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Lactation[edit | edit source]

Once a cow has calved she will start her lactation and produce milk. In order to realize the best yield possible, we will need to feed accordingly.

A cow will reach her peak milk output between 6-8 weeks after calving, but her dry matter intake won't peak until 10-12 weeks. So while the lactation peaks she will be at risk of losing condition. It is vitally important that she is fed as much as possible during this period, with good high energy supplements to keep her weight up.

There are four stages of lactation: early, mid, late and dry period. You can see the milk yield vs the dry matter intake here in the graph below: Lactation.JPG

Source: http://www.thecattlesite.com/articles/4248/managing-cow-lactation-cycles/

Completing the cycle[edit | edit source]

After the early stage lactation is finished, just after milk production has peaked, the cow is ready to be put back in calf. This can be done with AI or using a bull (see Breeding), but we want to do it now so she will be ready to calf after her current lactation is over and she's had 2 month or so period to dry off and recover.

We will continue to milk her over the next 7 months or so, until her lactation finishes and she can be "dried off". She should be 1-2 months away calving, and will be moved to back to the dry cow barn to have her calf.

This cycle can continue for as long as the cow is healthy and productive (can be up to 10 lactations, but in high output production systems the average is about 3), the aim is to calve once a year and be producing milk for just over 300 days a year.


Next: Breeding