Dairy
- Feeds available:
- The feeds available for dairy animals are as follows:
- Calf Starter
- Dairy Budget 15 (Urea)
- Dairy 19 (no Urea)
- Dairy 19 (With Urea)
- All these feeds are available in Mash and Pellets
- All these feeds are available in 25 and 50 kg bags.
Feeding Recommendations
| Calf: Starter | Dairy: Budget 15 | Dairy 19: No Urea | Dairy 19: With Urea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moisture | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Protein | 18 | 15 | 19 | 19 |
| Fat | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Fibre | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Calcium (max) | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Phosphorus (min) | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
Feeding Recommendations
- Calf Starter – to be fed ad lib up to 7 months of age
- Dairy feeds – 200-500g per liter of milk / animal / day depending on the animal’s condition.
- No more that 12 kg must be fed per animal / day.
- Please note that the dairy feeds are not full feeds and are meant solely for supplementary use.
Medication / Special Additives
- As indicated, some of the dairy feeds contain urea in order to help the animal, cost-effectively, make the most of poor quality grazing.
- The urea is completely safe if the feeding recommendations are followed
- The calf starter contains both a coccidiostatt and a growth promoter. The calf starter must not be fed to mature animals
General Comments
- Milk is expensive and one should always consider the cost of feeding milk to calves as opposed to feeding a balanced feed.
- Dairy cows produce more when they are receiving sufficient nutrients.
- A healthy, well fed dairy cow will produce more milk, more calves in her life and have a longer life.
- The use of urea is very safe and it is a very cost effective source of protein to the cow. The use of urea in rural areas, where cattle are grazed on natural pastures, is a necessity if production is to be maximized.
Economic Considerations / Profitability
Records are the most critical and one should be measuring the following:
- Body condition score (1= very thin – 5 = very fat, optimum = 3 – 3.5)
- Liters of milk per day
- Inter-calving period
- As indicated, some of the dairy feeds contain urea in order to help the animal, cost-effectively, make the most of poor quality grazing.
- The urea is completely safe if the feeding recommendations are followed
- The calf starter contains both a coccidiostatt and a growth promoter. The calf starter must not be fed to mature animals
General Comments
- Milk is expensive and one should always consider the cost of feeding milk to calves as opposed to feeding a balanced feed.
- Dairy cows produce more when they are receiving sufficient nutrients.
- A healthy, well fed dairy cow will produce more milk, more calves in her life and have a longer life.
- The use of urea is very safe and it is a very cost effective source of protein to the cow. The use of urea in rural areas, where cattle are grazed on natural pastures, is a necessity if production is to be maximized.
Economic Considerations / Profitability
- Records are the most critical and one should be measuring the following:
- Body condition score (1= very thin – 5 = very fat, optimum = 3 – 3.5)
- Liters of milk per day
- Inter-calving period
