Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Housing
Dairy cattle typically have been housed in barns instead of pastures as beef cattle are raised.
They are animals that thrive on routine and usually will have a favorite spot in the barn. Most
small-scale dairy farmers will use stanchions (devices that latch around the cows neck) or a
tie-stall (where the cattle are chained to the stall via a neck chain) to hold the cows while
milking. Grain usually is fed to the cattle while they are in their stalls and being milked. This
also helps them associate being milked with a good thing, encouraging them to come into the
barn at milking time.
Some farmers choose to leave their cattle in the barn continuously, occasionally letting them
out if they have stopped milking during their dry period or for just a few hours a day while the
barn is being cleaned. However, it is healthier for the cow to be able to spend time exercising,
and they can be maintained well in a group setting or on pasture. The main requirements for
dairy cattle are to have dry teats and a clean place to lie down. The udder needs to remain
clean and can be quickly contaminated with manure if a clean top layer of bedding is not
provided. A dirty udder can contaminate the milk with fecal matter and bacteria. Dairy cattle
allowed access to a pasture should not be able to walk into standing water or a river as some
waters carry microorganisms that can cause serious udder infections.
Drying off dairy cows
You need to stop milking dairy cows the last two to four months before calving. Milk produc-
tion slows greatly in this period as dairy cattle shift their energy intake toward their develop-
ing fetuses. If you have a seasonal dairy — meaning all your cows give birth at the same time
— you will not milk any cows for at least two months a year. Dairies that use staggered calv-
ing seasons can keep milking some animals while drying off those that near calving. After the
last milking, farmers who have conventional dairy cows will infuse all four teats with antibi-
otics to heal any cases of mastitis. You can use organic teat sealant solutions to avoid antibiot-
ics that achieve the same goals as conventional sealants. Drying off is a stressful time for
cattle, and you want to monitor them to ensure they are all adapting to the change. Cows' im-
mune systems are weak a few days after drying off and two or three weeks before and after
calving. Mineral or other nutritional supplements may be necessary to boost the health of the
stressed animals. Cows that get sick during pregnancy can threaten the lives of the fetuses.
You need to keep dry cows in good physical condition — not too fat but not too thin. After
