The Effect of Fatness of Cows on their Milk Production

Abstract

Cows feeding conditions and welfare should be emphasized among the numerous external factors affecting their milk productivity. High lactation performance of the cows requires the continuous presence in the blood of an animal of the substances needed for the milk production. This is provided by organization of quite abundant and continuous feeding of cows and the introduction in the animal rations of various components that allows balancing them in terms of all nutrients and bioactive substances needed by the body. Feeding cows with a complete feed should be carried out during the whole period of their economic use, because it is extremely difficult to correct the metabolic disorders caused by insufficient feeding as well as to get healthy calves in such a situation. In addition, metabolic disorders in the cow and calf due to improper diet increase the risk of developing non-communicable diseases. The primary method of determining the physiological status of dairy cows is body condition score. To determine the fatness of cows, analysis of the dairy herd condition at “Ossetia” livestock farm located in Prigorodny district of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania was carried out. Based on the primary zootechnical documentation, the following parameters were studied: productivity of cows of different lactations, the live weight of cows, fatness of cows, as well as the effect of fatness on milk production. Cow fatness evaluation technique developed by the All-Russian Institute of Animal Husbandry (VIZh) was used. The studies showed that the highest milk yields were observed in cows with fatness score of 3.6-4.0 points and amounted to 4584kg. The cows with the fatness score of 3.6-4.0 points were characterized by the longest duration of economic use. The best economic efficiency was noted in cows with the fatness score of 3.6-4.0 points.