transfer line

Pulsator airline
A vacuum tank – a tank that store the vacuum.
NOTE:

The small scale dairy farmer who practices hand

milking requires only a minimum of equipment:

• Stainless steel pails or cans (milk bucket, milk

cream can),

• Washing buckets,

• Strip cups (teat cups) for testing mastitis,

• Weighing scale and

• Stool.
 Types of Milking Machines

2 main types
• Bucket milking machines.
• line-releaser (pipeline) milking machines.
Their basic layouts are the same

Powered
• Most by electricity but,
• In electrical failure, internal combustion
engine is mandatory
 1) Bucket plants (direct-to-can )
• Milk enters the teat cups, travels via short milk
tubes to the claw, air is admitted, milk and air travel
along the long milk tube to the bucket (can).

• The milk remains in the bucket (can) and the air

separates to pass up the vacuum tube to the
vacuum pipeline.

• Relies on a portable motor and pump

 The advantage of bucket type machine

• Simple to construct & easy to clean

• Holds a stable vacuum
• Pulsator fixed on the bucket lid
• Suitable for use by unskilled personnel
• Measure of individual cow‟s milk yield
• Possibility of mastitis is excluded.
• Economical for small holders - ≤ 15 cows
 2) Pipeline plants (pipeline milking)

• Permanently installed

• Requires daily cleaning, frequent maintenance

• Collect milk from several cows

• Increased popularity

• Economical if > 15 cows milked

…
 …
NOTE
I) If machines are improperly used
 Risks of contaminating milk
 Upsetting of cows
 Increasing mastitis infection

II) Choice of machines to be used

Depends on No. cows & workers

III) Machine milking

 efficient as best,
 Superior to average hand milking
…
 Milking Parlors / milking shade
Milking Parlor is:
• Building for milking cows
• Equipment for milking cows

It is part of a farm

Note
• Milking in tie stall is labor intensive
• Reason - much stooping and bending
• Desire = reduce this type of labor
 Types of milking parlors

1) Rotary parlors
- Rotary abreast
- Rotary tandem
- Rotary herringbone
2) Parallel parlor
3) Herringbone parlor
 Rotary parlor

• Consists of a turn table,

• Table is turned by electric motor
• Cow steps on, facing the centre, rotates with
the turntable
• Next cow moves to next vacant stall, …
• Cows milked as platform rotates
• Cow backs out, leaves at an exit just before
the entrance.
• For milking large herds =>1,000 cows
 Rotary parlor types
i) Rotary abreast
• Cows face inwards,
• Stand side-by-side,
• Separated by static tubular metal divisions.
• No moving parts on the platform.

ii) Rotary tandem

• Cows stand head-to-tail in stalls circling the
operators work area.

iii) Rotary herringbone

• Cows stand in echelon formation facing outwards
around a central work area.
Rotary abreast
Rotary tandem
Rotary herringbone
No matter what kind of parlour is used, key milking
procedures to be followed:

• Teats must be cleaned and dried

• Attach milking equipment properly
• Dip teats after milking
• Handle milk properly after milking
• Cool milk < 450F within 2 hrs. After milking
 Herringbone parlor

• Cows stand side-by-side to milker's pit

• No division between cows
• Milking is from the side of udder
• Cows enter and leave in batches
• Suitable for herds of 50–400 cows
 Why named Herringbone?
It is because cows:
• Enter & stand next to each other
• Face away from operator's pit
• Line up almost perpendicular to milker

Visualize fish bone

Ribs - cows
Spine - milker's working area;
the cows face outward
Herringbone parlor
Herringbone parlor
 Parallel parlor

• Cow stands perpendicular to the operator

• Teat cups attached between rear legs

• Referred to as a side-by-side
Parallel parlor
The End
Milk Quality
 Milk Quality
• Milk is sterile when secreted into the alveoli of the udder
• Microbial contamination occurs mainly during and after
milking
• Microorganisms originate from the exterior of teats, the
farm environment, surfaces of the milking equipment

• Microorganisms are mainly transferred from the farm

environment to milk via dirt (e.g. faeces, bedding)
attached to the exterior of teats;

• Contamination can originate from insufficiently cleaned

milking equipment when, during milking,
microorganisms adhered to surfaces of the milking
equipment are released into the milk
Factors which may produce off-flavour and/or odour in milk
 Feed and weed flavours
 Strong smelling plants, e.g; wild onion, garlic
 Strong flavored feedstuffs, e.g; poor quality silage
 Cow-barn flavors from dung, etc. when milk is obtained from
dirty environment
 Poorly ventilated environment
 improperly cleaned milking equipment
 Rancid flavours
 Caused by excessive agitation of milk during collection
and/or transport
 Damage of the fat globules in the milk results in the
presence of free fatty acids.
 High acidity flavours
 Oxidized flavours
 From contact with copper or
 Exposure to sunlight; flavours from the use of
chlorine, fly sprays, medications, etc.
Stakeholders in the Production of quality milk

 Dairy farmers;
 Dairy cooperatives;
 Milk and milk product processors;
 Retail distributors (shopkeepers and super
markets);
 Consumers of dairy products;
 State regulatory departments;
 Extension staff and veterinarians.
The most crucial aspects to maintain high quality
fresh milk:

• Hygienic milking and milk handling on farms;

• Good health status of the animals;

• Cooling of milk as soon as possible after milking;

• Transport of milk to the collection centre and/or

processing plant within 2 - 3 hours after milking;

• Good quality and well cleaned milk equipment.

 Mastitis control programmes
The program is based on 5 basic principles:

 Post-milking teat disinfection

 Dry cow antibiotic therapy

 Appropriate treatment of clinical cases

 Culling of chronically infected cows

 Regular milking machine maintenance

 Some Common Testing of Milk

 Organoleptic test

 Clot on Boiling test

 Alcohol test

 Acidity test

 Lactometer test
 Organoleptic Tests
• Permits rapid segregation of poor quality milk at the
milk receiving platform.

• No equipment is required, but

• the milk grader must have good sense of sight, smell

and taste.

• The result of the test is obtained instantly, and the

cost of the test are low.

• Milk which cannot be adequately judged

organoleptically must be subjected to other more
sensitive and objective tests.
Procedure of Organoleptic tests
• Open a can of milk.
• Immediately smell the milk.
• Observe the appearance of the milk
• If still unable to make a clear judgement, taste the milk, but do not
swallow it.
• Spit the milk sample into a bucket provided for that purpose or into a
drain basin, flush with water.
• Look at the can lid and the milk can to check cleanliness

Judgment
 Abnormal smell and taste

Abnormal smell and taste may be caused by:

1) Atmospheric taint (e.g. Barny/ Cowy odour)
2) Physiological taints (hormonal imbalance, cows in late lactation -
spontaneous rancidity).
3) Bacterial taints
4) Chemical taints or discolouring
5) Advanced acidification (pH < 6.4)
 Clot on Boiling Test
 The test is quick and simple.
 one of the old tests for too acid milk(pH<5.8) or abnormal milk (e.g.
colostral or mastitis milk ).
 If a milk sample fails in the test,
 The milk must contain many acid or rennet producing
microorganisms, or
 The milk has an abnormal high percentage of proteins like
colostral milk.
 Such milk cannot stand the heat treatment in milk processing and
must therefore be rejected.
Procedure:
• Boil a small amount of milk in a spoon, test tube or other suitable
container.
• If there is clotting, coagulation or precipitation, the milk has failed
the test.

Heavy contamination in freshly drawn milk cannot be detected, when

the acidity is below 0.20-0.26% Lactic acid.
 Alcohol Test
 The test is quick and simple
 It is based on instability of the proteins when the levels of acid
and/or rennet are increased and acted upon by the alcohol.
 Increased levels of albumen (colostrum milk) and salt
concentrates (mastitis) results in a positive test.

Procedure
 Mix equal amounts of milk & 68% of ethanol solution in a
small bottle or test tube.
 For routine testing - 2 ml milk is mixed with 2 ml 68%
alcohol

 If milk is of good quality, there will be no coagulation, clotting

or precipitation, but it is necessary to look for small lumps.

The first clotting due to acid development can first be

seen at 0.21-0.23 % Lactic acid
How do we prepare 68 % Ethanol solution?

 It is prepared from
68 ml 96% (absolute) alcohol, &

28 ml distilled water
 Acidity Test
 Bacteria that normally develop in raw milk produce more
or less of lactic acid.

 In the acidity test the acid is neutralised with 0.1 N

Sodium hydroxide and the amount of alkaline is measured.

 From this, the percentage of lactic acid can be calculated.

 Fresh milk contains in this test also "natural acidity" which

is due to the natural ability to resist pH changes .

 The natural acidity of milk is 0.16 - 0.18%.

 Figures higher than this signifies developed acidity due to

the action of bacteria on milk sugar.
Apparatus, Indicators and Solution for acidity Test

 A porcelain dish or small conical flask

 Pipettes - 10 ml graduated pipette and 1 ml pipette

 Burette - 0.1 ml graduations

 Glass rod - for stirring the milk in the dish

 Phenophtalein indicator solution - 0.5% in 50%

Alcohol

 N Sodium hydroxide solution.

Procedure for acidity Test

• Measure 9 ml of milk into the porcelain dish/conical

flask,

• Add 1 ml Phenolphthalein in the measured milk

• Slowly add 0.1 N Sodium hydroxide from the burret

under continuous mixing, until a faint pink colour
appears.

The number of ml of Sodium hydroxide solution divided

by 10 expresses the percentage of lactic acid
 Lactometer Test
 Designed to detect the change in density of adulterated milk
(milk density)

Procedure of Lactometer test

 Mix the milk sample gently and
 pour it gently into a measuring cylinder (300-500).
 Let the Lactometer sink slowly into the milk.
 Read and record the last Lactometer degree (ºL) just above
the surface of the milk.

If the temperature of the milk is different from the

calibration temperature of the lactometer (Calibration
temperature may be=200 C)
 Calculate the temperature correction.
 For each ºc above the calibration temperature add 0.2ºL
 For each ºc below calibration temperature subtract 0.2 ºL
from the recorded lactometer reading
 For the calculations, use lactometer degrees, and

 For the conversion to density write 1.0 in front of the true

lactometer reading ,i.e. 1.030 g/ml.

Example of calibration temperature 200C

Sample Milk Lactometer Correction True reading
temperature reading

17 ºC 30.6 ºL - 0.6 ºL 30.0 ºL

20 ºC 30.0 ºL Nil 30.0 ºL

23 ºC 29.4 ºL + 0.6 ºL 30.0 ºL

Milk adulteration

 Addition of water to milk can be a big problem where

we have unfaithful:
 Farm workers
 Milk transporters
 Greedy milk hawkers

 A few farmers may fall victim of this illegal practice

 Therefore, any buyer of milk should therefore assure

himself/herself that the milk he/she purchases is
wholesome and has not been adulterated.
When
 Milk is adultered with water or
 Other materials are added to milk or
 Both misdeeds are committed,
 The density of milk change from its
normal value to abnormal.

Milk specific gravity test

 Milk has a specific gravity
 It is measured together with Gerber butterfat test
 It enables the milk processor to calculate the milk
total solids (% TS ) and solids not fat (SNF).
For the calculations:
 Use lactometer degrees
 For the conversion to density write 1.0 in front of the
true lactometer reading ,i.e. 1.030 g/ml.

NOTE
 Some times lactometer cannot show the adulteration

 If suspect, look to see if there is an unusual sediment

from the milk at the bottom of the milk can, and

 Taste to find out if the milk is too sweet or salty to be

normal
Freezing Point Determination
The freezing point of milk is regarded to be the most constant of all
measurable properties of milk

Evaluating the freezing point of milk helps to detect milk diluted by

water.

The addition of water to milk

 Reduces its quality,
 Leads to spoilage (contamination) can create health hazard

When milk is mixed with water,

 its freezing point moves closer to 0°C.
Raw milk has an average freezing point of -0.54°C (normal values )

A small adulteration of milk with water will cause a detectable

elevation of the freezing point of milk from its normal values
 … Freezing Point Determination

 The milk freezing point is measured using the

Digital Cryoscope

The Freezing Point Determination test is:

 Accurate & sensitive to added water in milk

 Used to detect whether milk is of normal

composition and adulterated .
Milk handling and marketing
 Milk Handling
Good quality raw milk must be
 Free from debris and sediment, antibiotics , chemical
residues.
 Free from off-flavours, low in bacterial numbers,
 Normal composition and acidity,
Hygienic milk production at the farm
 Milker‟s hands & clothes, his/her health.
 Milking machine, milk storage equipment
 Clean, in good condition
 Without cracks, or dents which are difficult to clean and can
easily harbor bacteria
 Milk must be cooled to 4° C immediately after milking,
 Mechanical refrigeration or milk cooling tanks
 Cooling centre centrally.
 Under hot environment milk will spoil within 3-4 hours.
 Temperature of milk at milking is 38° c.

Remedies for small holder farmers

In highland areas
 Water temperature can be as low as 10° C
 Immerse milk cans in water trough connected to a
water tap
 Milk may be cooled down to 2° C using water
temperature
In hot areas
 Cooling of milk below 3-5° C below ambient
temperature shall be achieved
Bulk milk transport
 Milk cooled on farm or cooling centre
 Then transported in milk cans (bulk tankers)

Bulk tankers
 Insulated, milk remain cold until reaches the plant
 Milk delivered before milk temp. rises above 10° C

In-can milk transportation

 Cans are not insulated,
 Should transport milk very quickly
Dairy sanitation at the farm

Proper sanitation of milk cans

 Clean milking can properly
 Cold water rinse, scrubbing with brush and warm
water, cold water rinse.
 Sterilization (sanitization)
 With boiling water (steam) ( if available) or
 Use dairy sanitizing solution ,e.g. Hypochlorite
 Dry cans on a drying rack
Milking machines
Clean according to recommended practice
 Cold water rinse,
 Detergent circulation cleaning with detergent in hot
water,
 Hot water rinse.
 Timely replacement of worn out rubber parts regularly.
The cows
• Follow proper milking hygiene;
• Mastitis cows milked last and their milk discarded
• Milk from cows treated with antibiotics should not
be mixed with milk from healthy cows.
• Observe the required 4 day withdrawal period.

Milk with antibiotics

• Will affect consumers’ health as well as
• Spoil activity of lactic starter cultures used in
cheese and yoghurt.
Milk transport vessels (cans & tanks) – clean thoroughly.

Hygienic milk handling at dairy factories

 Floors - must be made of bard washable surface.
 Walls - smooth, washable to ≈ 2 m from floor level
 Doors - self shutting
 Windows - insect proof by mosquito netting
 Rooms - kept clean and in good repair.
 Equipment and utensils - disinfected immediately
 Equipment repairs and maintenance - after processing..
 Cleaning and disinfections of plant and equipment
 Equipment used in handling butter and cheese
 Cleaned as required, but not less than a week.
 Basic steps of cleaning plant and equipment
Rinsing with water to remove excess solid
• Cold or tepid water (40-50° C)
• Hot water of up to 85 C for butter making equipment.

Washing with detergent until surface of the

equipment is clean.
• In conjunction with manual scrubbing depending on the
type of equipment.

Rinse with cold potable water until surface is free o

detergent.

Disinfect by steam, hot water, detergents/disinfectants

Disinfection by steam
• Steaming done for 10- l5 minutes after the
condensate has attained 85° C.

Disinfection by hot water

• At 80 c for at least 20 minutes in circulation cleaning
for 15 minutes at 85° c
• Use soft water only to prevent deposition of salts

Disinfection by detergents/disinfectants
• Between 45-60° C in manual cleaning and for cold milk
lines, storage tanks and tankers
Packaging
i) Packaging materials
• store in a dry place away from manufacturing areas;
• should be non-toxic.
• use in a clean and sanitary manner
ii) Packaging condition
 Avoids contamination of processed products.
 Protects product against contamination until it reaches
the consumer
Hygienic storage of finished products
• Stored in clean conditions at appropriate Temp. and
humidity
• To prevent deterioration or permit maturation ( e.g.
cheese).
Hygienic Transport
• Transport in clean vehicles in appropriate condition
• Keep away from other goods.
Personnel Hygiene and Health
• Regular health checks
• Farm/factory should provide clean running water
and washrooms.
• Wear clean protective clothing and working gear
(e.g. gum boots, coats, overalls and caps).
Laboratory Quality Control
• regular testing to ensure wholesomeness and
freedom from pathogens
 Milk Marketing
The sequence of transactions and commodity
movements between the producer and the ultimate
consumer
It includes bulking (or assembly) and distribution.
< 5% of the milk produced in Ethiopia is sold in
commercial markets.

Purpose of milk marketing:

Improves farm income
Creates employment in processing, marketing and
distribution
Adds value and contributes to food security in rural
communities
 Marketing of Milk
Marketing of milk is difficult for small-scale
producers scattered in rural areas.

Marketing of milk Requires:

Organizational & technical skills
Understanding of quality & safety issues.
The Milk Marketing System In Ethiopia
 Formal -Licensed
 Informal - Not licensed
 Informal (Traditional) Milk Markets
The informal system is characterized by:
No licensing requirement to operate,
Low cost of operations,
High producer price compared to formal market
No regulation of operations
Milk Marketing Channels
Producer - > Consumer
Producer - > Small Milk Trader - >Consumer
Producer - > Small Milk Trader - >Retailer- >Consumer
Producer- > Dairy Cooperative - >Consumer
Producer - > Dairy Cooperative - >Retailer- >Consumer
Producer - > Dairies - >Consumer
Dairy Products Marketing Channels
 The Services Required for Milk Marketing
Timely distribution,
Distribution of milk at door steps,
Receiving complaints,
Establishing pick up booths (a small temporary structure used
for selling goods),
Prevent leakage's and pilferages (steal; things of little value)
Availability of market people to the consumers etc.

Means of Advertising for Promotion of Sales

Pamphlets, bulletins, posters,
News papers, Periodicals, Magazines,
Banners, Transport vehicles
Electronic media ( Radio, TV, Electronic display board),
Advertisement persons, etc
 The End

116 meters below sea level

 Session 9

Maintenance of herd health

and productivity
 Dairy Herd Health
 Metabolic & digestive disorders
 Reproductive diseases
 Diseases of the udder
Metabolic diseases
 Metabolic diseases/ disturbances are important
where livestock are subjected to high levels of
productivity.

Milk fever/hypocalcaemia (Parturient Paresis)

/Eclampsia
 Occurs within 48 hours after parturition
 Characterized by sever hypocalcaemia, general
muscular weakness, circulatory collapse.
Causes
 Imbalance of ca flow in the colostrum, its inflow to
the plasma pool from intestine & bone.
 Hypocalcaemia occurs in spite of an adequate function
of the parathyroid.
 Occurs at the onset of lactation, because of excessive
loss of ca in the colostrum.

Symptoms
 Clinical symptoms develop within 1-3 days after
calving.
 Loss of appetite, constipation &restlessness
 Muscular spasms of head and neck may
occasionally be noticed
 Muscular weakness, unsteadiness of movement
and stiffness of gait.
  Recumbent position, Appears to be in a deep slip
with depressed consciousness.
 Deep and slow breathing
 unable to swallow food
 tongue hangs down from half-opened mouth

Predisposing factors
Age
 Mature cows affected (age 5-10 years), 3rd to 7th
calving
 Heifers almost never develop milk fever
Nutrition
 High Ca diets increases incidence
 Low Ca calcium diets reduce incidence
When cows are fed high-calcium diet prepartum:
 Ca is absorbed from the intestine
 Ca level raises in the plasma pool
 Hypercalcemia inhibits secretion of parathyroid
hormone,
 Rate of removal of ca from bone (resorption) is low;

hypercalcemia stimulates:
• Increased secretion of calcitonin (secreted from thyroid),
• Calcitonin is inhibitor of osteoclasts
• Its action is antagonistic to parathyroid hormone
(stimulator of osteoclasts)
• Finally, inhibition of ca removal from bone
• Hypocalcaemia occurs despite adequate function of
parathyroid, following high-calcium diet.
Prevention
 Milk partially during the first 3 days after
parturition
 Inject Ca borogluconate immediately after calving.

Treatment
 Injection of 300 ml of 20% calcium
borogluconate slowly I.V. that last about 20
minutes
 Simultaneous injection by subcutaneous route of
50-100 ml of 20% calcium borogluconate
 If necessary, repeated the Rx in 3-4 hours
hypocalcaemia, presented within 24 hours of calving
(Head averted against the chest)
Sternal Recumbency, with a Lateral Kink (‘S-bend’) In
the Neck
Hypocomatose in lateral recumbency (Late stage)
I.V (jugular vein) 40% calcium borogluconate (Bottle held
30–40 cm above infusion site)
Cow propped in sternal recumbence after infusion
(I.V. Calcium borogluconate)
Cow stand after 5–10 minutes (of Calcium
borogluconate infusion)
KETOSIS (ACETONAEMIA)
 Serious disturbance of carbohydrate metabolism
 Hypercalcaemia,
 Appearance of „keton bodies‟ in the blood
(ketonaemia) and urine (ketonuria).
Cause
• Not completely understood (not entirely clear)
Symptoms
 Acetone odor in the animal‟s breath,
 Acetone test of the milk and urine
 Acetone smell of animal‟s breath
Two forms of the disease :
• Wasting form , nervous form
Wasting form
 Vital signs are normal
 Feces tend to be firm and dry
 Depression and reluctant to move
 Gradual decrease appetite & milk yield in 2-5 days
 Characteristic odor of ketosis in the breath & milk

Nervous form
 Symptoms begin suddenly
 animal walk in circle & apparent blindness
 Tremors of head and muscle, later entire body
 Blood glucose 20-40 mg % ( normal= 50 mg %)
 Blood ketone 12-100 mg% (normal= 10 mg%)
Treatment
• Allow animal to let out in the field ( left unrestrained
in a roomy box)
• 50 ml of 50 % dextrose solution I.V. daily for 1-5 days
• Alternatively 20 % dextrose solution intra peritoneal
followed by other medicaments.
• Subcutaneous injection of the solution prolongs the
response (discomfort and swelling are disadvantages)

Prevention
• Stall feed cows should have some exercise daily
• Neither starve nor overfed at calving
• Problem herds may preferably be turned on pastures
• Rations should contain sufficient amount of Cobalt,
Iodine , Phosphorous
This cow with acetonaemia shows loss of appetite
with poor abdominal fill, a drop in milk yield
Cow with nervous acetonaemia is Head pressing,
Circling, Aimlessly wandering and Licking at self and
Licking inanimate objects

Cow with nervous acetonaemia

The Rothera‟s reagent has turned purple after
being mixed with milk from a ketotic cow.

This confirms the diagnosis of acetonaemia

 GRASS TETANY (HYPOMAGNESAEMIA)

Other name: hypomagnesaemia, Grass tetany,

Grass staggers, Lactation tetany

 Highly fatal disease in lactating cows

 Cattle in the first 2 months of lactation, and 4-7
years of age are most susceptible due to a higher
loss of magnesium in milk.

Characterized by:
 Hypomagnesaemia,
 A disturbed calcium-magnesium ratio in the blood
 Tonic clonic muscular spasms
 Convulsions, and death from respiratory failure
Cause
• Lose of magnesium in milk around peak lactation
Predisposing factors
• during convulsions an absolute deficiency of magnesium in the
diet
• Problem of magnesium absorption from rumen
• Pasture having insufficient magnesium
• Pastures/diets containing high concentrations of K and nitrogen:
 These impair absorption of magnesium in the rumen
Symptoms of grass tetany
acute form
 Staggering or paresis (partial paralysis)
 Followed by grinding teeth
 Trismus (tonic contraction of muscles of mastication)
 Twitching of muscles
 Titanic contractions in the hind limbs
 Frequent micturation
 High pulse & respiratory rates
 High temperature after sever muscle exertion
 Death d usually within 1 hour
Acute hypomagnesaemia in a recently calved beef cow
This beef cow with hypomagnesaemia was aggressive
when approached and ataxic, and fell over when
restrained by a rope halter.
Lateral recumbency and frenzied paddling of the limbs in
a cow having seizures due to hypomagnesaemia.
Chronic form
 Gradual loss of condition without reduction in milk yield
 Develop tetany after few weeks or months
 Dies suddenly in convulsions (unless it is treated on time
Treatment
 Combined preparation of calcium and magnesium
 Intravenous administration of 500 ml solution of 25%
calcium borogluconate containing 5%
magnesium hypophosphate

Prevention
 Feeding magnesium salts during the risk period.
 BLOAT (TYMPANY)
 Distention of the rumen with carbon dioxide & methane
 These gases are produced in the rumen
 Average sized cow produce >1,000 liters of gas daily
Gases are removed by:
 Absorption in to the blood stream
 Eructation (belching) during rumination
 If for any reason the gas can‟t escape, the rumen „blows up‟
with gas and cause bloat
 2 kinds of bloats - Gassy and Frothy bloat
Gassy bloat
Cause: Obstruction of the esophagus e.g. chocking by a hard
lump of food such as apple, root vegetable, fodder beet.
Frothy bloat [much more common than gassy bloat]
Cause: Sudden ingestion of certain types of green fodder, e.g.
clover, young grass.
 Green fodder like clover, young grass cause ‘Foaming’ in the rumen.
 Gas trapped in tiny bubbles which cannot escape in the normal way.
Prevention
• Avoid a sudden change to a diet of wet green vegetation i.e. limiting
access to new diet for about ½ hour at a time till animals are used to it.
• Daily feeding of dry hay(straw) before turning on to pasture
Treatment
• Pass stomach tube into rumen (for gassy bloat)
• Drench with anti-foaming agent ( for frothy bloat)
• Administered 0.5 liter of vegetable oil (linseed or soya bean oil) by
stomach tube
• Repeat it after few hours, if necessary
• Puncture with trochar & cannula in emergency
• If there is no trochar & cannula, use wide bladed sharp knife
 BRUCELLOSIS
Cause - Brucella abortus
• Survive for a long time in damp shady places
• Destroyed by disinfectants, sunlight , desiccation
• Killed during pasteurization of milk
Transmission
• Infected cow or infected material
• Aborted fetus
• Fetal membranes
• Vaginal discharges
• Milk and feces
 Milk & feces of infected animals contaminate the
environment, feed, water.
• Infected cattle continue excreting organism even if they don’t abort
• Calves can be infected in the womb of infected dams.
Symptoms
• Cattle of all age and sex can be infected
• infection is symptomless, except in pregnant females
• Abortion in pregnant animals 7th month onwards
• Subcutaneous swellings containing infected fluid (hygroma)
are common on the legs in African cattle.
• The youngest are relatively less susceptible.
Diagnosis
• By laboratory facilities
• Specimen should be taken in a sealed container over ice to
the laboratory.
• Treatment
• Antibiotics are effective, but organism reappears when
treatment stopped. Treatment is not recommended
Prevention
• Remove or slaughter infected animals
VIBRIOSIS
Cause: Campylobacter fetus (bacterial); spread by
coitus or AI
Symptoms
• Temporary infertility
• Occasional abortions - 5th or 6th month
• Can go unnoticed unless herd fertility records are kept
Treatment
• Normally not indicated in females
• Males remain permanently infected,
• Antibiotics are effective treating males.
• Can be infected again.
 LEPTOSPIROSIS
Cause: Leptospira pomona
Symptoms
 Acute febrile condition (39.4 – 41.6oc)
 Rapid hemolysis resulting in jaundice,
 Haemoglobinurea, edema, anemia
In mild cases
• Pregnant cows abort during convalescence.
• Abortions occur any time during gestation period
• Usually cows abort during 1st trimester, followed
by retention of placenta, endometritis
• Most recover after a sexual rest of 3 to 4 months.
 TRICHOMONOSIS
Cause - Trichomonas foetus ( protozoa)
Symptoms - infection is restricted to genital tract
Males
 Mild inflammation of the penis and prepuce
 They remain permanently infected
Females
• Mild reddening of vagina shortly after coitus
• Then, severely inflamed causing early abortion (2 – 4 months)
• Organism invades most of genital tract
• Pus accumulation in uterus (pyometra) (sometimes)
• Abortions often undetected,
• Infertility & return to heat after 4-5 months
Treatment
 Cows - not treatment is in cows, they recover
 Bull - possible but tedious, sacrifice the animal
DISEASES OF THE UDDER
MASTITIS - Inflammation of udder (mammary gland)
Cause
• Micro-organisms that gain access to the interior of the
mammary glands through the teat canal.
• Mastitis result in physical, chemical or bacteriological changes in
milk
Etiology
 Bacteria ( 95%) and organisms (5 %)
 Major species - Staphylococcus & Streptococcus species
Staphylococcus aureus
 Very common, important cause of mastitis
Streptococcu agalactiae
 Common cause of mastitis
Corynebacterium pyogenes
• Cause severe form in dry cows & pregnant heifers
• Escherichia coli, Klebsiella & Enterobacter species
Environmental organisms
Streptococcus agalactiae & staphylococcus aureus
Contagious organisms, Spread by hands, milking units, etc. f rom
infected quarters to other quarters.
S. Agalactiae - lives in the udder , cannot exist outside the gland
for long periods
S. Aureus - lives in the udder and on the skin surfaces of an
infected cow
S. Dysgalactiae
• Live in the udder, rumen, and feces and in the barn
• Coliforms and streptococci
• Commonly present in the cow's environment,
Coliform bacteria
• Live in feces, polluted water, and bedding material.
Infection dynamics
Rate of new infections are highest during:
• First 2 weeks of the dry period & last two weeks of the dry period.
New infection rates are high:
 In early lactation & diminish as the lactation proceeds.
New infections brought in to herd in 4 ways:
• During lactation, during the dry period,
• Heifers entering the herd , Infected cow purchases.
Nutrition, stress, herd size influence incidence of mastitis
The predisposing factors for mastitis are :
 Age , State of lactation, Milk yield, Hygiene
 Trauma (damage to the mammary glands)
 unknown factor
Age - Older animals likely to get infection
State of lactation
• At the beginning of lactation at the end of lactation.
• Adult cows get mastitis in first 2 months after calving
• Heifers suffer within a month after parturition.
Milk yield
• High yielder cows appear to be more often infected at peak of milk
production i.E. In 3rd lactation.
Trauma
• Injuries to teat and udder allow the micro-organisms to invade the
organism
Hygiene
• Contamination of the milking teat cup liners from the environment or
from the milk of other milking cows will spread the micro-organisms.
Damage to the mammary glands
 Cuts or sores around the teats
 E.G. From badly fitting, cracked teat cup liners, injuries to the
teats, faulty milking method.
Prevalence of mastitis
• More prevalent in animals that are housed in
unhygienic places and in hot and humid
environmental conditions.
 Number one problem in dairy animals
 Economic losses - reduced productivity
 Cost of treatment
• Bacterial contamination of milk unsuitable to
human consumption, interfere with manufacturing
process.
• Affected cows may loss 15 to 100 % milk yield
Transmission
Normally,
• Udder tissue, milk cistern, milk within the udder & the cistern are
sterile
• Organisms derived from skin of udder & teat, milking equipment,
milkers
Diagnosis
1) Physical examination of the udder
 Accomplished when udder is prepared for milking
• Quarters are hot & enlarged
• Best carried out after milking
2) Strip test
• Involves stripping the first few streams of milk onto a strip or on to
the floor in milking parlors.
• Mastitis milk - discoloration, clots, or other abnormalities
N.B.
Milk should never be stripped directly into the hands, on the floor of a
stanchion barn where cows lie at the same place they are milked
3) California Mastitis Test (CMT)
• Test reagent react with somatic cells in milk to form a gel.
• Reactions are scored according to the amount of gel formed
when milk is mixed with the reagent.
Procedure
• Little milk from each quarter is squirted in to each of the 4
cups of the specially designed paddle,
• Chemical reagent added
• Swirled around the milk
4) Laboratory tests
 The most accurate way of detection
 Collect samples aseptically
 Cultured in a laboratory (mastitis microbiology)
Symptoms
Acute mastitis
• Hot, swollen, painful udder
• Purulent yellow secretion (discoloration of milk)
• Sudden rise in body temperature
• Enlargement and hardening of affected quarter with
cession of milk production
• Milk from affected quarter contains large number of
clots or flakes
Chronic mastitis
• Affected quarter is fibrosed
• Milk is watery and cannot be confused with normal
watery secretions of non-lactating cows
Prevention
Mastitis is usually controlled rather than managed.
• Good hygiene
• Prompt attention to teat injuries
• Fly control (avoid spread of teat to teat infection)
Generally mastitis is eliminated in 4 ways:
1) Spontaneous recovery (animal's own defense
mechanism) = 20% effective
2) Lactation therapy = 30-40% effective,
3) Dry period therapy = 80-90% effective
4) Culling = 100% effective
Specific Points In The Prevention of Mastitis
Before milking
• Remove 3-4 squirts of milk from each teat,
(preferably into a strip cup which can be inspected
for clots)
• Udder & teats washed with clean water and dried
with towel
During milking
• When no more milk flows the vacuum should be
released and the machine cluster removed
• Remove teat cups solely and after the vacuum is
released
After milking
• Teat dipping
• Disinfected teat cups before applying to 2nd cow
 By hosing (rinsing) the teat cups
 Immersing in disinfection solution
• Clean thoroughly the whole system after each milking session
Types of teat dips
 Iodine - 0.1% or 0.5% or 1.0%; Chlorhexidine - 0.5%
Clinical cases
• Animals with mastitis receiving treatment should be milked
last
Equipment
• Check milking machine at least once per year by qualified
technician
• Faults in machines (incorrect vacuum pressure, ill fitting or
cracked teat cup liners) cause injury & predispose to mastitis
Dry cow therapy
 Treatment of the udder with intra mammary antibiotics at
the end of the lactation.
 Treatment of all quarters at drying off with long acting
antibiotics
Advantages of dry cow therapy:
 Cure rate is higher than when treated during lactation
 Higher concentrations of long acting antibiotics used safely
 Incidence of new infections during dry period is reduced
 Damaged tissue is allowed to be repaired (re-developed)
before freshening
 Clinical mastitis at freshening is reduced
 Drug residues in milk are avoided
NOTE
• Infected quarters treated at drying off and cured at calving will produce
90 % of potential milk production during the next lactation
• Quarter infected during the dry period or quarters remained infected
from the previous lactation will produce 30 to 40 % less milk.
Recommended procedure for dry cows is to:
• Reduce energy intake; Bring the cow to the end of lactation
• Treat all quarters following last milking
• As soon as cows are dried off, treat them by Infusion of udders with a
suitable long acting antibiotic, usually ampicillin-cloxacililn combinations
• The cow should not be completely dry when treatments are
administered.( Milk transport drugs to all infected sites of the udder)
• The idea of dry period therapy has been accepted because antibiotics
can be put into a slow release base that allows them to stay in the udder
longer.
• Unsanitary treatment procedures cause mastitis
• Exposing dry cows to muddy or dirty conditions will increase risk of
mastitis
Lactation therapy
Lactation treatment is indicated only when:
• cows are infected with Streptococcus agalactiae
• clinical mastitis is present.
Cure rates of the treatment depend on:
• Types & drug sensitivity of micro organisms
• intra mammary conditions
Treatment by veterinarian will based on:
• previous experience in the herd , clinical signs
• environmental circumstances.
Drugs should be chosen according to:
• Results from bacteriological diagnoses and Sensitivity tests
Response to mastitis treatment should be monitored changes in:
• Somatic cell count of milk ; Protein contents of milk
• Enzyme contents of milk ; Electrolyte contents of milk
In case cows are acutely ill, administer
• Oxytocin( milk let down hormone);
• Large volumes of electrolytes
• Products to counteract inflammatory
prostaglandins,
• Other drugs as directed by veterinarian.

Frequent milking out of the udder aid animal in

recovery, because
• It helps to remove infecting organisms & their
toxins and
• Rid off the udder of cellular debris.
Treatment procedures
• Follow label directions
• Treated animals should be identified and kept separate
from untreated animals
• Prior to treatment teat ends cleaned by cotton alcohol
swab (70 % alcohol ) for a few seconds
• Properly infuse drugs into the udder
 Insertion of the infusion cannula about 3 mm into
the teat canal
Treatment
• Streptococcus agalactiae - eliminated from the herd
• Other organisms causing mastitis - eradication
impossible.
 Procedures of intra mammary infusion ( antibiotic to
affected quarter)
 Strip out by hand; thoroughly wash the outside; dry it
 Disinfect the end of the teat
 Insert the nozzle of the tube gently into the teat canal
 Squeeze the tube contents into the quarter
 Gently close the end of the teat by hand
 Massage the udder to ensure diffusion of the antibiotic
 This must be repeated every 12 hours until the milk has
returned to normal and then continued for another day.
 Milk from treated quarter should not be consumed at least 72
hrs after last treatment
 Because it contains residues of antibiotics (some says
milk should be discarded for 3 or 4 days after treatment
finishes)
 In severe cases of toxemia, antibiotic treatment by injection for
4 or 5 days is required.
Antibiotics should be selected on the basis of:
• Its activity against infective agent,
• Diffusibility in the mammary gland,
• Cost
Intra mammary infusions available presently:
 Ampicillin, Cloxacililn, Penicillin G, Tetracycline,
Neomycin, etc.

During Mastitis
 Milk SNF, especially lactose, content is decreased,

 While Na and Cl levels are increased, often giving

mastitic milk a salty flavour
Mastitis and antibiotics
 Antibiotics are used to control mastitis
 Antibiotic residues in milk is problematic for 3 reasons:
1) Antibiotic residues can slow down the growth of the
fermentation bacteria or destroy the bacteria in the
production of fermented milks
2) Some people are allergic to specific antibiotics, and their
presence in food consumed can have severe
consequences.
3) Frequent exposure to low level antibiotics can cause
microorganisms to become resistant to them, through
mutation
Hence, milk from cows being treated with antibiotics is
withheld from the milk supply
Why mastitis management?

Mastitis will cause:

• Decreased milk production,
• Impairment of milk composition and quality
• Economic loss
• Public health significance
Effectively controlling mastitis will help reverse these
problems.

Appropriate mastitis treatment

 Milk production and quality will be improved
 Producers' income will be increase
 The public health hazard will be reduced
Mastitis control in heifers
 Udder infections in heifers are prevalent
 Sources of infecting micro organisms are
 The environment ( flies)
 Suckling among calves
 Particularly those fed mastitic milk
 Micro flora in the mouth, on skin & on hair coat.
Prevention
 Fly control, using individual calf pens,
 Strategic treatment of pregnant heifers with antibiotics prior to
1st parturition
 If heifers are known to have udder infections caused by
Staphylococcus aureus,
 Treat them 8 -10 weeks prior to calving with dry cow
treatment product
 With other types of infections, treat them at 7 to
10 days before the expected calving date with a
lactating cow product.
Eliminate approximately 90 % of infections
 Treated heifers will produce 10 % more milk than
untreated heifers.
 Care must be exercised when treating heifers i.e.
Teat ends must be sanitized prior to treatment
That insertion of the teat cannula is partial
 NOTE

• Anthrx
• Brucelloosis } are zooonotic diseases
• Tubercilosis

Diseases transmitted from animal to humans

Erta Ale volcano ; Persistent lava lake; 50 km wide
Some Measures of Herd Health and Productivity
 Culling occurred when a cow (heifer) removed from herd and sold for slaughter or to
an auction market;
 Breeding sales occurred when a cow (heifer) was sold to another farmer as a
breeding animal;
 A cow (heifer) considered to be retained-open if it failed to calve but was rebred in a
subsequent breeding season
Disease rates

 An abortion is a premature calving judged to be at least one

month prior to full term

 Stillbirth is a full-term calf dead at birth or within 24 h of birth

 Morbidity rates

Breeding-calving period morbidity

No. of females recorded sick after breeding and prior to
calving)/number of females exposed-to-breeding

Calving-breeding period morbidity

No. of females recorded sick at or after calving and prior to
next breeding/number of females calving

Specific rates associated with Retained placenta, Prolapsed

uterus, Prolapsed vagina, and other conditions

Dystocia rate
No. of females with dystocias/ No. of females calved

Specific dystocia rates for easy pull, hard pull,

malpresentation, and cesarean
 MORTALITY RATES

Breeding-calving period mortality rate

No. of females dying after breeding & prior to calving/No. of
females exposed-to-breeding

Calving-breeding period mortality rate

No. of females dying at or after calving & prior to next breeding/
No. of females calving

Calf mortality rate

No. of calves dying between 1 day of age & weaning/ No. of live
born calves
The End
 Section 10

Small and large scale commercial dairying

project proposal, establishment and expansion

• Project proposal
• Establishment and expansion
 Secession 11

Administration - Technical and Financial Records

Efficiency Utilization of Land, Labor, Feed & Fodder

Farm Records
Farm records provide the farm manager with:
 Data, Information and Knowledge
The purposes of recording are to keep a close eye on
day to day duties and activities of the dairy farm

Accurate records are vital to:

• Plan a breeding program,
• Monitor disease problems
• Identify management problems
• Monitor yield and performance

General categorization of records:

 Financial records , managerial records
The farm records are used :
1) As service tool - The types of services provided are
 Income tax calculations,
 Estate planning,
 Business arrangement reconciliation
 Obtaining and managing credit
2) To provide data for financial analysis and other diagnostic
instruments, such as identifying the strengths and weaknesses
of the business
3) As indicator identifying the problems and monitoring of
progress and
 Series of records are necessary to monitor progress
 They are a good forward planning tool.
 Past records can be used to project future cash flows for
current and modified farm management practices.
Identification record
 Identification of calf shall be in place as soon as possible
after birth
 Name or ID No. , birth date, size, its sire & dam's names
 Identification record (Identifies) animals to be culled or kept

Identification information is useful when to:

• Select a sire (avoid in breeding)
• Evaluate heifers for breeding & choose superior bulls
• Evaluate overall herd reproduction
• Know age of heifer when to breed
• Determine the animal to be culled on age basis
• Determine animal‟s age versus its size
• Compare genetic lines with other farmers
Methods of identification
Identification systems can be
 Temporary - can be easily lost ( ear tags, neck chains,
ankle tags, Neck strap, Chain collar with number plate, )
 Permanent - cannot be lost (hot brands, freeze brands, tattoos,
photographs) Ear-notching,Ear-tattooing,
Branding:
• Can be applied only to adult stocks
• Reduces the value of the hide considerably.
• Not very legible on black cattle
• Brands may be either hot or freeze types.
Blackened board in the stall
• Cow's name or number,
• Date of bred,
• Date of calving, Milk yield, milk fat %
• Feed type, Recent health interventions
Freeze branding
• Use liquid nitrogen -190°C or dry ice
• ID No. applied on colored part of skin
• Requires special equipment
Hot branding
• Permanent and is easy to read
• Effect on the value hide & appearance animal
Ear-tattooing (By tattoo pliers)
• Figures (letters) tattooed on the inside of ear
Ear-notching - simple method of identification, Code is used.
Disadvantage of ear-notching
• Numbers are difficult to read from distance,
Danger of infection
Tags – Metal as well as plastic, require applicator
Neck strap - Made of plastic , Simple, expensive
Chain collar with number plate - Simple , fairly cheap
Types of record

The keeping of dairy records can be divided into the

main activities of:
 Identification of cattle
 Breeding records
 Milk production records
 Feed records
 Health records
 Milk sales and utilization record
 Financial record
Breeding record
 Breeding records must be up-to-date, easily
accessible, kept in a dry and clean place
 Poor cows may be sold after 3 services.
 breeding records can be on :
Card files, booklets , individual sheets

Breeding records should include the following:

• Identification of an animal. Birth date,
• sire and dam No.(name) , Heat dates and comments
• Date of 1st, 2nd and consecutive services,
• Calving dates , Earliest breeding date
• Service information , Pregnancy examination
• Expected calving date and comments
• Drying off date and any additional remarks.
Health recorded
• Disease statements, Udder health, Individual cow cell
count at last milking
• Abortions, vaccinations, Drenching, deaths,
• Disease symptoms, treatments, mastitis outbreaks and
Rx
Milk record
•Milk yield, lactation length, calving interval
Milk sales and utilization record
• sales, revenue received , milk consumed by calf
Financial record - The total input and output of the dairy
farm
Feed record - amount and type, monthly stock check
THE SYSTEM OF RECORD KEEPING

 3 documents

 Day book,

 Cow record,

 Monthly report
 Farm Records to Keep
Farm diary
Crop records
Livestock records
Unit costs of all major farm inputs
 e.g. fertilizers, fuel, irrigation water, concentrates and/or their
ingredients, purchased forages, stock purchases.
Unit returns from all farm outputs
 e.g. milk, cull cows and heifers, sale steers or bulls, manure, excess
feed, to plan future sales
Livestock inventory accounting
Plant and improvement records
Key financial records
 Interest & principal repayment schedules to plan repayments
Calving dates
Daily milk yields
Daily herd milk yield
 To check up on milk payments and to fine tune feeding programs.
Milk composition data at regular intervals
Mastitis treatment
Routine monitoring of feed offered
Live weight and body condition of adult cows
 to monitor feeding management to achieve growth targets
Dates on heat for each cow
 to manage AI programs, to predict expected dates of calving

Dates of pregnancy diagnoses and results

 To predict expected calving dates.

Animal sickness, veterinary visits and drug treatment

To follow through animals‟ responses to treatment

Routine vaccination and drenching

 To ensure they are timely and to plan future programs.

Stock purchases and sales of culls

 To update livestock inventory.
Stock deaths and probable causes
 To update livestock inventory,
 To monitor general herd health.

Age when culled from the milking herd,

To know reason for culling and
 To know the number of lactations while in milking herd.

Milk and concentrate intakes of young calves

 To plan weaning and calculate total rearing costs.

Yields of forage crops

 T better utilize fertilizers and plan forage purchases.

Other dairy enterprise sales (e.g. Stock fattened for sale,

cow manure, any excess forages, etc)
 For accounting purposes.
Defining of Farm Physical Resources & Herd Performance

Location of farm
 Regional state, district, distance from the nearest large town.
Farm area
 A farm map - overlain by clear plastic
 physical features of the farm - topography (hilly or flat), soil type
(if known).
 Total area of the entire farm (houses, dairy sheds, other buildings),
 infrastructure ( laneways , other non-forage production areas),
 areas used for cash cropping or other livestock enterprises
 Area of dairy enterprise ( part of the farm devoted to dairy
production.
 Forage production area (for grazing, for „cut and carry‟ )
Water resources:
 Rainfall - actual months of wet and dry seasons
 Irrigation water- underground sources, rivers, irrigation channels
Livestock: Dairy cattle have been categorized into five classes:
1) Milking and dry cows
 Adult cows which have had a calf
 This includes first calf heifers

2) Calves (0–3 months of age)

3) Yearlings (heifers older than 12 months) yet to have a calf

4) Heifers (3–12 months of age)

5) Bulls (older than 12 months) including steers, used for either

breeding or grown out for slaughter.
Labour resources: expense for every unit

Feed resources:
grown and purchased feed; hay , silage,
types and sources of other forages fed to the dairy stock,
 grazed or harvested by hand (or machine),
types and sources of concentrates (formulated and/or ingredients),
Other farm resources
all farm buildings and their purpose,
silage pits,
milking equipment,
machinery and farm equipment,
Feed and other consumable resources on hand.
Financial resources:
 Current loans (with details of repayment process),
current, intermediate and long-term liabilities,
cash on hand,
Investments generating farm income
other current, intermediate and long-term assets.
Milk production:
 Average milk produced/cow/day,
 Average lactation length
 Milk composition (total solids, milk fat, solids-not-fat).
Key herd information:
 Average age of first calving,
 Inter-calving interval,
 Number of services per conception (if using AI)
 Calf mortality (during milk feeding).
Personal information on structure of the farm business
 Sometime times it clarify „the goals and vision for the farm‟.
 Where is it is now? Where the farm to reach, say in
one, five and ten years time.
 Who are involved in the farm business? How the
farm structured?
E.g; age of decision maker(s), Years of experience in dairying, etc.

Any previous physical and financial evaluation

 For background information on the farm
 Technical and financial evaluation of dairy enterprise

 Technical evaluation of dairy enterprise

 Financial evaluation of dairy enterprise

 Technical Records
(Production and reproduction records)

Day sheets and annual summary

 No records on a dairy farm can be complete without
production records of the individual cows and these are
available only through herd recording
 Culling for production cannot be effectively carried out without
production record because it is impossible to select the low
producers on appearance.

Cow record cards

 Loose-leaf folder (folder and card)
 One card is sufficient for the lifetime production of a cow
 There is provision for information like date of birth, ID number
of any of her progeny, etc., Of the cow
 The sheet will have provision for lactations periods
 FINANCIAL RECORDS
Cash Book ( Cash flow book)
 Should contain details of all financial transactions as they occur
 Should have expenses and income sections (inflows and outflows into
the business)
 Follow the country‟s financial procedure and regulations
 Expense and income statements should be entered regularly
 Amounts should be totaled every month regularly
 Monthly financial statements shall be made
 The cash book "start from scratch" in every new budget year
Balance sheets
Opening balance sheet
 Record all assets & liabilities at the beginning of the financial period (usually 12
months)
Closing balance sheet:
 Record all assets & liabilities at the end of the financial period
Farm Inventory
 At the end of the financial year a farm inventory should be made as this is
necessary before the net income from the farm (Livestock, machinery, equipment,
buildings, fences, water points, fodders and other supplies on hand, etc)
Income Statement
 Also called profit and loss statement (shall be specified
before or after income tax)

The net income from the farm will be

 The difference between total receipts and total expenses after
allowance has been made for depreciation of plant and
machinery and changes in stock numbers and value

 It represents the return to the farmer for his labour,

management and capital investment plus any family labour
used and not shown as a cash cost
Category of Farm Physical Items

1) Asset(s)

2) Liability (Liablities)

3) Equity

4) Revenue

5) Expense(s)
Asset
 What is used to generate income, either owned or
purchased on credit.
 It is a combination of physical and monetary values
(Monetary value = Physical quantity multiplied by a unit price)

Liability - What you still have on credit

Equity - Assets less liabilities

Revenue - What your business generates

Expense
 The costs to your business of generating the revenue
 Growth Records
 Animal‟s Name_______________________
 Animal ID or Registration ________________
Weight Height at withers Hip Height Heart Girth
Date Age
(kg) (cm) (cm) (cm)
Feed Record (Birth to Weaning)

 Animal’s Name__________________
 Animal ID or Registration No.____________
Milk or Milk Other
Starter Grain
Replacer
Kg Cost/ Total Kg Cost/ Total Kg Cost Total
Week
Fed kg Value Fed Kg Value Fed /Kg Value

Total D TOTAL E TOTAL F

Total Feed Expense from Birth to Weaning (D + E + F) : _________Birr

Feed Record (Weaned & Beyond)

 Animal’s Name__________________
 Animal ID or Registration No.____________
Milk or Milk Other
Starter Grain
Replacer
Kg Cost/ Total Kg Cost/ Total Kg Cost/ Total
Week
Fed kg Value Fed Kg Value Fed Kg Value

Total D TOTAL E TOTAL F

Total Feed Expense from Birth to Weaning (D + E + F) : _________Birr

Breeding Record
 Animal’s Name__________________
 Animal ID or Registration No.____________
Sire
(If AI,
Offspring
indicate Due ID
Date Animal Lactation Date Sex Notes
registrat Date No.
Serviced ID No. fresh
ion)
or sire
No.

Breeding records
 Birth date, name of sire and dam, Heat dates and comments ,
Calving dates and comments, Earliest breeding date, Service
information, pregnancy examination, Expected calving date ,
drying off date
(forms- Card files, booklets, individual sheets)
Milk Production Record

 Animal’s Name__________________
 Animal ID or Registration No.____________
 Milk production
 Date,
 ID,
 calving date,
 Milk production ( Morning, Evening)
 Milk contents
Treatment Record

 Animal ID
 Treatment(Date & Time)
 Condition being treated
 Estimated weight
 Medication given
 Name of the person administered medication
 Instructed withdrawal time (number of days)
 Results or comments
 Date and time withdrawal completed
 If Rx drugs, list veterinarian name and address
The End