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| Milch Animal Management |
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| For effective livestock management and improvement in yield the following steps should be taken care of. |
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| Shelters should be constructed in such a way that it provides a comfortable resting place for the animals. It must contain facilities for feeding, watering and protection from rain, wind, Sun, cold and dampness. A shed measuring six square metres is ideal for Indian cows. Buffaloes require a little more space. Proper cleaning of the shelter is necessary not only for the production of clean milk but also for the health of the animal. The floor of the shed must be sloping, to facilitate cleaning and keeping their resting place dry. The shed should have cross ventilation with sufficient number of inlets and outlets. |
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| The food of dairy animals needs to serve two basic purposes: |
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| Maintenance |
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| This is the food required to support the basic functions of life of the animal. |
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| Milk Production |
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| This is the type of food required during the lactation period. |
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| Animal feeds have two main contents: |
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| Roughage |
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| This includes fibres like green fodder, silage, hay and leguminous plants like berseem, lucerne and cowpea. |
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| Concentrates |
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| This contains high content of proteins and other nutrients but is low in fibres. These include grains of maize, oats, barley, jowar, gram and by-products of agriculture like wheat bran, rice bran, gram husk, oil seedcakes and molasses. A balanced feed, which contains all the nutrients in the right proportion, is supplied to the cattle. On an average the daily ration for a cow is 15-20 kg of green fodder and 4-5 kg of grain mixture. In addition nutrients in the form of additives are mixed with the feed. These additives contain antibiotics, minerals and hormones. They increase the yield of milk and protect them from diseases. Finally cows need 30-40 litres of water to drink. |
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| Spread of several diseases can be controlled by proper preventive and sanitary measures. Diseases like rinderpest, anthrax, cowpox, tuberculosis, bovine abortion, calf diphtheria and other contagious diseases can be checked with vaccinations. Applying a dilute solution of lindane can control external parasites like lice. Internal parasites like worms, intestine and flukes damage the stomach, intestine and liver of the animals. Proper deworming measures must be taken. A farmer who loves his cattle will easily be able to recognise if an animal is sick by observing its feeding habit, its normal posture, its definite body temperature, pulse and respiration rates. |
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