of age. Starter meal intake is stimulated by
not increasing the daily amount of milk until
weaning.
Feed a calf starter meal (18% CP) from about
seven days of age. Put about 150 g into a dry
feed bin once a day. Teach calves to eat from
the bin by rubbing some of the dry feed on its
nose. By licking its nose, the calf recognises
the feed. Calf starter meal not eaten must
be removed daily and replaced with fresh
meal. Increase the amount when all is eaten.
Old feed quickly becomes mouldy because
of saliva. Calves can be weaned when starter
meal intake reaches 1 kg/day.
Start feeding about 0.5 kg/day of ground
hay from three months of age to encourage
forage intake. Change to a growth meal (16%
CP) from three months of age. Increase the
amount of feed once a week. Daily feed intake
increases as heifers get older, starting at 3
kg at 3 months of age to 16 kg per day at 24
months of age.
Heifers can be put on pasture and fed
about 1 kg of concentrate per day to 12
months of age after which pasture should be
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enough. Enough pasture should be available;
otherwise, it should be supplemented with
hay or silage. When no pasture is available,
a total mixed diet must be fed. The amount
and concentration of diets should be fed
according to specific age groups as the feeding
requirements of heifers change as they get
older.
Weigh heifers regularly to determine whether
the feeding programme is correct. Inseminate
heifers once they weigh 300-330 kg or when
they’ve reached 12-14 months of age. This
should ensure first calving at about 24-25
months of age.
In closing
Dairy farming requires a large investment in
time and money. Some management decisions
require careful application as this affects the
performance of cows for a long time. Getting
cows pregnant is the first step towards future
milk production while sire selection affects the
milk yield of cows in the future. Heifer rearing
should be done correctly as this may affect
the cost of production as well as their own
performance when coming in milk from two
years of age.
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