Animal HusbandryShetkari Masik
Diet of milch animals
Animal husbandry is known as a complimentary business of farming.The cattle keepers get money out of this business. In current situation, the farmer earns enough only for his survival. 60 to 70% of expenses are done on the animal feed only.The growth of the milch animals depends on the diet only. If the animal is healthy then its capacity to produce milk increases,too.
The green fodder is very important part of the diet of cattle. It helps to maintain their digestive capacity. The reproductive capacity becomes regular. As the green fodder contains vitamin ‘A’ , it prevents night blindness. The proportion of green and hay in the animal diet should be 3:1.
Generally for 10 liters of milk production from a 400 kg cow, the amount of diet should be green fodder, maize, grass 35 to 40 kg, rice/wheat bran + minerals 4 kg or green fodder, maize, jowar 15 kg, dry fodder 5 to 6 kg.
The animals need salts on a large quantity. For that if salt blocks are hung in the shed, the animals lick them and they get required salts from that.If the salt blocks are not available, mineral mixture 50 per gms should be given.
Give wheat or rice bran + mineral mixture with different food items and minerals. In a well mixed mixture crushed grains (jowar,maize), 25 kg bran (whear/rice), 50 kg oil cake (linseed /oil/groundnut/safflower ) 25 kg, 2 kg salts in total 100kg of mixture is added. The mixture created by this process is called as concentrates.
1 kg concentrates is sufficient for one cow for 2.5 liters of milk production and for buffalo for 2 liters of milk production . If green fodder is not available the feed should be created as follows: silage 10 to 12 kgs, dry fodder 4 kg and concentrates should be given as per the milk production of the animal.
In the area where irrigation resources are not available, prepare silage by cutting green fodder in the flowering stage. Use silage instead of green fodder in summer season.
The animals need nutrients for nutrition, milk production. Their needs depend on their weight. So the diet should always be fixed and should be given as per need. The fodder should always be nutritious and good quality. The animal keepers should pay special attention to the care and diet of calves along with the animals. Because today’s heifer is going to be tomorrow’s hybrid milch cow. If proper attention is paid to the diet of milch animals, we can definitely get increased milk production.
Reference- Shetkari monthly magazine
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