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Head Administrator

Registered: 06-2003
Location: North Yorkshire
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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


That makes a lot of sense Shilt!

We give 40-50 days,never had a full term calving without a dry period although have had the odd one abort at 7 months just before drying off.

We should all be looking at average milk yeild per day over life time as a marker of profitability and extended dry periods will certainly decrease that figure.
100 days dry for a heifer is just not economic in our situation.

---
Bickleygate holsteins

"I have not failed 1000 times, I have discovered a 1000 ways that do not work"-Thomas Edison
29/4/2004, 22:39 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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GP82

Registered: 04-2004
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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


I think we all seem to agree that a shorter dry period(30-40d) for our cows is a positive thing. I would like to add a note of clarification on the heifers by saying that there is no blanket solution that fits all farms. We have a high producing herd that is milked 3x and about 40-50% of our heifers calve between 22-24 mo. In this case, a heifer that produces 10,000-12,000kg of milk really seems to do well with an extra 2-3 wks. off(definitely not 100d dry). Do all of our heifers get dried off early , no. I guess I should have been more clear. We have the two dry off targets but it is somewhat of a case by case basis too. A heifer that calves at 30 mo.(is bigger) or one that is producing below herd avg. doesn't get the extra time. We really haven't seen any of the health concerns(over cond.,ketosis, fatty liver, etc.) mentioned. I hope that clarifies it a little.
30/4/2004, 1:05 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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EX95

Registered: 06-2003
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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


The only way to milk all the way through is to keep them on BST overall milk produced is higher because your adding 60 days to the lactation. the BST keeps milk up and helps to rebuild the cells i the udder.There have been lots of studys on it but none on the next lactations. The best seems to be about 40 to 45 days with no problems.
30/4/2004, 5:17 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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Registered: 01-2004
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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


We dry all heifers off at 60d here. Cows are dried at 45-65 days depending on condition. The occasional heifer that was slow to get in calf could well be dry for one month longer the the rest, but these are exceptions.

As an experiment, I gave one cow a dry period of less than one month, which was shortened again by calving 7 days early. She was very difficult to get going again and didn't peak well. However, I noticed that her milk quality was very high compared to her mates, even if the litres were less. That won't happen again.

I think cow condition plays an important part in when to dry off on this farm. Sometimes time is needed in the dry period to alter condition for calving, and this shouldn't be done too quickly.

Last edited by FiringOnAllFour, 30/4/2004, 11:55
30/4/2004, 11:54 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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Ex97
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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


we tend to have our cows dry for around 6 weeks.
However,and this is where a lot of the arguemnets in our dairy are,my husband likes to run his dry cows with the herd!!!
I have noticed that the animals in our herd that are dried off in good (nothing really poor here unless sick)condition that get tipped out onto a short pasture with good oaten hay adlib calve in with less swelling,smaller udders,less milk fever and less calf pulling.
The pets that run with the herd get as fat as fools ,make enormous udders,drip milk for days ,often get assisted and then get ketosis,milk fever etc.
I prefer the first option but you ort to hear it when I pinch a dry pet and put her with the drys!!"starve em to death blah blah blah!!!"
We only selectively dry cow quarters/cows.maybe 6 a year as we dont have a mastitis problem as such.
never dry heifers off early rather wait longer to rejoin them.
30/4/2004, 22:35 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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Registered: 06-2003
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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


quote:

FiringOnAllFour wrote:
I think cow condition plays an important part in when to dry off on this farm. Sometimes time is needed in the dry period to alter condition for calving, and this shouldn't be done too quickly.



Normally find its much easier to alter cow condition upwards in late lactation rather than when dry. Bringing a cows condition down is easier when dry.



1/5/2004, 8:30 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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Ex97
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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


I find it a hell of a job to get condition on some of my cows, even in late lactation. With most of my cows, it is not easier to bring them down a condition score when dry, because they'd never be there in the first place.

Of course the efficiency of weight gain is much better in lactation than when dry, but that isn't much help when they are milking too hard.

With cows sub 2.75, the only thing I can do is to give them a couple of weeks to get completely switched off, and then put them straight back onto the milking diet.
2/5/2004, 9:56 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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GP82

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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


FiringOnAllFour, Do you have corn silage in your cows diet. We had struggled for years because of high production to get condition on our cows just like you were talking about. Since including it in the ration(only in the cooler months mid Oct. - end Apr.) the cows look fabulous. Conception rate is still a concern, but that's another discusion entirely. When people visit our farm that is always commented on that they expected our cows to be much thinner. They are always surprised to see hard working cows that have a good cover of flesh.
2/5/2004, 13:29 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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Registered: 11-2003
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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


The only case recently that we have made a conscious decision to milk a cow through to her next freshening without a dry period, was in the case of Robthom Suzet Paddy. She freshened her second time at 3-7, and was due to freshen at 4-9. She was still milking 90 lbs a day at 365 days, and had 36,160 lbs at that time.

It would have been harder on her, we felt, to try to force her dry than to keep on milking her. She milked 306 days on her 4-9 record, 2X 306 21270 4.0 847f 3.3 705p, and was easily dried off. She had 60 days dry, and freshened again at 5-9. That record was a World Record of 2X 365d 59,300m 3.9 2297f 3.2 1925p. (BST was never used, it wasn't even legal then.)

It is much a matter of whether a cow's health would be impared by forcing her dry.
 


Last edited by mmt95, 3/5/2004, 4:17
3/5/2004, 1:02 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
FiringOnAllFour Profile
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Ex97
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Re: Dry Period - how long, if any?


So you are suggesting that a cow milking on hard and not gaining sufficient flesh, should be milked on, and given an easier next lactation?

Presumably this would result in an alternating pattern of production - one high lact yld, one low.....

Well spotted regarding Maize silage. In my marginal temperate region, getting enough heat is a problem for maize, and this is coupled with late harvest and risky ground conditions. However, it is being grown fairly successfully under plastic film, which tends to add another 500 O.H.U.s to the crop. This is expensive at 70£/acre. New varieties are appearing all the time though that grow better here.

I am actually hoping to sow maize for the first time this week. Our principle forage is wet grass silage (22-25%). Getting weather to allow higher DMs is touch and go. I realise this is the major limiting factor on our performance and cow condition. We do feed very heavily to compensate, but this can only do so much.


PS 27,000kg is nothing short of amazing! Did she ever calve again? was that an extended lactation?

Last edited by FiringOnAllFour, 3/5/2004, 9:49
3/5/2004, 9:45 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 


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