Dr. iCow’s Diary
Tuesday, 16th Oct 2018
How to make high yield dairy meal.
Dear Dr. iCow,
Please give me a formula of making high yield dairy meal.
iCow Smart Farmer, James, Kiambu
Dear James,
A dairy cow requires a balanced diet with energy, proteins, vitamins, mineral supplements and free access to clean soft fresh drinking water. Feed your cow enough quantity and high quality forages. A Friesian cow requires 90 – 100 kgof quality forages per day. Feeding of concentrates based on different bran such as; maize, rice, and wheat bran is beneficial to cows as they have better milk production. Of these, maize bran feed is nutritionally better. On low cost to benefit ratio there is high milk production from wheat bran. Milk production in dairy cows increase in the order of; maize bran highest, followed by wheat bran, then rice bran. Crushed or grinded maize cobs can replace forage grass during dry months when green grass is not available. Maize cobs when crushed and mixed with maize stalks are palatable and nutritious and molasses may be added for better fermentation and taste. Other types of feed concentrates are; dairy meal, sunflower cake, soya beans cake, dairy cubes and maize germ. A simple formula like; Maize germ – 35%, maize or wheat bran – 35% , sunflower or cotton seed cake – 30% , mineral supplements – 1%,is advisable. During milking, feed I kg of concentrate and challenge feed her by adding a half kilogram in the next one month. A standard guideline for feeding is 3 kg of high energy concentrate per day. Please tell friends and farmers to dial *285# to register and join iCow. Visit iCow menu for much more by dialing *285# including registering your livestock with us under No. 4 Precision farming.
Thank you. Your friend and advisor, Dr. iCow
Dear Dr. iCow,
I have received the guideline of how to feed dairy cow and I thank you once again for it. iCow is all what we need to improve our dairy farming. God bless you as you continue to inform us of the new development.
iCow Smart Farmer, James.