Facility management. For healthy, high producing replacement animals, provide high quality housing and a management plan that addresses animals needs. Good management, understanding what to do and then doing it on schedule, is important to the success of any housing system. Sanitation, stall maintenance, bedding, ventilation control, feeding, herd health, treatment and close observation are all important management practices.
Young animals may need training andor time to get accustomed to using freestalls. Daily or routine chores such as feeding, stall maintenance or manure removal should be made as convenient as possible to make sure they are accomplished in a timely manner. Herd size and makeup Herd size can mean either the number of cows actually milking or mature cows both dry and milking. In this handbook, the herd size is the number of mature cows. Typical herd makeup, assuming uniform calving year-round, is given in Table 1. The numbers in the table reflect no culling of heifers or calves.
Use this table to determine housing needed for each management group. Provide Ø Calf housing 0-2 months. Ø Transition housing 3-5 months. Ø Heifer housing ü 6-8 months ü 9-12 months ü 13-15 months breeding age ü 16-24 months The number of replacement animals to be housed depends on the number of milking cows and bred heifers.
As herd size increases, so does number of replacements. Increasing herd size without expanding facilities for replacements results in crowding which can increase injury, disease transmission, and lower growth rates. Table 1. Typical management categories of a herd. Numbers assume uniform calving year-round, 12 months calving interval, first calving at 24 months of age, all males sold at birth, a 30 culling rate, 0 mortality and a stable herd size. This table is only a management guideline.
These are categories and not group size Herd size total cows75100250400Calves and heifers 0-2 months, 150 lb 3-5 months, 250 lb 6-8 months, 400 lb 9-12 months, 600 lb 13-15 months, 800 lb 16-24 months, 1,000 lb75 6 9 9 14 9 29100 8 12 12 18 12 38250 20 30 30 45 30 95400 32 48 48 72 48 152Dry cows Transition first 4-14 days Next 40 days Divide in 2 groups Close-up 2-3 weeks prepartum13 0-4 8-9 2-517 1-5 11-12 3-643 4-9 28-30 8-1568 5-16 45-48 16-24Maternity individual pens3-54-610-1616-24Fresh cows from 0-7 days postpartum1-31-43-104-12Two-years-old 305 days Number of days of lactation.18-2426-3065-75104-120Three years and older 305 days b High producers 120 days or less Medium producers Low producers44 15-18 12-15 12-1558 20-24 16-20 16-20145 50-60 40-50 40-50232 80-96 60-72 60-72Sick cows0-40-50-130-20Management groups Separating replacement animals into groups according to age, size or special management needs allows each group to be treated according to its needs.
Plan building space and layout for these groups of animals using Tables 2 and 3. More than one group can be housed in the same building, but allow for managing each group separately.
In larger herds, separate facilities may be provided for each group. Some of the benefits of managing animals in groups are Ø Healthier animals by minimizing the risk of transmitting disease to younger animals. Ø Good feed efficiency by reducing competition for feed. Ø Calving at proper weight and size at 24 months.
Ø Feed handling ease, and proper diets according to age. Ø Manure handling ease. Ø Animal observation and handling ease for breeding, treatment and grouping. Ø Proper ventilation and environment. Ø Proper resting space or freestall size. Space requirements for a particular operation depend on the housing system chosen and how replacements move from the resting area to feed and to water and back again. Herd size and makeup are guides to estimating the space needed for resting, but alley size, water space and bunk space must also be considered to accommodate the animals and provide an animal friendly environment.
Provide separate areas for resting and feeding. Feeding in resting areas increases manure accumulation and more bedding is required to keep animals clean and dry. Resting space Adequate resting space for management groups is a key factor in efficient growth. Required space for different housing alternatives including bedded resting areas, self-cleaning resting areas solid, sloped floors and freestalls are shown in Tables 3 and 4.