How much milk does a cow give per day, and what does milk yield depend on

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Man domesticated the cow about 12,000 years ago. The ancestor of our cows is considered to be a wild tour, a strong, hoofed animal, with black, shaggy hair and a white stripe along the back. Their range was Europe, Asia, some regions of Africa. Tur males were used by people as a draft force in construction and arable farming, and their females gave milk. However, it was only enough to feed their own cubs. After discovering its nutritional value and taste, people learned to milk the turkeys.

With the passage of time, their appearance began to change. Individuals became larger due to the fact that they began to be better fed and ceased to be used for hard work. The physiological characteristics of the cow's udder have also changed. From generation to generation, milking cows has led to the fact that their udders have been "tuned" to continuous milk production. In ancient times, hardly anyone thought about how much milk a cow gives per day.

Man has worked hard to breed various breeds of this wonderful animal. There are breeds of cows adapted for life in different climatic conditions: in the mountains, in the harsh northern climate and in the steppe. They are shaggy and smooth, black and white, tall and not very tall. Whatever the cow, its main purpose is to give milk.

When a cow has milk

As in all mammals, the hormone prolactin contributes to the production of milk, respectively, the mother's milk appears after the birth of the cub. Milk is produced in the body of the cow so that the calf can feed. Each emptying of the mammary gland causes its subsequent filling. As soon as the milking stops, the production of milk also stops. The average milk yield per cow per day in this case may drop sharply.

This is exactly what happens in nature. The baby grows up, loses the need for milk, and it eventually disappears. However, man has learned to artificially maintain the "production" of milk through regular milking.

Proper care

How much milk a cow gives per day largely depends on the proper care of her. It's not just daily grazing and milking. Both in summer and in winter, a cow needs to be cleaned, washed, and hooves trimmed. In the summer it can be bathed completely. The stall must also be kept clean. Not every cow will lie on a dirty bedding. Most likely, in this case, the cow will stand on its feet all night, and in the morning it will give milksmaller than usual.

For convenience, a groove can be punched in the floor of the stall, where manure can be dumped. From there it is easier to collect and take out of the barn. Such a groove should be on the side opposite to the feeder. The barn should be lit and not too big so that it stays warm in winter. Before you leave the wet nurse for the winter stall, the feeder, leash, the floor in the barn and other "cow" utensils, it is advisable to disinfect. Avoid drafts.

Correct feeding of a dairy cow

Folk proverb says: "It's expensive to feed cattle, it's ruinous to feed badly." Feeding livestock is the most expensive "moment" in its maintenance. On a day, depending on the physiological characteristics, a cow can eat up to 70 kilograms of various feeds. If the cow is underfed, the milk yield will be reduced by half, the animal will become very thin. The quality and quantity of nutrition directly affect how much milk a cow gives per day.

During the grazing period, the cow mainly eats grass. But her diet should be supplemented with other types of feed to improve the quality and quantity of milk. The cow's winter menu, designed for one day, should consist of the following products:

• Hay or spring straw -7-8 kg.
• Sugar beet, Jerusalem artichoke or potatoes - 10-15 kg.
• Fodder carrots - 2 kg.
• Wheat bran - 5-6 kg.
• Oil cakes, meals - 1-2 kg.
• Food waste, bread - up to 8 kg.
• S alt - 100g
• Oats, corn –up to 7 kg.

It is important for owners to remember that a cow is a kind and intelligent animal. She feels like she is being treated and feels kindness. Of course, nutrition plays an important role in the productivity of an animal, but a good attitude also significantly affects how much milk a cow gives per day.

Cow milk yield, or how much milk a cow gives

A young cow gives about 9-10 liters of milk per day. With age, milkiness increases. It reaches its peak by the fifth or sixth calving and can reach 12-14 liters per day. However, there are record holder cows, whose daily milk yield reaches 20 liters. Based on this figure, you can calculate how many liters of milk one cow can produce per year. On average, this figure ranges from 4 to 5 thousand liters.

In summer, when there is a lot of fresh grass, milk productivity increases, in winter it becomes correspondingly less.

Dairy cow breeds

Assessing the "milkness" of a cow, it is necessary to take into account her age, quality of nutrition, breed, productivity of her mother or other relatives. The most dairy breeds common in our country are:

• Kholmogory;
• Yaroslavskaya;
• red steppe;
• Kostroma;
• black-and-white;
• red-and-white.