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Farmers feed cows a variety of things,
- Fresh water must always be available
- Grass-not nessecarily fed by the farmer, typically a farmer lets a cow roam in a pasture where it eats what it choses-like alfalfa,plian grass, clovers and whatever else is in the field.
- Hay or/and Silage- a mixture of dried grasses and legumes.-For when a pasture isn't available
- Grains-provides great protein
For a more detailed answer, please see the related question below.
This depends on what trimester their in, whether they still have a calf suckling on them or not, and their body condition. Cows in their first and one third part way through their second trimester are fed good quality feeds, but not as good as quality as before they were bred, when they had a 60 day break to get back into their heat cycle and had a demanding and growing calf at their side. As the calf grows, milk quality decreases, and often when milk quality decreases, so does the nutrition requirements decrease. After the calf is weaned off the cow (often at ~6 months of age), her nutrition requirements decrease to the point where it's safe to feed her lower quality feeds such as good-quality straw, average quality hay, or a stockpiled pasture. Typically, cows that are on a grass-fed operation are able to be bale-grazed or swath grazed at this point in time. When they reach their 3rd trimester, or, and most commonly, are 60 days to calving, their nutrition demands increase, which means that higher quality feeds need to be fed, in slow increments, until she has calved. After she calved, nutrient quality demands increase until they reach a peak when the calf is 3 to 4 weeks of age.
So, in all, it's not WHAT you feed preg cows, but HOW you feed them in order to meet their requirements according to the gestation/lactation schedule. What you feed cows in a drylot is different from those that are being grazed on pasture or being grazed 365 days a year.
Any kind of ration that is high in protein, energy, calcium, phosphorus and other nutrients and minerals that are essential for milk production. This can range from good to excellent quality pasture to a Total Mixed Ration (TMR) of grain, silage (corn, barley, alfafla/timothy, etc.) and hay (alfalfa/clover, orchard grass & timothy mix).
See the related questions below for more.
It depends on what stage of gestation the cow is in. Cows that are in early gestation are usually still lactating, which means they will still need good to high quality feed--dairy cattle require higher quality feed than beef cows. Some cows in mid gestation may still be lactating, like most dairy cows and some beef cows. Majority of beef cows, though, will be dry during mid gestation and require less quality feed than if they were lactating. Late gestation cows require higher quality feed, and even higher once they calve because they will be lactating again.
The rule of thumb to know (particularly for beef cows) as far as protein content is concerned is the 7-9-11 rule of thumb: 7% protein mid-gestation, 9% protein late gestation, and 11% protein post-calving.
Basically you can feed your cows what you are currently feeding them know. You may want to analyze your feed for protein content, and determine if any supplementation is necessary based on the protein value (in crude-protein or CP) of that feed. If you're feeding hay, keep feeding hay. Same with silage, grain or other alternative-to-grain feeds.
But always always remember to feed your cows according to their nutritional needs, not what you thinkthey need.
This question has already been answered in a similar form in several questions. However, to indirectly answer the question, it all depends on what type of cow you're referring to(beef or dairy?), age of that cow, reproductive stage of that cow, or even if you're referring to the colloquial term of "cow" or not. It also is highlydependent on your location, since specific feeds you may be inquiring about may not be availablein your area incomparison to others.Otherwise, please check out the related questions below.
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How much more energy does a lactating cow need than a dry cow?
Typically a lactating cow will eat 50% more than a dry cow would. As for energy needs, a lactating cow needs around 15% more energy than dry cows do.
How estrogen causes lameness in lactating cow?
Estrogen does not cause a lactating cow to be lame. Feed that is high in energy and protein (like grain) can cause a cow to founder (or be lame). Injury is also a likely cause for a cow to become lame; a cut that has invited infection will also cause a cow to become lame. But not estrogen.
How much water does a cow need?
A cow typically needs 7% (non-lactating cows) to 10% (lactating) of her body weight in water per day.
What is the main difference between cow's milk and human milk?
Nothing, really, except cow's milk comes from lactating cows and human milk comes from lactating women.
What is a pregnant cow called?
A bred cow or a pregnant cow, or, in the dairy industry, just a cow. In sale barns, if she has a calf at side, she is also referred to as a 3-in-1 or a three-fer or suckling bred cow. If she's lactating, like in a beef or dairy herd, then she's called a nursing bred cow, lactating bred cow or bred lactating/milking dairy cow. If she's not nursing or lactating, she's called a dry bred cow non-lactating pregnant cow if you really want to get technical. In the dairy industry, a lactating heifer that has already had her first calf is referred to as a first-calf heifer; once she has a second calf she is generally referred to as a cow. In the beef industry, a heifer that is pregnant with her first calf is called a bred heifer.
What is the terminology used when a cow is lactating?
If you are referring to when a cow starts to lactate, it's called freshening.
What do you call a wet cow?
A wet cow, if you're referring to a cow that's been out in the rain. However, it would have a different meaning. For some, a "wet" cow can refer to a cow that is giving milk or lactating, which is opposite of being a "dry" cow. Dry cows are those that are not giving milk.
Do cows feed abandoned calves?
Yes, some lactating mothers will feed abandoned calves.
You are having a CrossJersey cow in India Recently it laid one calf After that it started to milk very less Before giving birth to calf it gave 9 liters milk but now only 3 liters What is the reason?
There are one of two possibilities: 1) There was not enough nutrition given to the cow during her third trimester, which is crucial if she is to both keep her weight on and start produce milk 2) Lack of adequate nutrition was given to the cow during her lactation period. The amount of good feed that this Jersey cow is given correlates to how much milk she gives. If she is fed poor feed and/or not enough good feed, she will both decrease in milk production and become much thinner than she needs to be. Lactation tends to pull a cow down (or, make her lose weight) much quicker than if she weren't lactating. A lactating cow needs feed that is high in calcium, protein, nitrogen, phosphorus, and minerals and vitamins. NO EXCEPTIONS. You might as well starve her to death if you don't take care of her properly.
Why would you feed baleage to dry dairy cows?
Dairy cows, even though they are not lactating, still have higher nutritional demands than dry beef cows, so baleage (a form of silage) is a recommended feed to feed to them.
Why is forage quality so important when feeding lactating dairy cows?
Good to excellent forage quality is such that it contains high protein, energy, calcium, phosphorus and other essential nutrients (some which are naturally there and others that need to be mixed in with the feed), all which are necessary for a lactating cow. Milk production requires a lot of nutrition, so much so that a cow needs 50% more nutrition than if she was dry. Thus it is important that, in order to have cows that will produce high quantities of milk (as well as high quality milk), the feed must be of high quality nutrients.
What treatment should you give a lactating cow?
None, unless that cow is showing some sign if illness. Don't treat the symptoms, treat the actual disease.
