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DRY COW THERAPY : dry period (drying to calving: 60days)
The dry period should last for about 60 days irrespective of whether the cow is still
producing a lot of milk. Attempts should be made to minimize stress to the cow during
the drying especially for high yielders.
Ways of drying cows:
• The feed intake should be reduced to maintenance level by withdrawing the
concentrates and for high yielders, feed on low quality forages (eg straw) to reduce
milk synthesis.
• For low yielding cows, just stop milking. Pressure builds up in udder and milk
production is cut off.
• If cow is a high yielder, practice intermittent milking i.e. skip some milking times
(milk only in mornings) so as to reduce milk synthesis due to pressure build up in
udder while reducing feed intake.
• Water can be temporarily withdrawn for very high yielders to reduce milk
synthesis.
• After cessation of milking, treat (infuse) all the quarters with long acting
antibiotics to prevent development of mastitis.
Reasons of drying
There are several reasons that necessitate the drying the of cow:
i. Build up body reserves to meet next production - if a cow is not dried in time, it
affects the milk production during the next lactation.
ii. Allow animal to regenerate alveolar tissue (milk synthesizing tissue) which might
have atrophied during the lactation period.
iii. Save nutrients for the fast growing foetus. During the last phase of pregnancy, the
calf grows at a fast rate and drying saves nutrients for its growth.
NOTE: All clinical procedures and treatments should be carried out by a qualified and registered vet.
DRY COW THERAPY : dry period (drying to calving: 60days)
The dry period should last for about 60 days irrespective of whether the cow is still
producing a lot of milk. Attempts should be made to minimize stress to the cow during
the drying especially for high yielders.
Ways of drying cows:
• The feed intake should be reduced to maintenance level by withdrawing the
concentrates and for high yielders, feed on low quality forages (eg straw) to reduce
milk synthesis.
• For low yielding cows, just stop milking. Pressure builds up in udder and milk
production is cut off.
• If cow is a high yielder, practice intermittent milking i.e. skip some milking times
(milk only in mornings) so as to reduce milk synthesis due to pressure build up in
udder while reducing feed intake.
• Water can be temporarily withdrawn for very high yielders to reduce milk
synthesis.
• After cessation of milking, treat (infuse) all the quarters with long acting
antibiotics to prevent development of mastitis.
Reasons of drying
There are several reasons that necessitate the drying the of cow:
i. Build up body reserves to meet next production - if a cow is not dried in time, it
affects the milk production during the next lactation.
ii. Allow animal to regenerate alveolar tissue (milk synthesizing tissue) which might
have atrophied during the lactation period.
iii. Save nutrients for the fast growing foetus. During the last phase of pregnancy, the
calf grows at a fast rate and drying saves nutrients for its growth.
NOTE: All clinical procedures and treatments should be carried out by a qualified and registered vet.
super
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