WOLLEGA UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SCIENCE

Dairy Cattle Production
BSc Degree in Animal Sciences

Prepared By: Diribe Kumsa(MSc)

Nov. 2018
1 Shambu, Ethiopia
07/30/2025
Dairy cattle in their house (tail-to-tail)
 Learning out came
 At the end of the course the students are
expected to be able to:
• have the general backgrounds of
dairy cattle breeds and
production systems;
• to manage dairy cattle farms
• describe lactation physiology,
milk handling and processing
procedures
• run dairy products handling and
processing
• To develop ken interest in dairy
3 cattle business 07/30/2025
 Chapter 1. Introduction and Terminologies
 Ethiopia is repetitively exemplified as the
most potential country in livestock resource.

The purpose of live stock production is

diversified and includes the provision of
draft power, food supply, source of
income, means of transportation,
alternate energy source.

 In pastoral areas, beyond the economic

advantage as a source of income it matters
social prestige and status in the community.
4 07/30/2025
  Dairy is a type of livestock farming whereby

cattle are kept for milk production with sole

purpose of selling the milk to the consumers.

Dairy farming is one of the fastest growing sub-

sectors in agriculture at an estimated rate of 3 to

4 % annually (National Livestock Policy, 2008).

Dairy contribution to national GDP is estimated

at 4.5%, which is part of the 10 to 12% from

5 livestock and 40% from agriculture. 07/30/2025
 Dairy production offers regular incomes
and asset accumulation to families,
thereby contributing to poverty reduction.

Milk production does not satisfy the

demand hence the need to increase
production.

6 07/30/2025
 1.1. Common Terminologies
Milk: – a normal secretion of mammary gland
of mammals.
Colostrum: The milk produced by a cow just
after calving.
Dairying- agricultural system which involves
the production of milk
Dairy farming- rearing cows for milk
production
Dairy farm-farm principally engaged in milk
production
Calf: Young one of cow by birth to 6 Months of
age.
Heifer: Female calf from the age of puberty to
7 calving. 07/30/2025
 Bullock: A castrated bull which is used for
work or ploughing
Scrub bull: A bull not having good progeny
record or non descriptive
Breeding bull: is maintained for the purpose
of breeding having good progeny
cow: A female or heifer after first calving.
Milking cow: A cow which gives milk.
Dry cow: A cow which has stopped the milk
secretion
Lactation: The period between the
parturition of calf to stoppage of milk
secretion of a cow.
Gestation period: The duration of
8 pregnancy 07/30/2025
 1.1. Role of Milk Production in the World
Economy

 Milk is mainly an essential food during infancy

 Milk production plays a key role in the sustainability

of rural areas in particular

 Milk is source of animal protein

 Milk is source of income for the producer

 Dairy cattle have excellent ability to convert

different feeds in to animal products:-
• Milk, butter, cheese, yogurt,
9 ghee and meat 07/30/2025
 1.1. Role of Milk Production in the World
Economy…
It is well recognized fact that most of developing countries
are basically an agriculture country.
Dairy is a universal agricultural production: people milk
dairy animals in almost every country across the world,
and up to one billion people live on dairy farms.
 It is a vital part of the global food system and it plays a
key role in the sustainability of rural areas in particular.
Milks and milk products have been important human food
items for centuries.
Milks are mostly obtained from cows, goats, camel and
sheep in Africa. Milk is mainly an essential food during
infancy.
10 07/30/2025
  A further economic reason and also their excellent ability to

convert different feeds in to animal products.

 Thus, it seems that from the biological aspect milk production has

perhaps the most to offer in meeting the most important nutritive

needs of mankind with regard to animal products.

 Milk production value, out of total agricultural production,

represents between 8.5 and 10.5% depending on the year.

 For certain parts of the world, milk production value accounts for

more than 20% of the total agricultural value of western countries.

 The relative importance of protein from cattle (milk or beef /veal)
11 07/30/2025
however, varies considerably.
  Milk production per cow especially of the developed market

economies, has been continuously rising per year due to

genetic improvement and management.
 Developing market economies, on the other hand, had a

considerably lower production and did not show marked

progress.
 A radical increase in this respect may only be expected in the

developing countries by a change from subsistence farming to

a market economy with adequate purchasing power.
 In the western industrialized countries, on the other hand, a

saturated market is typical for which new ways must be found

12 07/30/2025
to adjust milk production to suit the demands of the market.
 1.2. History and Development of Dairy Industry
 1.2.1. Features of dairy industry

 The dairy industry has a number of specific features which

distinguish it from the other sectors of agriculture in a number of
respects.
 The specifics dairy industry are due to four, partly interrelated, factor
• The specific properties of milk as a raw
material.
• The socio-economic position of dairy
farmers.
• The strong position held by the co-
operatives in milk processing.
• Milk is a very valuable but at the same
times an extremely expensive raw 07/30/2025
material.
13
 1.3. History and development of Dairy industry in Ethiopia
 I. The Emergence of modern dairying in Ethiopia (1960 -1974)

 During the first half of the 20th century, dairying is traditional.

 Modern dairying started in the early 1950s when Ethiopia

received the first batch of dairy cattle from United Nations Relief and
Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA).
 Most interventions during this phase focused on urban-based

production and marketing including the introduction of exotic dairy

cattle, feeding with high ratio of dairy concentrated feed, modern
dairy infrastructure and high management level.
 To facilitate growth of the sector, UNICEF established a public sector

pilot processing plant at Shola on the outskirt of Addis Ababa in 1960

14 07/30/2025
  During the second half of the 1960s, dairy production in the Addis

Ababa area began to develop rapidly b/c of the expansion of private

farm
 Due to modern dairying, government of Ethiopia established Addis

Ababa Dairy Industry (AADI) in 1966 to control and organize the

collection, processing and distribution of locally produced milk.
 The first effort, initiated by the governments of Ethiopia and Sweden,

was the establishment of the Chilalo Agricultural Unit (CADU), later

named Arsi Rural Development Unit (ARDU), between 1970 and1980.
 To create an autonomous body responsible for dairy development, the

government of Ethiopia established the Dairy Development Agency

15
(DDA) in 1971. 07/30/2025
 II. Dairying during Dergue Regime
(1974-91)
 Following the 1974 revolution, economic policy in Ethiopia shifted

towards socialism.
 The DDA continued to operate until 1979 when it was merged with

numerous other nationalized dairy farms to establish the Dairy

Development Enterprise (DDE).
 The DDE was established to operate the nationalized state farms,

establish a milk collection network, process and market dairy products,

provide advisory and limited technical service to farmers, and sell
veterinary medicaments and feed to farmers.
 During this phase, the government shifted attention from urban

producers to rural producers.

16 07/30/2025
  However, substantial resources remained devoted to establishing large-

scale state farms to provide liquid milk for urban consumers.

 This phase was characterized by intensive effort by the government and

donors towards developing the dairy sector through producers

‘cooperatives.
 The dairy development effort was geared towards rural producers who in

fact were members of producer cooperatives.

 The programs and projects included the Minimum Package Program

(MPP), Addis Ababa Dairy Dev’t Project (AADDP), Dairy

Rehabilitation and Development Project (DRDP), Artificial
Insemination Service (AIS) and Selale Peasant Dairy Development
17 07/30/2025
Pilot Project.
  III. Dairying during transition to a market-oriented economy (1991-

Present)
This phase of post-Dergue market-oriented development, the
private sector has begun to enter the dairy market as an
important actor.
 Several private investors have established milk-processing

plants in Addis Ababa to supply fresh milk.

 The two major donor-funded SDDPP and SDDP projects focused

exclusively on improving dairy production at smallholder level.

 The increased coverage of extension services and increased

use of improved inputs and policy changes promoting dairy

production have contributed to faster growth of output.
 Dairy product imports during this phase were relatively smaller
18 07/30/2025
than in the two earlier phases.
 1.4. Comparative Advantage
of Dairy Farming
 Dairy farming, like any other business enterprises, has both
advantages and disadvantages in relation to other types of
agricultural production.

 It is important, therefore, before investing money in the dairy

business to weigh carefully all of the factors, which will affect the
success, and profitability of the enterprise.

 A. Dairying provides a stable income: The prices of most of the

agriculture produce show great fluctuation. The price of dairy
products does not show such wide range of fluctuation in their
prices.
19 07/30/2025
 B. Income is distributed throughout the year: If the
farmer depends only on agriculture he would be receiving
income from his farm only on harvesting the crop.

This would mean that the income of the farmer would only
be seasonal. On the other hand, the product from a dairy
animal is distributed almost throughout the year.

20 07/30/2025
 C. Dairying fits well in diversified farming
programs.
It is highly recommended to have
diversification many farms.
This diversification will help to use the farm
labour efficiently and dairying will be one
such diversified activity on a farm.
In addition to this it will be possible to have
economic use of buildings and equipments.
Since it is always risk to have only one
source of income, dairying helps in having
21 an alternative source of income to the 07/30/2025
farmer.
 D. Efficiency: Any attempt to compare the
efficiency with which the various classes of
livestock and poultry convert feed into food
reveals immediately the complexity of the
problem. On the other hand, Dairy cows
have a high degree of efficiency in
converting feed protein in to milk
protein, and under certain conditions
non- protein nitrogen can be used to
replace some of the protein in the
feed.

22 07/30/2025
 E. Intensity: Milk production, like poultry and
unlike beef and sheep enterprise, is an
intensive rather than extensive type of
farming. The labour requirement is high.
When land is available to provide pasture
and forage crops and, in some instance,
concentrates, and costs of milk production
are lower.
F. Permanency: Dairy enterprises will
continue to be an important part of the world
agriculture. There is no satisfactory
substitute for fluid milk in the diet of infants
and children.

23 07/30/2025
 Other advantages:

Dairy farming can be combined with other

crop or livestock enterprises to achieve lower

costs of production through greater
utilization of available land, labour,
machinery, and management, such
combinations also provide more than one
source of income.

24 07/30/2025
 1.5. Major constraints to dairy industry in
Ethiopia: Constraints to dairy development in
Ethiopia can fall under the following:
Efforts were not coordinated (development,
research, training, extension and delivery of
inputs)
Efforts were not institutionalized and were not
long termed program oriented undertakings.
Often they were fragmented piece meal approach
with no inter links among projects that
superseded each other.
Emphasis was more on an input delivery approach
in project conceptualization
Accountable and concerned body for the
development and coordination of the dairy
industry was not identified and set. 07/30/2025
25
 Nutrition, breeding, health, marketing,
processing and accessibility issue have
always been the unsolved problems.
Project inputs focused on high tech foreign
exchange demanding packages like supply of
crossbred in calf heifers and AI. They commonly
disregarded outlooks geared to improving
performance of local stock through improvement
of husbandry and management
Project lacked introduction of appropriate
technologies and approaches
Projects were not based on felt needs of farmers

26 07/30/2025
 2. MAJOR DAIRY CATTLE BREEDS
Definitions
Type: is an ideal or standard of perfection
combining all the characteristics that
contribute to the animal’s usefulness for a
specific purpose.
Breed: Breed is a group of animals having
a common origin and possessing certain well
fixed and distinctive characteristics other
not common to members of the same
species; these characteristics are uniformly
transmitted.

27 07/30/2025
 Or A breed is a group of animals related
similar characters like general appearance
size, features and configuration not
common to members of the same species
etc.
Species is a group of individual which have
certain common characteristics that
distinguish them from other groups of
individuals

28 07/30/2025
 In most temperate countries, milk comes
mainly from domesticated cattle which have
over several generations become specialized
for milk production.
In most tropical countries, on the other hand,
milk comes from domesticated cattle as well
as buffalos, sheep, goats and sometimes
camel which are not specialized as such for
milk.
 The contribution of buffalos, sheep, goats
and camels is just 20% of total milk
production in the tropics. 80% milk comes
from domesticated cattle.

29 07/30/2025
 World cattle breeds are
classified in to three types
• Dairy type breed
• Beef type breed
• Dual purpose breed

30 07/30/2025
 I. Dairy type:

The cows of these breeds are high milk yielders and the male
animals are slow or poor work animals. Cattle of this type
are usually not large, and are of somewhat lean build or
are characterized by a lean, angular form and a well-
developed mammary system.

31 07/30/2025
 Characteristics of dairy type breed
 They have triangular shape and the head is small
of refined appearance
 The trunk is wedge - shaped in side view, the front
portion being less deep than rear
 The skin is thin, firm and elastic, with poorly
developed subcutaneous connective tissue, and it is
covered with silky hair
 The udder is usually well developed and other
characters indicative of a high milking capacity are
also prominent
 These types of animals are outstanding milk
producers. Their meat is of poor quality, the carcass
dressing percentage is small and growth is slow
leading to late maturity.
 They are primarily adapted to convert efficiently
feed in to maximum of high quality milk.
32 07/30/2025
 II. Beef type: beef type breeds are large in
size and have rectangular shape. The male
animals are good for work and Cows are
poor milk yielders.
They are primarily adapted to convert
efficiently feed in to maximum of high
quality meat.
These types of animals are outstanding
meat producers. The udder is usually not
well developed.

33 07/30/2025
 III. Dual purpose type: Dual purpose types

have characteristics intermediate between

those of dairy and beef types in
conformation and also in the production of
both meat and milk. They are medium
seized or large. The cows in these breeds
are average milk yielder and male animals
are very useful for work.

34 07/30/2025
 2.2. Classification of Breeds of Dairy
Cattle
Dairy cattle are classified in to two: Exotic

dairy cattle breeds and local Ethiopian

cattle breeds

2.2.1. Exotic dairy cattle breeds

There are 5 Exotic dairy cattle breeds:

Holstein-Friesian, Guernsey, Jersey,

Ayrshire and Brownswiss
35 07/30/2025
 [Link]-Friesian
It originated from Netherlands but it has

spread to other parts of the world especially

where emphasis has been on milk
production. The colour is black and white
or red and white.
It is the world’s highest producing

dairy animal.

36 07/30/2025
 Holstein-Friesian is a cross between the
black cattle of the Batavians (Holstein) and
white cows of Friesian bred to produce the
most efficient milk with limited feed
resources. Calf weighs 41 kg or more at
birth. Holstein cow weigh 650kg and 147cm
tall. Heifers are bred at 13 months and
weigh 363kg. Holstein-Friesian give calves
for the first time between 23 and 26
months of age.
Gestation period is approximately 9
months. They produce 40-60 litres
milk/day with butter fat content of
3.7%.
37 07/30/2025
 Advantages:
High milk production potential with low
butter fat content of about 3.2-3.7%
Note: Milk production will depend on level of
feeding and other management.
Disadvantages:
Heavy feeder (requirements high (90-110Kg
fresh forage/day)
Susceptible to diseases, susceptible to milk
fever
Susceptible to high temperatures
Need Large amounts of water (minimum 60
litters/day, more for heavy yielders)
38 07/30/2025
 Holstein-Friesian

39 07/30/2025
 2. Ayrshire
The Ayrshire breed was developed in
the country of Ayrshire south-western
Scotland prior to 1989. These animals are
distributed all over the world. The colour of
the animals is red or white, with
markings or, with white spotting. The
red colour may be very light to almost red.
The animals are beautiful with shortest top
lines, levelled rumps, and good udders. The
animals are alert and active and they are
good grazers. Heifers are generally bred at
an age of 18 to 20months. Average milk
yield is estimated to be 4500 kg per
lactation; with milk fat content of 4 %.
40 07/30/2025
 Advantages:
High milk production potential (30 litre/day).
cow's milk has moderate butter fat content
 Fairly hardy and adaptable to varied
climatic zones.
They are relatively resistant to diseases.
Disadvantages:
Feed requirements high (90-110 kg fresh
forage/day)
Need plenty of clean water (60 litres/day)

41 07/30/2025
 Ayrshire

42 07/30/2025
 [Link]
The Guernsey breed was developed in Islands

of Guernsey and body color is Fawn with

white markings clearly defined preferably a
clear muzzle and characterized by: Good
length of head, Horns include forward Refined
and medium in length, Taper toward the tips,
similar to Jersey but slightly larger cows
weigh 450- 500 kg and bull 750-850kg.

43 07/30/2025
 Guernseys rank fourth among the dairy
breeds in average milk production per cow
at 4,808 kg.
The average milk fat percent is about
5 and rank second among the dairy
breeds in average milk fat produced per
cow.
Guernseys produce milk that is golden in
color.

44 07/30/2025
 Guernsey

45 07/30/2025
 4. Jersey
Jersey cattle are a small breed
originally bred in the Channel Island of
Jersey. Jerseys come in all shades of
brown, from light tan to almost black
frequently fawn in colour. All purebred
Jerseys have a lighter band around their
muzzle, a dark switch (long hair on the end
of the tail), and black hooves. Cow weight
ranges from only 360 to 540 kg. Bulls are
also small, ranging from 540 to 820 kg.

46 07/30/2025
 Jersey are notoriously aggressive. High
butterfat content 6% butterfat and 4%
protein, and they have the ability to thrive
on locally produced food.
The cattle has a calving ease and a
relatively lower rate of dystocia, leading to
their popularity in crossbreeding with other
dairy and even beef breeds to reduce
calving related injuries. Jerseys are
adaptable to hot climates.

47 07/30/2025
 Jersey

48 07/30/2025
 5. Brown Swiss
The Brown Swiss breed is originated in

Switzerland. They are probably one of the

oldest of the dairy breeds. Brown Swiss are
solid brown, ranging from light to dark.
White and off –color spots are objectionable
colors. The nose and tongue are black. The
horns incline forward and slightly upward.
They are of medium length and taper toward
black tips.
49 07/30/2025
 The Brown Swiss are large-framed cattle.
Mature cows weigh about 680 kg and bulls
about 907 kg. The heifers mature more slowly
than other dairy breeds. Brown Swiss have a
quiet, docile temperament.
They are considered to be good grazers. Brown
Swiss are the longest lived of the dairy breeds.
They have a high heat tolerance. Bulls of
this breed have been used recently in beef
crossbreeding programs. Brown Swiss rank
second among the dairy breeds in average
milk production per cow at 5,488 kg milk
per lactation. They average about 4.1
percent milk fat and rank third among the
dairy breeds in average milk fat produced per
50
cow. 07/30/2025
 Brown Swiss

51 07/30/2025
 Exotic dairy cattle breeds
Name Milk production Milk fat content
(%)

HF 10,400kg 3.7

Ayrshire 4500kg 4

Guernsey 4808kg 5

Jersey 7073kg 6

Brownswiss 5488kg 4.1

52 07/30/2025
 2.3. Local Cattle Breed of
Ethiopia
No tropical breed can be seen as a
specialized dairy type. With good
management the best herd of tropical cows
can produce 2000-2500litre per lactation.
Coupled with low milk production, tropical
breeds exhibit late sexual maturity, long
interval between calving and short
lactation. Indigenous cattle are
important for their genetic
predisposition of disease resistance,
hardiness, heat tolerance and
53 adaptation to local conditions. 07/30/2025
 Resistance to parasites is a valuable trait in

tropical cattle and Bos indicus breeds are

generally good foragers. If tropical stock is to
be used for milk production or for crossing with
higher milk producing breeds there are some
choices within the tropical region.
The most commonly used local cattle for

crossing for the purpose of dairy

production include Boran, Horro, Fogera
and Arsi.
54 07/30/2025
 Some of the characteristics of local

cattle breeds are given as follows.

[Link]: Originated in the Easter lowland

plain of Eritrea. It is also reported to be
found north western part of North Gondar,
& Tigray region. It is tall, Coat color is
white with black spots. But color is varied
with even white and red ones being seen.

55 07/30/2025
 In their native place they are mostly used

for milk and meat. There are a lot of

similarities with Fogera. The color pattern,
hump size, hump position, horn size &
position are the same. The obvious
differences are the frontal profile and size of
the neck. It is the best dairy type of
Eritrea and Ethiopian breed.

56 07/30/2025
 2. Fogera: The Fogera breed is kept in the
North West region of Ethiopia, around Lake
Tana in Gojjam and Gondar. This breed is
also used in mixed farming conditions for
milk, meat and drought power. It is
medium size, the average height at withers
of cows and bulls are 112 and 127
centimetres, respectively. Color is variable
consisting white, black & red or either
combination. It is relatively docile. Fogera
weights 321 kg and produce 313kgper
lactation with 6.2% fat.

57 07/30/2025
 3. Arsi: originated from the highlands of
central region of Arsi and Bale. They are
small sized, on the average female weight
232 to 245 kg. They can produce 500 kg
milk per lactation. They used for milk
production and draught purpose

58 07/30/2025
 4. Boran: The Boran cattle are indigenous to
Liban plateau (in southern Ethiopia, the
centre of social life of Boran tribe) and
adjoining part of Somalia and northern
Kenya. In the Boran rainfall is low, unreliable
and limited to a short season; characteristics
vegetation is grass, bush with trees. In the
2nd and 3rd decades of the century,
Boran cattle were introduced in to the
drier parts of Kenya. Comparison with
many other African types Boran cattle are
large cattle which are capable of producing in
the improved ranch, and known by a beef
carcass of good quality as well as having
a superior capacity of milk production.
59 07/30/2025
 The weight of the cow is 346-417 kg and that
of bull is 539-653 kg.
The Boran is a free-ranging grazing animal
and traditionally used for their milk and
meat. The improved forms found in
modern operations have been exploited
in ranching, for their meat as well as
milk in intensive situations. With regard
to milking ability and lactation length is
estimated to be 1673kg in 295 days.

60 07/30/2025
 5. Horro: Horro breed is kept in west of
Ethiopia Wollega region. This breed is used
for milk, meat and draught power. The
yield in 177 days lactation period was 561
liter in an experiment of IAR. The Horro breed
has a predominantly red color, but black and
other color also found.

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 3.
DAIRY CATTLE HOUSING AND
MANAGEMENT
Introduction
 Management of livestock cannot be complete without
the provision of planned and economical housing
facilities for them. Unplanned and improper housing
may result in additional labour charges, and reduce
the profit of the owner.
 Dairy cattle will be more efficient in the production of
milk and in reproduction if they are protected from
extreme heat, and particularly from direct sunshine.
This can be achieved through provision of shade in
tropical and subtropical climates.
 Generally, careful planning of buildings is essential in
developing an integrated and efficient layout for
producing milk.
62 07/30/2025
 3.1. Dairy Cattle Housing
General Housing Requirements
Environmental requirements
space requirement
sanitation
Building and equipment
arrangements for efficient use of
labour and feed

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 Environmental requirements: Many
elements comprise the environment
parameter in dairy herd. The most obvious
ones are:
Ambient temperature
relative humidity (moisture
content)
movement of the ambient air
the intensity and character of
light (direct sun radiation)

64 07/30/2025
 Temperature:
No single optimum environmental temperature
is recommended. The homoeothermic
mechanism of cattle makes it possible for
them to be equally productive and
comfortable over a wide range of temperature.
Since cattle are non-sweating animals,
adjustment to low environmental
temperature is easier than to high
temperature. At high temperature feed
intake is reduced to regulate body
temperature. This results in lowered milk
production, and milk composition is also
affected. Reproduction is adversely affected
too by high temperature range
65 07/30/2025
 Feed consumption may approach zero
when temperature climb above 38 o C.
Milk production usually begins to decline at 27
to 29 oC. Thermo-neutral zone is a range
of ambient temperature with in which
metabolic rate of the animal is low. That is
within this range, temperature regulation is
takes place by non evaporative physical
process. The thermo neutral zone for dairy
animal is from -15 o C to 27o C. This two
values i.e. -15 o C and + 27 o C, are called
lower and upper critical temperature. The
optimum (best environment for dairy) - 1 oC to
15oC. Beyond the critical level death may
occur due to either cold or heat stress.
66 07/30/2025
 Relative humidity: It is not possible to
specify an optimum relative humidity. For a
given temperature, a range of relative
humidity would be equally satisfactory. A
high relative humidity at high air
temperature increases the difficulty of
dissipating heat by evaporation of
moisture. Relative humidity in the
range of 40-80% is considered to be
satisfactory.

67 07/30/2025
 Air-movement (Ambient air): High air
speed accelerates elimination of body heat
and is advantageous in hot weather. i. e.
when the air temperature is lower than the
skin temperature.
At very low temperature rapid air movement
leads to an excessive cooling of unprotected
skin areas. A wind velocity of 0.2m/s is
severally regarded as a minimum
requirement but it could be increased to
1.0m/s when temperature is close to the
upper critical. In addition air movement will
enable to remove noxious and toxic gases
and to supply the animal with fresh air for
breathing.
68 07/30/2025
 Radiation: Radiation (direct solar radiation)

increases the heat load on the animals. This

in turn has an adverse effect on
production and reproduction of the
animals. Therefore, the direction of the
house should be from north to south to
decrease direct solar radiation.

69 07/30/2025
 Space requirement
Due consideration should also be made for
space requirement, including for the entire
housing, feeding, caring for the herd,
storage of feed, handling milk and
manure, storage for equipment,
residence for barn workers/attendants.
Enough space for the animals, for efficient
work and for sanitary purpose is important.
Space requirement for housing
depends on the housing system.

70 07/30/2025
 Sanitation

A major objective in planning dairy structure

is producing clean milk. This calls for

equipment, space for sterilizing milk utensils
and storage containers and facilities for
quick cooling and low temperature storage
of the milk.

71 07/30/2025
 The overall aim in housing dairy cattle
is
to provide an economic system of
production with high labor
efficiency.

The specific objectives of dairy cattle

housing includes:
To provide some environmental control:
Dairy cattle respond to change in environment
(temperature, relative humidity, air
movement, and space) through changing their
behavior, drop in milk production, drop in
reproduction efficiency etc.
72 07/30/2025
 To reduce waste of purchased feed:

Well-designed and equipped structure does

improve the efficiency of feeding and thereby

reduce waste, which has an economic
implication.
Efficient communication between feed stores

and feeding point (troughs etc.) could be made

through well-designed house.

73 07/30/2025
 To control of disease and parasite:
Disease and parasites are among the profit
liming factors in animal production
especially in the developing countries.
Good sanitary control measures should be
taken in to account in the design of animal
housing. Hence it is necessary to provide a
healthy comfortable environment specific
to ever kind of animal so as to get the
maximum benefit.
To safeguard against predators, to
produce clean milk, to save labor, to
protect laborers against climate, pleasant
to work, to protect equipment.
74 07/30/2025
 Factors to be considered
during dairy housing
 Housing for high yielding dairy cattle should provide
optimum environmental conditions in order to enable
full potential milk production levels for the cows. The
basic justification for livestock shelter is that it should
alter or modify the environment for the benefit of
animals housed under it.
 However, different types of animal houses are
constructed without careful planning & designing
which affects the success of the enterprise.
 Careful planning before building can make cattle
handling easier. Moreover, buildings are very
expensive and therefore, their designs, and costs of
constructions should be well justified before investing
capital
75 07/30/2025
 Therefore, the following points should
be considered during dairy cattle
housing:-
I. Site selection
If a choice is available, the following should
be taken in to account:
Topography: A dairy building should be at a
higher elevation than the surrounding ground
to offer a good slope for rainfall and drainage
for the wastes of the dairy to avoid stagnation
within. A leveled area requires less site
preparation and thus lesser cost of building.
Low lands and depression and proximity to
places of bad odour should be avoided.
76 07/30/2025
 Soil type: Fertile soil should be spared for
cultivation; foundation soil as far as possible
should not too dehydrate or desiccated. Such a
soil is susceptible to considerable swelling
during rainy season and exhibit numerous
cracks and fissures.
Exposure to the sun and protection from
wind: A dairy building should be located to a
maximum exposure to the sun in the north and
minimum exposure to the sun in the south and
protection from prevailing strong wind currents
whether hot or cold.
As far as possible, the long axis of the dairy
barns should -be set in north south
direction to have the maximum benefit of
the sun. 07/30/2025
77
 Accessibility: Easy accessibility to the
buildings is always desirable. Situation of
cattle shed by the side of the main road
preferably a distance of about 100 meters
should be aimed at.
Durability and Attractiveness: It is
always attractive when the buildings open
up to a scenic view. Along with this,
durability of the structure is obviously an
important criteria in building a dairy house.

78 07/30/2025
 Water Supply: Abundant supply of fresh, clean
and soft water should be available at a cheap rate.
Surrounding: Areas infested with wild animals
should be avoided. Narrow gates, high manger
curbs, loose hinges, protruding nails, smooth
finished floor in the areas where the cows move
and other such hazards -should be eliminated.
Labour: Honest, economic and regular supply of
labour should be available.
Marketing: Dairy buildings should only be in those
areas from where the owner can sell his products
profitability and regularly.

79 07/30/2025
 Electricity: Electricity is the most important
sanitary method of lighting a dairy. Since a
modern dairy always handles electric equipments
which are also economical, it is desirable to have
an adequate supply of electricity.
Facilities, labour and feed: Cattle yards should
be so constructed and situated in relation to feed
storages, hay stacks, silo and manure pits as
to effect the most efficient utilisation of
labour. Sufficient space per cow, well arranged
feeding mangers and resting areas contribute not
only to greater milk yield of cows and make the
work of the operator easier but also minimise feed
expenses. The relative position of the feed stores
should be quite adjacent to the cattle barn.

80 07/30/2025
 3.1.1. Types of dairy cattle housing
The general lay-out of dairy farms should
be planned depending on the number of
animals to be housed, facilities to be
provided for feeding the animals
economically, collection of manure and
cleaning and washing.
The principles of animal management,
general hygiene and sanitation and
disinfection should be kept in view. Dairy
animals may be housed under a wide
variety of conditions, ranging from close
confinement to very little restrictions
81
except at milking time. 07/30/2025
 The type of housing best
adapted to a particular farm
depends on many factors: i.e.
climate, size of herd, cost and
personal preference.
 Types of dairy cattle housing can be
grouped into two broad classes as
 conventional and
 loose housing facilities.

82 07/30/2025
 1. Loose housing
 Loose housing may be defined as a system where
animals are kept loose except milking and at
the time of treatment (it is the type of housing
in which the cows can move around freely). The
system is most economical.
Some features of loose housing system
are as follows.
 Cost of construction is significantly lower than
conventional type.
 It is possible to make further expansion without
change
 Facilitate easy detection of animal in heat.
 Animals feel free and get optimum excise which is
extremely important for better health production.
83  Over all better management can be render 07/30/2025
 2. Conventional / stanchion/
Barns
This system of housing refers to housing in which
the cows are confined close together on
platform and secured at the neck by stanchions.
It is one of the standard dairy cow stalls. It is
equipped with a stanchion for fastening a cow in
place. In this system most of the system components
are contained in the same structure. It contains two or
more rows of stanchions, or tie stalls, manure
gutter, feed manger and service alley for each
raw.
Cows are fed, milked, lounge (lie down) in the
stanchion or tie stall. However, the cow is said to
have more freedom in a ‘TIE STALL’ than in the
84
stanchion. 07/30/2025
 In general a medium or large scale dairy
unit may include the following facilities:
 Resting area for cows: a) Paved shade, or Deep bedding in
an open sided barn, or Free-stalls in an open sided barn
 Exercise yard (paved or unpaved)
 Paved feed area: Fence line feed trough (shaded or
unshaded), or Self-feeding from a silage clamp
 Milking Centre: Milking shed or parlour, Collecting yard (part
of the exercise yard), dairy including milk store, Motor room
 Calving pen(s), Calf accommodation, Young stock
accommodation (yard with paved shade and feed area), Bulk
feed store (hay and silage), Concentrate feed store, Veterinary
facilities (Diversion pen with Artificial Insemination stalls,
Isolation pen)
 Waste stores: (Slurry storage, or Separate storage of solids
and effluents)
 Office and staff facilities

85 07/30/2025
 Each parts of the dairy unit may be planned in
many different ways to suit the production
system and the chosen method of feeding.
Some requirements and work routines to
consider when the layout is planned are as
follows:
 Movement of cattle for feeding, milking and perhaps to
pasture.
 Movement of bulk feed from store to feeding area and
concentrates from store to milking shed or parlour.
 Transfer of milk from milking shed or parlour to dairy
and then off the farm.
 Clean and dirty activities, such as milk handling and
waste disposal, should be separated as far as possible.
86 07/30/2025
 The diversion pen with Artificial
Insemination stalls and any bull pen
should be close to the milking
centre as any symptoms of heat or
illness are commonly discovered
during milking and cows are easily
separated from the rest of the herd
while leaving the milking.
Easy and periodical cleaning of
accommodation, yards,

87 07/30/2025
 3.2. Dairy Cattle Management

Caring for pregnant cow

Caring for lactating cow
Caring for dairy heifers
Management of Dairy Calves
Caring for breeding bulls

88 07/30/2025
 Introduction
The dairy cow is the source of both the dairy
heifer and the dairy bull calf. The heifer calf
is retained and special care is given to the
heifer calf so that she can be returned as
milk cow. The bull calf is sold as soon as
possible. Proper care and management of
the cow is important to produce a healthy
calf either a heifer or a bull calf. A healthy
bull calf is the cornerstone to produce high
quality dairy beef and begins with the cow
provided proper pre partum management.

89 07/30/2025
 I. Caring for pregnant cow
Pregnancy: - is the stage when a developing
young is present is the uterus of a cow.
Gestation length: is the period from
conception to parturition. The length of
gestation among Bos indicus cattle average
285 days, which is within the range of 270-
290 days. It is a natural process for a cow to
calve and under this stage the cow needs a
change in the feeding schedule as well as the
management. Once pregnancy is
diagnosed, certain alteration in
management has to be made especially
from the 4th month onwards.
90 07/30/2025
 Pregnant animals have to be properly
identified in order to avoid reputed heat
detection and re-breeding especially in farms.
Important care needed during second
trimester of pregnancy is nutritional
increment for the growth of fetus along with
allowance for milk production and
maintenance. Pregnant cows can be
housed separately at least from the third
trimester of pregnancy. This is to facilitate
special attention and minimize stress and
other disturbance. Sheds for pregnant
cows should be comfortable with non-
slippery floors, more space and better
91
water availability. 07/30/2025
 Adequate exercise has to be provided by letting loose
in to paddocks for sometimes every day, in order to
maintain the animal health and to prevent overgrowth of
hooves. At least 2 weeks prior to expect date of
parturition, cows have to be housed in sheds intended
for calving preferably calving boxes. Calving boxes
should have non- slippery floors with minimum slope
and ad libitum water supply. The good care and
managemental practices given to pregnant animal
will give good calf and also high milk yield during
the successive lactation.
Extra concentrate mix of 1.25 to 1.75 kgs
should be provided for pregnant animal as
pregnancy allowance. Feed good quality of
leguminous fodder. The animal should not be
not - lean - not fat’ condition.
92 07/30/2025
 Provide clean drinking water and protection
from thermal stress.
Do not allow them to mix with other animals
that have aborted or that are suffering from or
carriers of diseases like brucellosis.
Allow moderate exercise, which helps in calving
normally. Do not tire them by making long
distances especially on uneven surfaces.
Do not allow them to fight with other animals
and take care that they are not chased by dogs
and other animals.
Avoid slippery conditions, which causes the
animal to fall receiving fractures, dislocation
etc.
93 07/30/2025
 If accurate breeding records are available,
calculate the expected date of calving.
Separate it one or 2 weeks before and
shifted to individual parturition pens. These
pens are thoroughly cleaned and fresh
bedding may be provided.
Feed 1 kg extra concentrates during last 8
weeks of gestation. Feed laxative about 3 -
5 days before and after calving (Wheat
bran 3 kgs + 0.5 gms of Groundnut cake +
100 gms of mineral mixture of salt).
94 07/30/2025
 II. Caring for lactating cow
To get high milk during any lactation, the
milking animal should be properly fed and
necessary care and managemental practices
should be followed.
Provide green succulent forage together
with leguminous hay or straw to the extent
of animal can consume, so that all its
maintenance requirements are met with
through forage only.
Extra concentrate at the rate of 1 kg for
every 2 to 2.5 litters of milk should be
provided. Salt and mineral supplements
should be given to maintain the lactation.
95 07/30/2025
 Never frighten or excite the animals.
Always treat them gently and with
kindness. With proper feeding and care, a
cow will come to heat within 16 days of
calving. Do not with hold service
unnecessarily after the signs of heat are
noticed in a cow. The shorter the interval
between calving, the more efficient the
animal is as a milk producer. By maintaining
proper records of breeding and calving of
the animals will ensure a study flow of milk
throughout the year.

96 07/30/2025
 Individual attention to feed each animal
according to its production is a must. For
this purpose maintain individual production
records. Keep up regularity of feeding.
Concentrate mix is fed before or during
milking, when as roughages after
milking. This practice will avoid dust in
the shed.
Water should be provided to drink at will or
at frequent intervals.

97 07/30/2025
 Regularity in milking is essential.
Increase of milk in the udder will reduce
further secretion of milk.
Milking thrice is better than twice
since 10 -15 % more milk can be
produced.
Rapid, continuous, dry hand milking
should be practiced without undue
jerking of teats.
Milking should be done with whole
hand, but not with thumb and index
finger.

98 07/30/2025
 Provide at least 60 - 90 days dry period
between calving. If the dry period is not
sufficient, the milk yield in subsequent
lactation will be reduced.
Vaccinate the cows- against important
diseases and also guard against insects and
pests.
Check for mastitis regularly.

99 07/30/2025
 III. Caring for dairy heifers
Objectives of Rearing Heifers
to produce well developed heifers able to
express full yield potential at the desired
calving age, with minimum costs, losses and
health problems, and with the potential
 Rearing replacement heifers allows for:-
Replacement of culled cows
Increase in herd size
Introduction of new blood
lines
10 07/30/2025
0
 The following care and
Management practices are
recommended for a heifer:-
Feed the heifer sufficiently to produce normal
growth.
During the early stage relatively more protein
than energy is needed. Most heifers grow well if
excellent hay is given as much they can eat.
The amount of growth depends upon the
quality of forage fed.
The heifers should be provided with a dry
shelter free from drafts. A loose housing system
with a shelter open to one side is sufficient.
10 07/30/2025
1
 The size rather than the age of a dairy heifer
at breeding time is important. Breeding
under sized animals is never profitable. They
may be stunted or slow to reach maximum
size. Small heifer is more likely to have
difficulty in calving. Usually the heifer is bred
to freshen at 24-30 months of age.
The heifer should be growing and in good
flesh at calving time. This is necessary so
that she can produce milk at the most
profitable level
Place the heifer in a separate shed about 6-8
weeks before she is due to calve.
Feed 2 - 3 kg of concentrate daily and all the
10 07/30/2025
2 forage she eats.
 Maintenance of health among heifers is very
important for proper growth.
 The health among the heifers is
maintained by
hygiene housing,
water, balanced feeding and
taking necessary preventive
steps against common diseases.

10 07/30/2025
3
 IV. Management of Dairy Calves
The calf is the foundation of the future dairy
herd which signifies the importance of proper
calf rearing.
A good feeding and management
programme will result in lower death rate
(mortality), replacement heifers that start
production early and fast growth resulting in
rapid genetic improvement.

10 07/30/2025
4
 Calf rearing is a very important part of
running a dairy farm and owners should
always remember that today “calf is
tomorrow cow”. Hence, the future of a
stock depends up on the care and
management of the new born.
The purpose of good calf rearing should be
to obtain a healthy and vigorous cow, a
cow with a good capacity for taking in feed
and a long living cow which produces its
calf at an age of 2-2 ½ years.
10 07/30/2025
5
 Management before birth
As calf management begins before birth, a
few days before the calf is born, the
pregnant cow is transferred to a maternity
paddock, which should be near the
homestead (for closer observation), well
watered and free from physical objects.
The signs of imminent parturition (calving)
include filling of udder with milk and is
turgid, vulva swollen with a string of mucus
hanging from vagina.
Insemination records can also be used to
estimate the expected calving date.
10 07/30/2025
6
 Feeding Colostrum
After calving, the calves are left with
their dam to receive colostrums. The
colostrums contain antibodies which
protect calf from disease. However, if
calves are removed by birth, they are
transferred to calves pen. It is essential to
bucket feed the calves with 2-3 litres of
milk/day at the temperature of 37.5-38 oC.

10 07/30/2025
7
 The colostrum contains antibodies that
provide the overall disease resistance of
the calf during the first few weeks of life.
Colostrum, the first milking, contains large
quantities of the protective antibodies (quality
of the colostrum).
Adequate and timely consumption of
colostrum by the calf is a key factor that
controls early calf hood diseases and death
loss.
 Generally, the single most important
management factor that determines calf
health and survival is adequate colostrum
intake within the first 24 hours.
10 07/30/2025
8
 Timing of the first feeding of colostrum is
critical and should be done ideally within
the first hour or as soon as possible after
birth.
2 litter’s colostrum within the first hour of
birth and 2 litter’s colostrum 6 to 8 hours
after birth and 2 litters within 24 hours
after birth, total of 6 litters of colostrum
within 24 hours after birth.
Feed the cow’s milk, 4 to 5 litters 2 times
per day during the first 5 days.
10 07/30/2025
9
 Calf can be moved to the calf nursery for
feeding and weaning after 5 days.
 The calf’s ability to absorb colostrum is
limited; the gut’s ability to absorb the
antibodies diminishes rapidly after birth; thus
the quicker the colostrum is fed to the calf the
better protection the calf will have against
diseases.
Therefore, feeding 2 litters of colostrum
within the first hour is important and feeding
a total of 6 litters in the first 24 hours is
desirable.

11 07/30/2025
0
 Care of the dairy calf from weaning to 3
months
After calves have been weaned at 5 or 8 weeks old,
calves can be fed a maximum of 3 kilograms of calf
starter a day and good quality hay should be
available ad-lib to stimulate rumen development.
Milk ration can be reduced correspondingly, this
eliminating growth breaks. The amount of starter
diet fed depends on the rate of weight gain and
body condition desired of the calf.
Quality hay should be fed and medium moisture
silage and corn silage can also be used. Water
should be available at all times.
At 4 months of age, the calves should be
introduced to concentrate feeds of the cows. When
calves are 10 months old, grain can be
11 07/30/2025
1 discontinued if good quality roughage is fed.
 V. Caring for breeding bulls
The maintenance of breeding bulls in good
condition and suitable for breeding is highly
essential requirement for the success of
breeding programmes.
A rising condition is better for reproduction
than a falling one. Fat males may produce
semen of inferior quality or they may be
slow or fail at service.
Breeding bull should receive plenty of
exercise; will usually produce large
ejaculation containing more sperms of
higher activity.
11 07/30/2025
2
 A breeding bull should be housed separately
known as “Bull Shed” with sufficient area of
floor and proper covering.
provide cool conditions and adequate
drinking water. A balanced ration should be
fed containing adequate energy, proteins,
minerals, and vitamins.
Green fodder must be available both before
and during breeding season. Most of the
bulls are ferocious and so control them
properly using nose rings etc

11 07/30/2025
3
 A young bull can only be used to serve from
18 months old. Mating should be increased
gradually to three times a week because
more than this can exhaust and shorten the
reproductive life of a bull. If the bull was not
selected properly the progeny would be of
poor quality. To avoid inbreeding, bulls have
to be changed every two years, and are very
expensive.

11 07/30/2025
4
 3.4. General Management Practices of
Dairy animals
Sanitation and General
Cleanliness
Dehorning
Castration of bull calves
Identification
Culling and replacing

11 07/30/2025
5
 Sanitation and General Cleanliness
Sanitation and general cleanliness are
important to prevent digestive upsets and
diarrhoea.
The pens and stores as well as management
equipments must be thoroughly clean and
disinfect pen after one calf is removed and
before another calf enters.
Calves should be housed in warm
environment to prevent pneumonia.
Stalls usually 1.5x2m with solid partitions
between them are suitable to prevent calves
from sucking each other after milk feeding
11 and minimise spread of disease. 07/30/2025
6
 Group housing saves labour but provisions

must be made for individual milk feeding and

tying up of the calf for a short period after
milking to prevent them from sucking one
another. Diseases of one calf are easily
spread to other calves.

11 07/30/2025
7
 Dehorning
Horns are objectionable on animals in the
commercial herd because of possibility of
inflicting injuries of one another. The presence
of horns also necessitates the provision of
extra shed and feeding space and makes the
animal more difficult to handle.
It is therefore desirable that calves should be
dehorned at 2-4 weeks old. Several methods
are in use: Use of chemicals e.g KOH or NaOH,
use of saws, shears and clippers, and the
electric dehorner or hot iron dehorner etc.

11 07/30/2025
8
 Castration of bull calves
This results in a more symmetrical
development and balancing of body between
the fore and hind quarters. It makes animal
more quiet and easier to handle. The bull is
not prone to excitation, i.e. decreased libido.
Bull calves can be castrated from few weeks
to 8 months but best done at 4 months old.
Identification
Identification of calves should be done
immediately after birth to allow efficient and
proper recording

11 07/30/2025
9
 Culling and replacing
Culling is the basic management practice in
dairy cattle production and as a general
principle unproductive animals should be
culled from the herd. Some of the
reasons dairy cows culled are low milk
production, heavy injury, sever
disease, infertile, old age, anatomical
problem of the udder, aggressiveness,
genetic problems and shortage of
space in the farm.

12 07/30/2025
0
 4. REPRODUCTION AND BREEDING OF DAIRY CATTLE

Introduction
 Dairy cows are usually kept to produce milk and beef but the

production of offspring is also important, because of its big

influence on the milk and beef production on a farm.
 Reproductive performance is a measure of the number of

offspring per cow/year.

 Dairy cattle, was made up of cells, Among materials in cells,

all of which contribute to process known as life, is the

“genetic material”.
 Most of this genetic material is in 30 pairs of chromosomes

in cattle w/c determine animal’s genotype/ genetic makeup.

So improvement in animal performance was through

12
selection and mating system. 07/30/2025
1
 4.1. Reproductive System of Dairy Animal
1. Reproductive system of the bull
The male reproductive organs are two testes
and epididymes which are situated in the scrotum,
two vasa deferentia , the seminal vesicles, the
prostate gland, the Cowper’s glands and the penis.
 The bladder, which collects and excretes the urine, is closely

connected with the reproductive tract.

A testicle is made up of a semen producing part

(more precisely spermatozoa = active fertilizing

cells of male organism) and a hormone producing
part.
12 07/30/2025
2
 Male Reproductive tract
Cowper's Prostate
gland Bladder

Ampullae

Seminal
Vesicles
Vas
deferens
urethra

Penis
Retractor
muscles

Scrotum
Testis
Epididymis
12 07/30/2025
3
 Semen producing part consists of a large
number of small tubes that begin under the
surface of testicle and discharge into epididymis.
Hormones are a sort of messengers. They are

produced in certain glands and transported by

the bloodstream to their target organ. There
they stimulate or inhibit certain processes.
The hormones produced in the testicles have

very important functions.

They are of great influence on the development

of the reproductive tract in young animals.

12 07/30/2025
4
 The testicles are situated in the scrotum.

The main function of the scrotum is to

assure the right temperature for male
cell production.
To produce viable male cells, the testicles

must have a temperature that is 3 to 4 °C

below body temperature.
If the testicles get too cold, they are drawn

closer against the body; the skin of the

12
scrotum is wrinkled in this case. 07/30/2025
5
 When it is very warm, the testicles hang

further away from the body.

Scrotum temperature can also be controlled

by the blood flow to the scrotum surface.

 The epididymes are also situated in the

scrotum.
An epididymis forms a sort of coiled tube all

along one side of a testicle.

12 07/30/2025
6
 In these tubes the male cells are stored; at the

same time there is a ripening process.

An epididymis can be divided into a head part, a

body part & tail part.

There it discharges into the urethra (duct

through which urine is discharged from bladder).

Just before the vasa deferentia discharge

themselves into the urethra, they widen and

form the so-called ampullae (singular ampullae).

12 07/30/2025
7
  The ampullae secrete a fluid that is mixed with

the male cells when they leave the epididymes.

The two seminal vesicles are situated beyond the

ampullae. These glands also secrete a fluid that

is mixed with the semen.
In the urethra more fluid is added to the semen.

This comes from glands, the prostate gland and

the Cowper’s glands.
When an animal ejaculates, the male cells pass

from the epididymis through the vas deferens

12
8
into the urethra. 07/30/2025
  From there they pass into the penis and are excreted.

 On their way the male cells are mixed with fluids from

the d/t glands.

 The Semen:- is consists of male cells formed in

testicles and fluid from accessory male sex organs.

About 5% is fluid with male cells from epididymes.
 The quantity of semen that is ejaculated by animals

varies.
 A bull ejaculates 2 to 12 ml, a stallion 50 to 150 ml. In

small ruminants such as buck the amount of semen

12 per ejaculation is 1 to 3 ml. 07/30/2025

9
 In semen of a bull & small ruminants 500-

2000 mil. male cells/ml

The semen of stallions is less concentrated

and contains 50 -150 mil male cells/ml.

The movement of male cell can be seen

under a microscope. The motility of these

cells gives an indication of the quality of the
semen. A good motility is desired.

13 07/30/2025
0
 2. Reproductive system of the cow

Rectum
Cervix
Broad ligament
Vagina
Uterus Ute
rine
horn
Vulva Ovary
Pelvic bone Oviduct
Bladder

13 07/30/2025
1
 The cow not only provides the egg essential

for the beginning of a new animal, but also the

environment in which the new individual will
be conceived and nourished during the early
part of its life.
To carry out these functions, the cow has

primary and secondary organs of reproduction.

The primary organs of reproduction are the

ovaries which produce ova (plural of ovum =

egg) and female hormones.
13 07/30/2025
2
 The secondary organs of reproduction are the

oviducts, uterus, cervix, vagina and vulva.

The mammary gland (the udder of the cow) is

sometimes referred to as an accessory organ of

reproduction.
The reproductive tract of the cow lies in the pelvic

cavity and consists of the vulva, vagina, cervix,

uterus, the two oviducts and the ovaries plus
supporting structures. The bladder discharges into the
vagina.
 The vulva is the external part of the reproductive

13 tract and is the entrance to the vagina. 07/30/2025

3
  The vagina is continuous with vulva and extends

forward to cervix.
 The vagina serves as passage for semen & urine; it

is also birth canal

 The vagina is a thin-walled, tough and elastic

connective tissue organ.

 It is 20 to 30 cm long and tends to become longer

with age and the number of calving.

 The vagina also functions as the copulatory organ;

in natural mating the semen is deposited near the

13 cervix. 07/30/2025
4
 The vagina is chemically acid because of lactic

acid production by bacteria; this tends to prevent

bacterial infections.
Urine (and air) may accumulate in the relatively

large vaginal cavity if the walls are weak.

The cervix is a tough, muscular organ. It forms

the connection between the vagina and the

uterus.
It is about 7 to 12 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide,

generally depending on age and number of

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5
calving of the cow. 07/30/2025
 The cervix is firmly closed. It opens only when

the cow is calving and when the cow is on

heat it opens a little.
The uterus (womb):- is composed of two

parts, namely the uterine body and the

uterine horns.
 The opening of uterine body is the target for
semen deposition in AI.
It is continuous with the anterior opening of

the cervix and only about 2 cm in length.

13 07/30/2025
6
 The uterine wall contains glands that

secrete a substance called ‘uterine milk’

and a hormone.
The ‘milk’ nourishes the embryo between
the time of conception and the time the
foetal membranes begin to function.
The hormone (a prostaglandin) causes
regression of the corpusluteum if the cow
does not become pregnant.

13 07/30/2025
7
  The two oviducts (so-called Fallopian tubes)

are the tubular structures which carry the ovum

from an ovary to the uterus.
They are funnel-shaped at their ovarian end and

tortuous; the distance from an ovary to the

uterus is about 4 cm but an oviduct is about 20
cm long.
The funnel-shaped portion is the infundibulum of

the oviduct which enfolds the ovary and traps

the egg at the time of ovulation.
13 07/30/2025
8
 The ovaries are very important for

reproduction because they produce eggs and

oestrogens (female hormones).
A few days before oestrus follicles begin to

develop on the ovaries.

Follicles are fluctuating; fluid-filled, blister-like
structures each containing an egg (egg follicles
can be seen with the bare eye, in the slaughter
house).
One of these follicles grows faster and ruptures
about 30 hours after the beginning of heat; this
releases the egg into the infundibulum leaving
an ovulation cavity.
13 07/30/2025
9
 Following the rupture of the follicle, a
corpusluteum (CL or ‘yellow body’) forms in
the ovulation cavity.
The CL produces the hormone progesterone
which is essential for the maintenance of
pregnancy.

4.2. The Oestrus Cycle of the Cow

The oestrus cycle (also called ovarian

cycle) is defined as the period from the

beginning of one heat to the beginning of
the next.
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0
 With the cow this period lasts on average 21

days. At the beginning of this cycle the cow is

unusually active and she is then sexually
receptive; cow is said to be ‘in oestrus’ or, more
commonly, ‘in heat’.
The time of first oestrus in the heifer varies

from breed to breed and also depends on how

well the heifer has been fed.
Some well-fed dairy heifers may have their first

oestrus when they are six months old.

14 07/30/2025
1
  The heat period lasts on average 18 hours

with a range of 6 to 30 hours. About 90% of

cows stay in heat from 10 to 24 hours.
The most important part of heat period is

called standing heat period

This is when cow stands still when she is

mounted by bull to be mates

14 07/30/2025
2
 The ovaries of a cow contain numerous (many

thousands) ova (= eggs), most of which are in

resting stages.
During each oestrus cycle several of these eggs

become active.
Fluid-filled cavities are formed, each containing

an egg; they develop and enlarge and eventually

form blister-like structures called follicles.

14 07/30/2025
3
 One of these follicles matures into a

structure called Graafian follicle. The

remaining follicles regress.
During heat the pituitary starts secreting

Luteinizing Hormone (LH)

 Under the influence of LH, the Graafian

follicle bursts open about 10 to 14 hours

after the visible heat signs have disappeared
and the egg is released.
14 07/30/2025
4
 The Graafian follicle has another, important
function. The cells lining its wall produce
‘female hormones’= oestrogens, which
enter the blood and have profound effects
on the behaviour and physiology of the
female.
In addition to heat inducement, female
hormones cause:
growth and development of the
female reproductive tract,
growth of the muscle cells lining
the uterus,
14 07/30/2025
5
  increase of the blood supply throughout the

tract (at time of oestrus),

 contraction of uterine muscles (stimulation),

 production of mucus in the cervix and the

vagina (stimulation),
 development and maintenance of

secondary sex characteristics (‘feminity’).

14 07/30/2025
6
 Ovulation- is rupture of Graafian follicle
and release of its egg .
Ovulation takes place about 10-14 hours after

the end of oestrus (= after the visible heat

signs have disappeared).
The egg is trapped in funnel of oviduct &

carried into canal of oviduct

It is in this canal that fertilization takes place;

in other words: where the egg meets the male

14 07/30/2025
7 cells.
 Formation of corpusluteum (CL)
 cells which lined in cavity of Graafian

follicle continue to grow in size & multiply in

number until they fill cavity; then they form
Yellow body which is called CL .
The corpusluteum secretes progesterone,

the ‘pregnancy hormone’; the progesterone

release starts 2 to 3 days after end of heat
period.

14 07/30/2025
8
 The preparation of the uterus for pregnancy

that was begun by oestrogen is continued

by progesterone.
If the cow conceives (becomes pregnant),

the corpusluteum remains active and

continues producing progesterone during
the period of pregnancy.

14 07/30/2025
9
  Progesterone has the following functions during

pregnancy:
it prevents the cow from coming on
heat
the function of the hormone oxytoxin is
blocked,
it regulates the changes in the mucous
membranes in the uterus
 it plays a role in the formation of udder
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0
tissue. 07/30/2025
 ‘Releasing factors’ (FSHRF) are released
from the hypothalamus and cause the
release of FSH from the pituitary gland.
The FSH reaches the ovary and causes the

development of a follicle.

15 07/30/2025
1
  Phases of estrous cycle

 These periods occur in cyclical and

sequential manner except during time of

pregnancy and early post partum period
Estrus:- period when female will mate; It

lasts from 12-24 hours; The estrus period is

designated as day 0 or day 1; Behavioral
sign of estrus

15 07/30/2025
2
  Proestrus:-It marks the animals coming to heat; It
begins with the regression of corpus luteum and drop
of progesterone; The main distinguishing features of
this phase are the rapid follicle growth.
 Metestrus:- Begins with cessation of estrus;
Primarily a period of corpus luteum formation and
ovulation; It lasts for 3days(2-4 days)
 Diestrus:- The longest phase; In this phase the
formed corpus luteum will be fully functional and
there will be high level of progesterone in the blood;
Sometimes it is referred to as the period of
15 preparation of uterus for pregnancy. 07/30/2025
3
 Heat Detection
Heat detection has a major influence on the
length of the calving interval.
the length of the oestrus cycle varies from
18 to 24 days
Heat can be divided into three different
stages.
1. Early heat period
 At this stage the cow shows early signs of
heat. This stage may range from 0-6
hours

15 07/30/2025
4
 Signs of early heat are:

not standing when mounted;

attempts to mount other cows;
sniffing at other cows;
 chin resting; being restless; being
extra attentive; a wet and slightly
swollen vulva; bellowing.

15 07/30/2025
5
 2. Standing heat period
Early heat changes into standing heat.

This stage may range from 6-18 hours

The signs of standing heat are:

 standing while being mounted; this is the

clearest sign of heat;

 mounting other cows;

 chin resting; frequent bellowing and

restlessness;
15 07/30/2025
6  attentiveness, ‘ear play’; bending backbone
 3. Late heat period
This stage may range from 18-24 hours
Signs of the late heat period are:
Not standing when mounted;
the cow is sniffed by other cows
and is sometimes sniffing other
cows;
clear mucous discharge from
vulva;
dry mucus on tail.

15 07/30/2025
7
 Hours from beginning of standing
heat

15 07/30/2025
8
 4.3. Breeding of dairy cattle
4.3.1. Breeding methods of dairy animals

A). Natural service: This is where the cow is taken to a bull

and left for some time for the bull to serve.
 The advantages of this method are:

The cow has an opportunity to be served more than

once; this increase the chance of conception.

The semen is fresh and of good quality since there is

no handling.
15 07/30/2025
9
 Disadvantage

There is risk of spreading diseases.

There is risk of inbreeding if the bull is not

changed frequently
B) Artificial Insemination (AI)
is the most important single technique used for the genetic

improvement of the animals, because a few select males

produce enough sperm to inseminate thousands of females/yr

16 07/30/2025
0
 Advantage of AI

Genetic improvement, control of venereal diseases

Facilitate intensive selection of male animals for

breeding.
Service of superior bulls is made available to many

farmers.
Semen of superior sires can be used many years, even

after death.
16 07/30/2025
1
 Disadvantages of A.I

a bull is accepted for AI it should be examined with extreme

care.
Deficient heat detection is recognized as a major
management problem in connection with AI.
Considerable infrastructure and facilities are needed

Well trained operators are required

Possibility of human errors adversely affecting the fertility

of animals.
16 07/30/2025
2
 4.3.2. Methods of selection for dairy animal
a) Tandem methods of selection:
b) Independent culling levels
c) Selection index

Tandem methods of selection: is selection first for

one trait, and then for the second one, and so on.

16 07/30/2025
3
 Independent culling levels:

several traits are considered simultaneously, and a minimum

acceptable phenotypic level is set for each trait.

When an individual falls beyond the minimum phenotypic

value in any trait, it should be culled regardless of its

phenotypic merit in other trait.
Selection index: is the most efficient method for making

genetic improvement in dairy cattle.

In selection index the worth and importance of several traits

16
4
are considered simultaneously 07/30/2025
 Basis of selection for dairy animal

1. Individual selection: Selection is based on the

individuals own milk, teats, pelvic cavity and udder.

This is ideal for characters with high heritability.

• Where as in dairy cattle most of the economic traits

have low to moderate heritabilities.

16 07/30/2025
5
 2. Pedigree selection
This selection is based on information available
on the ancestors like parents, grandparents and
great grandparents.

The contribution beyond three generations is not

much to be considered in pedigree selection.

There are two types of pedigree selection system:

family selection and sib selection

16 07/30/2025
6
 Family selection: Whole families are selected or

rejected as units according to the mean phenotypic

value of the family.
The families may be full sibs or half sibs.

The method is useful when the character for which

selection is made has’ low heritability.

3. Progeny testing: The value of an individual is judged

by the mean value of its progeny known as breeding
value. It is equal to the sum of average effects of genes.
16 07/30/2025
7
 4.3.3. Mating System
There are many different systems for
mating animals.
The four basic systems of breeding are:-
A. inbreeding,
B. line breeding,
C. out crossing and
D. cross breeding.

16 07/30/2025
8
 A) Inbreeding: Inbreeding is the mating of
animals that are more closely related to each
other
Inbreeding increases the degree of genetic
homogeneity.
It increase homozygousity
During inbreeding, undesirable genes also
become homozygous
Inbreeding occur when one or more ancestors of
an animal contribute genes on both male and
female side.
16 07/30/2025
9
 Advantage of inbreeding
Undesirable recessive genes may be discovered

and eliminated by further testing in this line.

The progeny are more uniform.

It increases homozygosity and decreases genetic

17
0
variance. 07/30/2025
 Disadvantage of inbreeding
The progeny becomes more susceptible to diseases.

Breeding problems and reproductive failure usually

increases.

Inbreeding have little value in dairy cattle breeding

programmes, because of its numerous detrimental
effects.

sterility, decrease in birth weight, higher calf

17
mortality and lower milk fat yield 07/30/2025
1
 B) Line breeding:
 Line breeding is the mating of several
generations of offspring to a particular animal or
it descendents.

 It is an attempt to concentrate the superior genes

of a particular family or animal.

 In this type of breeding mating are made to

concentrate, the inheritance of desired characters
of some favored individuals.
17 07/30/2025
2
 C) Out crossing:
It is mating of unrelated pure bred animals in the
same breed.

The animals do not have common ancestors on

either side of their pedigree up to 4 to 6
generations and the offspring’s of such a mating
is known as the Out cross.

It is an effective system for genetic improvement

if carefully combined with selection. It is also
17
3
pure breeding. 07/30/2025
D) Cross breeding:
Crossbreeding is the mating of the sires of one
breed to the dams of another breed.

One of the main reasons to cross breed is to

increase heterosis or hybrid vigor.

It is followed for breeding animals for milk

production and meat production.

17 07/30/2025
4
 The offspring of these mating are usually more
productive and more resistant to disease and
have higher survivability and fertility rates.

 In general the cross breeds were found to have

higher birth weight,
faster growth rate,
earlier age at first calving,
higher lactation yield,
longer lactation period

17 07/30/2025
5
 E) Grading up:
Grading up is the practice of breeding in which the sires

of the exotic breed are mated with the non-discript

females and their off-spring from generation to
generation.
After five or six generations of grading up -a population

resembling the exotic breed results.

17 07/30/2025
6
 4.3.4. Economic characters in dairy cattle
The various economic characters in dairy cattle
management are:
Age at first calving
Service period
Milk yield
Lactation period
Milk Yield Persistency
Dry Period
Reproductive efficiency

17 07/30/2025
7
 Age at first calving: The age of the animal at first
calving is very important for high life time production.

Normally exotic breeds reach age at first calving than

the local one. Prolonged age at first calving will have
high production in the first lactation) but the life time
production will be decreased due to less no of calvings.

If the age at first calving is below optimum, the calves

born are weak, difficulty in calving and less milk
production in first lactation

17 07/30/2025
8
 Service period: It is the period between date of calving
and date of successful conception.

The optimum service period helps the animal to recover

from the stress of calving and also to get back the
reproductive organs back to normal.

If the service period is too prolonged the calving interval

prolonged, less no. of calvings will be obtained in her life
time and ultimately less life time production.

 If the service period is too short, the animal will become

weak and persistency of milk production is poor due to
17
9
immediate pregnancy. 07/30/2025
Milk yield: Milk yield over a lactation period is known as
milk yield. ‘The milk yield in local breeds is very low
compared to exotic breeds.
This is dependent on no. of calving, frequency of milking,
persistency of yield (Normally in dairy cattle 30 - 40 %
increase in milk production from first lactation to maturity is
observed.
After 3 or 4 lactation the production starts declining. After
parturition the milk yield per day will be increased and
reaches peak within 2-4 weeks after calving. This yield is
known as peak yield.
The maintenance of peak yield for more time is importance
for better milk production.

18 07/30/2025
0
 Lactation period:

The length of milk producing period after calving is

known as lactation period.

The optimum lactation period is 305 days. The milk

production will be less, if this period is shortened”.

Local breeds will have less lactation period, but in some

breeds this period is more with very little milk

production.

18 07/30/2025
1
Milk Yield Persistency: During lactation period
the animal reaches maximum milk yield per day
within 2-4 weeks which is called peak yield.
For high level of lactation yield, this peak yield
should be maintained for longer period as far as
possible, the maintenance of peak yield for long
period is known as persistency, slow decrease in
dairy milk yield after reaching peak yield is
necessary.
High persistency is necessary to maintain high
level of milk production.
18 07/30/2025
2
 Dry Period: It is the period from the date of drying (stop
of milk production) to next calving.
The animal should be given rest period to compensate for
growth of foetus. A minimum of 2 - 2½ months dry period
should be allowed.

If the dry period is not given or too low, the animals suffer
from stress and in next lactation, the milk production drops
substantially and also it gives weak calves.

On the other hand if the dry period given is too high, it
may not have that much effect on increasing milk yield in
the next lactation, but it decrease the production in the
18 present lactation. 07/30/2025
3
 Reproductive efficiency: The reproductive efficiency
means the more number of calves during life time, so that
total life time production is increased.

The reproduction or breeding efficiency is determined by

the combined effect of hereditary and environment.

Several measures of breeding efficiency like number of

services per conception, calving interval, and days from
first breeding to conception are useful.

Reproductive efficiency has generally a low heritability

value indicating that most of the variations in this trait is
18
4
due to non genetic factors. 07/30/2025
 Efficiency of feed utilization and conversion

into milk: The animal should utilize the feed

efficiently to convert into the milk.

Disease resistance: local breeds are more resistant

to majority of disease compared to exotic cattle.

Cross breeding helps to get this character.

18 07/30/2025
5
 5. FEEDS AND FEEDING DAIRY CATTLE

5.2. digestive system of dairy cattle

Dairy cows and other animals such as sheep, goats,

buffaloes, camels and giraffes are herbivores because

their diets are composed primarily of plant material.
• Many herbivores also are ruminants.

• This chewing activity called rumination, is part of the

processes that allow a ruminant to obtain energy from

plant cell walls also called fiber.
18 07/30/2025
6
 Fiber is the structure that gives strength and rigidity to

plants and is the main constituent of grass stems and other

plant stems.
Complex sugars (cellulose, hemicellulose) are locked

within the plant cell wall and remain inaccessible for non
ruminant animals.
However, the microbial population that lives in the

reticulum and the rumen allows the cow to obtain energy

from the fiber.
18 07/30/2025
7
 THE FOUR COMPARTMENTS OF STOMACHS

1&2. Reticulum and rumen

 The reticulum and the rumen are the first two stomachs of

ruminants. The contents of the reticulum is mixed with that of the

rumen almost continuously (once every minute).

 Both stomachs, often referred to as the reticulo-rumen, share a

dense population of micro-organisms (bacteria, protozoa, and fungi).

 The rumen is a large fermentation vessel

18 07/30/2025
8
 Fiber particles remain in the rumen from 20 to 48 hours

because bacterial fermentation of fiber is a slow process.

However, particles that digest faster tend to stay in the
rumen for a shorter period of time.
The reticulum is the "crossroad" where particles entering or

leaving the rumen are sorted. Only particles that are small
is size (< 1-2 mm) and dense (> 1.2 g/ml) may move on to
the third stomach.

18 07/30/2025
9
 3. Omasum
The third stomach or omasum is round and has a
capacity of about 10 liters. The omasum is a small
organ with great absorption capacity.
 It allows the recycling of water and minerals such as
sodium and phosphorus which return to the rumen
through the saliva. Since the modes of digestion in the
rumen and the abomasum differ drastically, the
omasum acts as an organ of transition between these
two organs.
The omasum is absent in camels, llamas and alpacas
(pseudoruminants).

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0
4. Abomasum
The fourth stomach is the abomasum. This stomach is like

the stomach of non ruminants.

It secretes a strong acid and many digestive enzymes. In

nonruminants, ingested feeds are first digested in the

abomasum.
However, the material entering the abomasum of a ruminant

is made up primarily of unfermented feed particles, some

end-products of microbial fermentation and microbes which
19 grew in the rumen. 07/30/2025
1
 Small intestine (digestion and absorption)
Secretion of digestive enzymes by the small intestine
Enzymatic digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and
lipids.
Absorption of some water, minerals and products of
digestion:
glucose, amino acids and fatty acids.

Cecum (fermentation) and large intestine

A usually small microbial population ferments the
unabsorbed
products of digestion.
19Absorption of water and feces formation. 07/30/2025
2
 SOME DEFINITIONS

Absorption is the passage of the products of digestion

and other simple compounds from the digestive tract

into the blood.
Digestion is the first step in a series of processes that

break down complex particles (feed or microbes) into

simple substances that can be used by the body.
A strong acid and many digestive enzymes are secreted

into the digestive tract to digest food.

19 07/30/2025
3
 Metabolism refers to the changes that the
absorbed products of digestion (nutrients)
undergo during their utilization by the body.

Nutrients may be degraded by tissues of

the body to obtain energy to maintain vital
functions, and to accomplish work (eating,
walking, ruminating, etc.).

Nutrients also may be used as precursors

for the synthesis of tissues (muscle, fat)
and in the case of a dairy cows the
19
synthesis of milk. 07/30/2025
4
 In general, ruminant animals can use a greater
variety of food sources than non-ruminant
animals.

The microbes living within the reticulo-rumen

allow ruminants to convert fibrous feed
(forages, crop residues and industrial by-
products) and non-protein nitrogen (ammonia,
urea) into highly nutritious and palatable food
for humans (milk, meat).

19 07/30/2025
5
  Fibrous feed is necessary for the health of the
cow because it maintains rumination and saliva
production which are necessary for the proper
function of the rumen and to obtain the desired
bacterial population within the rumen.

 A cow can eat forages (low energy feed) and

19
6
concentrates (usually high energy feed). 07/30/2025
 However, large additions of concentrates to a
ration should be gradual (over a period of four
to five days) to allow the population of bacteria
in the rumen to adapt to the new diet.

The feces of ruminants are rich in organic

matter (undigested microbial debris) and
inorganic matter (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and
Potassium), which are excellent fertilizers.

19 07/30/2025
7
 5.2. Classification of Feed Resources
A simple way of classifying feeds is to group
them as bulk feed (roughages), concentrates
and mineral and vitamin supplements.

Bulk feeds (roughages)

Roughages are bulky, fibrous feeds that are
relatively low in energy like hay, pasture,
elephant grass, forage legumes etc either in the
fresh state or in preserved forms such as hay or
silage and crop residues.
19 07/30/2025
8
 They provide most of the energy and bulk an
animal needs and will make up most of the diet.
They are divided into two categories:
 Succulent: - Green feeds containing >60%
water content, e.g., green grass
 Dry feed: - Contains less moisture content
(15 to 20 %), e.g., hay, straw
Generally Roughages are
 Bulky feeding materials.
 Fibrous and having fiber content of
C.F.>18%.
19
 Low in energy content. 07/30/2025
9
Concentrate Feed
Concentrates are :-
a feed which supplies primary nutrients (protein,
energy and fat) at higher level
 contain less than 18% of Crude Fiber (CF) content.
 Contain higher dry matter content and a higher
digestibility.
 Example of Concentrates are most feed stuffs
such as grain, bran, and middling’s are energy
feeds and Certain forages (e.g. legumes),
commercial dairy concentrates and cereal by-
products are high in protein.
20 07/30/2025
0
 These are feeds with a higher concentration of
energy or protein or both, i.e. more nutrients per
volume or weight of feed compared to forages.
The major function of a concentrate is:
 to supply the additional nutrient required for
maximum milk production that cannot be provided
by forages.

Concentrate are fed in relatively small amounts

together with the bulk feeds and are most often
fed to productive animals such as lactating or
pregnant cows.
20 07/30/2025
1
 Minerals and vitamins
Mineral and vitamin supplements are usually
available in the form of powders to be offered
with the concentrates and in the form of blocks
to be offered as licks.
Although classical mineral or vitamin deficiency
symptoms are rare, in many cases under- and
overfeeding of certain minerals and vitamins
does occur.
Even small imbalances or deficiencies can
develop into reproductive, health, and milk
production problems.
20 07/30/2025
2
 Vitamins fall into two groups: fat soluble and

water soluble. The water soluble vitamins are

synthesized in the rumen thus only the fat
soluble (A, D, E) are required in the diet.

Vitamin K is not required in the ration because it

is synthesized in the rumen.

20 07/30/2025
3
 5.3. Nutrient Requirement of Dairy cattle
 The term requirement is defined as the amount of the

nutrient that must be supplied in the ration to meet the

needs of the normal healthy animal.

The requirements of the different nutrients vary

depending on several factors.

Basically they can be considered as maintenance

requirements and production requirements.

20 07/30/2025
4
 Maintenance requirement is the requirement of

nutrients to just maintain the animal without losing body

weight.

It depends on the size of the animal, which is usually

measured in terms of its weight.

The living animal uses up mainly energy and proteins and

also small quantities of other nutrients, just to maintain the

20 07/30/2025
5 body mechanisms functioning.
 Production requirement is the requirement

of nutrients for the various production

functions. The different production functions
require varying amounts of nutrients.

The major classes of nutrients required by dairy

cows are water, energy, proteins, minerals and

20
6
vitamins. 07/30/2025
20 07/30/2025
7
5.4. Ration Formulation for Dairy Cattle
Ration formulation is a process by which different
feed ingredients are combined in proportion
necessary to provide the animal with proper amount
of nutrients needed at a particular stage of
production.

It requires the knowledge about nutrients, feed

stuffs and status of the animal itself.

 Different species, strains or class of animals have

different requirements for energy, proteins, minerals
20
8 and vitamins. 07/30/2025
 Factors to be considered in making
good feed formulation are:
Acceptability to the animal
Digestibility of the feed
Cost
Presence of anti-nutritional factors
and toxins
Balanced rations: A ration is balanced when
all the nutrients an animal requires are present
in the feed the animal consumes during a 24-
20
hour period. 07/30/2025
9
 Dry matter (DM) intake: the dry matter intake

differ widely with individual cows but in general

ranges from 2.5 to 2.8%of body weight for lower
producing cows, & from 3.3 to 3.6% of body
weight for higher producing cows.

21 07/30/2025
0
 5.4.1. Methods of rations formulation
There are several methods in formulating
rations. All of them have the same objectives of
providing the required balanced nutrients at the
least possible cost. The following methods are
used:
1. Pearson square methods
2. Simultaneous equation methods
3. Trial-and error method
4. Linear programming (LP)

21 07/30/2025
1
 6. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF LACTATION
6.1. Mammary Gland Development
The mammary gland is the milk secreting structure,
which includes a teat, a duct system and lobes (lobules)
of secretory tissue drained by the duct system.

Mammary glands are sweat (sudoriferous) glands, which

secretes milk (exocrine gland) and serve as accessory
glands to the reproductive system.

Mammogenesis is the term used to describe the

development of the mammary gland.

21 07/30/2025
2
 The development and function of the mammary gland
occurs through a cyclical process that changes during
the physiological states of pregnancy, lactation, and
involution.

Mammary development begins when the animal is an

early fetus and proceeds beyond initiation of lactation.

The mammary gland is one of a few tissues in

mammals, which can repeatedly undergo growth,
functional differentiation, and regression.

21 07/30/2025
3
 6.1.1. Embryonic and foetal development
The early embryo has three layers, which
ultimately give rise to various tissues and organs
of the body.

These layers are:-

1. ectoderm (outer layer),
2. mesoderm (middle layer) and
3. endoderm (inner layer).

The mammary gland is derived from the ectoderm

21
and the mesoderm layers. 07/30/2025
4
 Upon cell multiplication, aggregation and
differentiation, four structure called mammary buds are
formed.
The mammary bud is represented by the end of the teat

in the area of the streak canal.

21 07/30/2025
5
 6.2. Anatomy and Physiology of the Udder
The udder is a complex organ made up of a

series of systems, which includes

A supportive system.

A secretory system composed of epithelial

cells.
A duct system for storage and conveyance

of milk.
Blood, lymph, and nerve systems.
21 07/30/2025
6
 Mammary support system

21 07/30/2025
7
 6.3. Factors Affecting Milk Yield and Milk Composition
Milk composition and production are the results of
interactions of many elements within the cow and her
external environments.

During lactation milk yield and its constituents

fluctuate widely due to genetic and environmental
factors.

Factors altering the composition and yields of milk are

generally categorized as genetic, physiological and
environmental.

21 07/30/2025
8
 I. Genetic factor
Breed and individuality of the cow
There are obvious differences in milk composition and yield
among the various breeds of dairy cattle.

Fat is the most variable constituent of milk where as minerals

(ash) and lactose are the least variable.

Differences in gene frequencies controlling the quantity and

quality of milk components largely account for the average
genetic differences among breeds.

Both milk yield and composition vary considerably among

breeds of dairy cattle.

21 07/30/2025
9
 II. Environmental factors
Nutrition
Nutrition is the most important determinant and a deficiency
of nutrients, especially protein or energy will lower milk
yield.

Underfeeding cows reduces milk production and lactose

percentage but increases the fat, protein and mineral content
of milk.

Feeding an adequate ration reverses these symptoms.

As a general rule, any ration that increases milk production

22 usually reduces the fat percentage of milk. 07/30/2025
0
 Temperature :-Increasing environmental temperatures

increases the respiratory rate, increase depression and

decrease milk yield

Age, disease and drugs

Milking interval:-Intervals between milking affect both

quantity and composition of milk.

22 07/30/2025
1
 Milking frequency
Cows are usually milked twice daily. Milking a twice a

day yields at least 40% more milk than once a day.

Increasing milking frequency to three times day increases

milk yield by 20% (range 5-20%).

The increase is usually highest for first lactation cow and

declines as the cow gets older.

22 07/30/2025
2
 Milking duration

 The ideal milking duration is 5-6 minutes for machines and 7 minutes
for hand milking.

 Cows milked for 4 minutes for an entire lactation produced less milk,
especially during early lactation, than similar cows milked for 8
minutes.

Changing in milking procedure

 Cows are creatures of habits. If there is any change in the procedure of

milking practice, it will affect milk production.

 For example, change in milking time, milkers or environment that

makes cows nervous, these all leads to up- holding of milk by the cow.
22 07/30/2025
3
 Completeness of milking
The first milk drawn from the udder contains about 1.4%

fat while the last milk (or strippings) contains about 8.7%
fat.

Thus, it is essential to milk the cow completely and

thoroughly mix all the milk removed before taking a

sample for analysis.

22 07/30/2025
4
 III. Physiological factors
Stage of lactation and persistency

22 07/30/2025
5
 6.4. Practices of Milking and Milk handling
Milk contains approximately :-
o 86% water,
o 4.7% sugar (lactose),
o 4.1% fat,
o 4.2% protein and
o 1% minerals.

It supports the growth of micro-organisms and thus is

prone to contamination.

The purpose of milking a dairy cow is to obtain milk that

is fit for human consumption.
22 07/30/2025
6
 A. Milking is the removal of milk from the udder with
involvement of human activity.
Purpose of milk extraction:- for human consumption

or feeding young animal itself.

Dairy cows has to be milked twice or thrice every day.

Usually first milking is done at early morning

considering the market convenience.

22 07/30/2025
7
 Milking should be conducted cleanly, quietly, gently,

quickly and completely.

Depending upon the method adopted for, milking can

be two types such as hand milking and machine

milking

22 07/30/2025
8
 Machine milking-Milking with help of milking machine when large number of high yielding dairy cows has to be milked.

22 07/30/2025
9
 Advantages of machine milking

o Considerable amount of labour can be saved and helps to

minimize cost of production.

o Enables quicker and hygienic milking, with minimum

contamination
o Since few animals can be milked simultaneously, saves
time
o Minimizes damage to udder tissue and reduces udder
ailments
23 07/30/2025
0
 Disadvantages include

o Requires high initial investment & maintenance

cost
o Complete milking is not possible
o Certain cows will not co-operate with machine
milking
o Milk from individual quarters cannot be obtained
or discarded separately
o Improper cleaning of the machine deteriorates
23
1
milk quality 07/30/2025
 7. DAIRY HERD HEALTH CARE
Introduction
Disease is defined as any abnormal structure or
functional change in the tissues of animal.
The direct or indirect causes of disease are numerous
and in cattle we condense them into:-
Traumation (injury to body)
 chemical causes,
 faulty nutrition,
 poisons of various kinds,
internal and external parasites,
bacteria, viruses and congenital(existing
23
since birth) conditions. 07/30/2025
2
 7.1. Disease Prevention and Control
Disease prevention
 Most diseases can be prevented by the same measures
that enhance production! General preventive measures
are:
Hygiene.
Cleaning and disinfecting. Remember disinfection is
useless without cleaning thoroughly beforehand.
Water. Always ensure free access to clean and fresh
water.
Good feed and regular feeding.
Shelter for protection against bad weather
 Regular light exercise.
23 07/30/2025
3 A peaceful environment (avoid unrest and stress).
 Health control: regular observation
Regular observation of cattle at ease is a must, both
for health control and for being able to tell whether a
cow is in heat.
 During observation of the animal, check the following
points:
Behaviour: Does it react normally to its
environment or is it acting strangely?

Attitude: Does it carry its head, ears, body and tail

as usual? And gait: is there any change in the way
it moves about?

23 07/30/2025
4
 Condition: Is the animal in good condition, and is it
well muscled?

Does it eat, drink and ruminate properly?

Does it urinate and defecate as usual? If a cow is

being milked, the milk yield should be watched. Any
sudden drop in milk yield is a sign of discomfort.

Does anything else abnormal catch your eye?

23 07/30/2025
5
 Disposal of a dead animal
 If an animal is found dead, the meat should not be sold
or eaten.
 Neither should you leave the body somewhere to rot.
 Preferably, it should be burnt.
 Otherwise it can be buried deep (3 to 4 metres) under
the ground.
 If a diseased animal is killed in agony on farm (just
before natural death), it is also not recommended that
you sell or eat the meat.
 Beware of diseases dangerous to man, such as anthrax.
 In suspected cases of anthrax, do not open the body

23
(the blood is highly contagious), and burn or bury the
07/30/2025
6 animal.
  Causes of Disease

 Mechanical Causes

This are involved not only in external injuries but also

in such conditions as stomatitis due to arms (a long

sharp slime on a seed), mechanical premonia, traumatic
gastitis (inflammation of things of the stomach), and
injuries due to interference during giving birth
(Parturition) by laymen.

23 07/30/2025
7
  Chemicals

This may produce injury by caustic action but the main

abnormal conditions are due to absorption of chemical

poisons following accidental access, or of toxic drugs
following their faculty administration.
 Faulty Nutrition

This is also in valued in the etiology of many diseases of

animals and the cattle husbandry should posses the latest

23 knowledge on nutrition and nutritional deficiencies.
07/30/2025
8
  Bacteria, Viruses and Protozoan’s

These invade the body in various ways, mainly through

the digestive, respiratory, and genitor-urinary tracts and

the skin.
The ability of the infective agent to cause disease

depends upon the virulence of the organisms, degree of

exposure (number of organisms) and the resistance of
the host.

23 07/30/2025
9
 Parasitic disease
 External Parasites

 External parasite cause disease in cattle and they are mainly ticks

and biting flies. , lice, mange mite etc.

 In short, they cause what is called rickettsial diseases which include

heart water which is symptomised by high fever, herrous signs, and

combustion or may be sudden death.

 Control: Practicing spraying of medicines, Washing, dipping with

07/30/2025
24
0
appropriate medicament.
  Internal parasites: Lung worm, Liver fluke, Tape

worm, Asccaris, Fasciola

Symptoms: - Reduction in milk production, retarded

growth, loss of appetite, weakens, standing of hairs

Predisposing factors: Water logged and wet areas,
High stoking rate in the infestation area.
Treatment: - Use Antihelmenthes

Control: - Avoid grazing on wet or water logged area

 - Proper grazing system

24 07/30/2025
1
 7.2. Common Dairy Cow Diseases and
Disorders :-
7.2.1. Metabolic disease (disorder)
7.2.2. Reproductive disease

7.2.1. Metabolic disease (disorder)

I. Ketosis (acetonaemia or low blood sugar)
II. Milk Fever (hypocalcaemia)
III. Acidosis

24
IV. Bloat 07/30/2025
2
 1. Ketosis, or acetonaemia, is a metabolic disorder in cattle
associated with an inadequate supply of the nutrients
necessary for the normal carbohydrate and fat
metabolism that is seen mainly in times of high milk
production in early lactation.

During early lactation, the energy intake is insufficient to

meet the energy output in milk and the animal is in a
negative energy balance.

24
3
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is the major factor
involved in the onset and development of clinical signs of
ketosis.

 Ketosis affects high producing cows during the first 6-8

weeks of lactation when cows are in negative energy
balance.

Ketosis occurs when energy intake fails to meet the

requirements for high glucose production, necessary for
maintenance and milk lactose production.

24 07/30/2025
4
 The excessive ketone bodies in the bloodstream come
from the breakdown of fat when the animal is forced to
draw on its bodily reserves for energy.

Although the metabolism of body fat provides energy for

cows, the nervous system is dependent on glucose, and the
ketones produced as a result of excessive fat metabolism
can have toxic effects.

The excess ketone bodies are eliminated in the urine, milk

and breathe of the animal.

24
5
 Clinical signs of Ketosis:

 lack of appetite (refusal to eat even concentrates) and

 a sudden drop in milk output.

 a sweet smell of acetone in the urine, breath and milk.

 Cows will have raised blood ketone levels and may

excrete ketones in urine and milk.

 gradual loss of body condition over several days or even

weeks.

24
6
 Prevention of Ketosis:
It may be prevented by management strategies that
maintain a good appetite and supply adequate feed to meet
this appetite during the late dry period and immediately
after calving.
Diagnosis: a test on the urine for ketone bodies.
Treatment:
intravenous injection of glucose solution,
injection of calcium gluconate (if the disease is
associated with milk fever),
feeding of molasses or corn sugar (which provides
readily digestible energy and stimulates the appetite.

24
7
 2. Milk Fever (hypocalcaemia)
Milk fever is a common metabolic disorder in
dairy cattle that generally affects older, high
producing cows.

It may also be referred to as parturient paresis

or hypocalcaemia.

At the beginning of lactation high yielding

cows experience a sudden rise in demand for
calcium to replace the large amount lost
24
8 through milk.
 This may result in great decrease in blood calcium if the
cow is not able to replenish the calcium fast enough,
causing a disease called milk fever.

The majority of milk fever cases occur within 48 to 72

hours of calving when demand for calcium for milk
production exceeds the body’s ability to mobilize
calcium reserves.

Low blood calcium interferes with muscle function

throughout the body causing general
 weakness,
 loss of appetite and
24  eventually heart failure. 07/30/2025
9
 Signs of milk fever:
o At first, cow experiences muscle tremors,
o lack of appetite, and unsteadiness.
o Eventually, cow is unable to rise,
o body temperature falls, and constipation occurs.
o Cows go down to a sitting position often with a
kink in her neck.
o Death can occur if the cow is not treated
promptly.
25
0
 Prevention of milk fever: Management of the diet

can be a valuable aid in preventing milk fever.

The key to prevention of milk fever is management of

a close-up dry cow which should be kept on a low

calcium diet.

This stimulates their calcium regulatory system to keep the

blood levels normal by mobilizing the body stores from
25 the bone. 07/30/2025
1
 When the demand for calcium increases at calving,

calcium can be mobilized much more rapidly thus

preventing milk fever.

In early lactation, high yielding cows should receive as

much calcium as possible.

Treatments: intravenous injection of calcium gluconate.

25
2
 3. Acidosis
Acidosis is a syndrome related to a fermentative disorder

of the rumen resulting in overproduction of acid resulting

in lowering of rumen pH below pH 5.5.

The problem is related to feeding management, where the

ration has high levels digestible carbohydrates and low

effective fiber.

25
3
 Acidosis commonly occurs when switching from a high

fiber to high concentrate diet (that is rich in fermentable

carbohydrates (starches and sugars).

Large amounts of starch and sugar stimulate bacteria that

make lactic acid.

 In a normal, healthy rumen, lactic acid production equals

lactic acid use.

25 07/30/2025
4
 Large amounts of starch and sugar stimulate bacteria that

make lactic acid.

In this instance, bacteria that normally use lactic acid

cannot keep up with production.

Causes of acidosis

 Diets very high in readily fermentable carbohydrates and low in

roughage
 Very fast switch from high forage to high concentrate.

 Excessive particle size reduction by feeding finely chopped

25 forage
5
 Signs of acidosis

Low milk fat test (one of the end products of fiber

digestion (acetate) is a precursor of milk fat

synthesis.
Diarrhea (Accumulation of acid causes an influx

of water from the tissues into the gut resulting in

diarrhea.
The faeces are foamy with gas bubbles. There is

25
6
an appearance of mucin/fibrin casts in faeces).
 4. Bloat- is the abnormal accumulation of gas in the rumen.

 It occurs when diets that lead to the formation of a stable froth or

foam in the rumen are fed, or caused by failure to eructate rumen

gases leading to accumulation (e.g. oesophageal obstruction).

 When bloat occurs, gases cannot escape and they continue to

o build up causing severe distension of the abdomen,

o compression of the heart and lungs, and
o eventually death.
25
7
  Predisposing factors

Bloat is a risk when animals are grazing young, lush

pasture, particularly if the pasture has high legume content

(clover or lucerne).

Ruminant animals produce large volumes of gas during

the normal process of digestion which is either belched or

passes through the gastrointestinal tract.

25
8
 If anything interferes with the gas escape from the rumen,
bloat occurs.

 Natural foaming agents in legumes and some rapidly

growing grasses cause a stable foam to form in the rumen.

Gas is trapped in small bubbles in this foam in the rumen

and the animal cannot belch up the gas.

Pressure builds up in the rumen causing an obvious

swelling on the left side of the body.

25
9
  Signs of bloat

 Animal stops grazing and is reluctant to walk

 The left side of abdomen is distended

 The animal strains to urinate and defecate

 Rapid breathing

 mouth may be open with tongue protruding

26
0
 Prevention of Bloat

Pasture management: Legumes should be introduced

into the diet gradually over several days.

Avoid cows gorging on new pastures by feeding them on

other feeds before letting them out to graze

Cutting and wilting the pasture for 2 - 3 hours prior to

feeding reduces the risk of bloat.

Preventative medication: Detergents and anti-foaming

agents can be drenched prior to grazing.

26
1
Treatment

Inserting wooden stick in the cow’s mouth to initiate

eructation and
enforcing the animals to run on hilly sides.

A sharp knife can be used to puncture the rumen on the left

side of the animal (at the farm level as an emergency).

As last measure puncturing the rumen with the standard

trocar and cannula is a quickest way to release the gas

which cannot be expelled with a stomach tube.
26
2
 7.2.2. Reproductive disease
1. Mastitis
2. Brucellosis
1. Mastitis
Mastitis is an infection (inflammation) of the
udder caused by microorganisms (bacteria)
entering the quarter through the teat end.

When the bacteria load becomes too high due

to dirty environment or damaged teats
(allowing invasion), infection may occur.
26 07/30/2025
3
 Most of the mastitis cases (about 95%) are subclinical

(show no signs) but result in lower milk production and

higher cell count (an indicator of milk spoilage).
When stress occurs, subclinical mastitis flares up and

become clinical.
Causes of Mastitis

Bacteria are by far the most common causes of mastitis.

Chief pathogens include

 Streptococcus agalactiae
26
4
 Staphylococcus aureus 07/30/2025
 Clinical signs:

clots in the milk,

swelling of infected quarter,
secretion of abnormal milk
swollen quarter or udder;
cow may have a fever,
loss of appetite,

26
dehydration and death may occur.07/30/2025
5
  Detection of Mastitis
1. Strip cup: The strip cup is an important in the milking parlor
for determining the presence of clinical mastitis.
 The test is rapid and can easily be adapted as a part of milking
routine.

 Few streams of the foremilk are squirted onto the strip cup and
are visually examined for milk abnormalities.

 The strip cup test should be conducted on every cow at every

milking and milk from any cow found to have abnormal milk
should be withhold from the supply.

2. California mastitis test: The California Mastitis Test (CMT)

estimates the number of somatic cells present in the milk.
26 07/30/2025
6
 Prevention methods
Proper milking hygiene: Bacteria are transmitted
from infected to uninfected through hands of the
milker.

Thus the milers’ hands should be washed thoroughly

with disinfected soaps before milking

clinically infected cows should be milked last.

Teats should be cleaned and dried before milking.

26 07/30/2025
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 2. Brucellosis
It is another bacterial disease of dairy animals having
public health importance.
Symptoms: late abortion, retained placenta, infertility,
Affection of reproductive system also leads to
infertility in both males and females, while affection of
joints causes arthritis and lameness.
Diagnosis- blood agglutination test
Prevention- vaccination at calf hood (4-8 months old
heifers),
burning the aborted placenta uterine exudates and
disinfected contaminated calving pens.
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 8. IDENTIFICATION AND RECORD KEEPING
In order to make improvements in animal husbandry there
is a need of basic data.

These are birth dates, identity and pedigree of animals,

calving dates, production data, milk-recording, artificial
insemination, general health etc.

Recording provide a basis for:

 Evaluation of the animals in the herd,
 Selection in the herd,
 planning of mating and avoidance of inbreeding,
 replacement of stock,
 planning of feeding and comparison of different herds.
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 Dairy records should be simple, complete, accurate, up
to-date and understandable.
8.1. Accurate Identification
 Individual cow identification is playing an important role in
day-to-day herd management decisions.

 Proper identification becomes more difficult as herd sizes
increase.

 The overall objective of proper identification is to ensure that

each animal can be followed from the time it is born to when it
is sold or slaughtered.

 In this way, herd managers can monitor daily, visually or

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27
0 electronically, all parameters about individual cows.
 8.2. Dairy herd recording
In view of the growing need for information it is

essential to have access to more reliable data for

decision-making.

Therefore, the herd manager should keep records

regarding animal performance, such as milk

production, breeding and animal health of all his
27 animals from birth until they are disposed off. 07/30/2025
1
 Only if these records are kept properly, they can assist
in making the right decision at the right time.
Milk production records are a must for today’s
dairyman to make optimal dairy farm management
decisions.
 It also provide dairymen with information about items
effecting breeding efficiency, such as:-
when to dry-off,
calving date,
calving interval,
when to breed,
number of inseminations per pregnancy, and so on.
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 Computerized herd management system
The success of computer information depends mainly
on the daily input of information by the dairy manager
and his staff. Complete records are essential to achieve
optimal values.
Generally records are important to farmers because
they can help farmers in many ways such as in
making:-
• Management decisions
• Financial accounting
• Identifying problems
• Planning for the future
• Determining whether targets are met
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3
  Several types of records are kept which include:
I. Ancestry or genetic records. These include the maternal and
paternal records

II. Breeding records -sire, date of breeding, pregnancy confirmation,

date of calving, and particulars of calf.

III. Veterinary records - disease type, date and treatment

IV. Production - amount of milk (daily, weekly or monthly), butter fat,

drying date.

V. Feed records - these could be amount of concentrate fed for pasture

grazed animals or the totals amount fed for zero grazed animals.

27VI. Financial records - all financial transactions should be recorded.

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4
 The general guidelines for proper herd administration
management are:
 having a reliable cow identification system

 recording daily all data relating to the herd’s state of affairs;

 monitoring daily general herd data, milk production

performance, and breeding data; never overlooking ration
composition for optimal milk production;

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5
 choosing a computer software programme
providing you with the required information;

retrieving daily attention lists for appropriate

management actions to be taken;

evaluating and comparing your dairy business

results with optimal herd parameters;

never overlooking the economic aspects of

27
your dairy business. 07/30/2025
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