Applying protective fat to dairy cows can increase milk yield, improve milk quality, reduce stress harm and improve reproductive performance of dairy cows.
Six problems that must be paid attention to before feeding protective fat to dairy cows can achieve the ideal goal, otherwise it will be counterproductive.
Pay attention to the types of protective fat products. When feeding dairy cows with protective fat, fatty acids with short carbon chain should be selected, which has high utilization rate.
It should also be noted that unsaturated fatty acids are better absorbed and have better effects than saturated fatty acids.
If the fat used in production is not coated, special attention should be paid to controlling the addition amount and increasing the content of calcium and magnesium in dairy cows' diet.
Pay attention to control the amount of fat added. Excessive fat addition will not only cause waste, but also reduce the dry feed intake of dairy cows, thus reducing their production performance.
When the total fat content in the general dairy cow diet is 5%~6%, the utilization rate is the highest.
When the addition amount is more than 6%, it will have side effects on dairy production. On the contrary, when the addition amount is less than 3%, the addition effect is not obvious.
Pay attention to the time of addition. Calving cows consume a lot of energy, and adding fat is also a kind of stress. Therefore, it should not be added in the short term after delivery, but should be added in 3~5 weeks after delivery. At this time, the stress has little effect, and the milk yield of dairy cows will temporarily decrease, but then it will gradually increase.
Feeding cows during lactation is more effective, which can prolong the peak period of milk production and improve the milk production throughout lactation. However, there is no need to use this protective fat when the feeding effect is not obvious in the late lactation period.
The composition of diet should be reasonable, and high-quality hay should be fed at the same time, so that the fiber content can meet the requirements and rumen can produce more acid. This can give full play to the role of fat, and the milk yield and milk fat rate of dairy cows can be significantly improved.
The crude fiber content of dry matter in dairy cow diet should be l7%, and the acid-washed fiber content should be 2l%.
At the same time, the crude protein content in the diet should also be increased.
Pay attention to distinguish the applicable objects. Protective fat is suitable for middle and high yield dairy cows, but not for low yield dairy cows. If the average daily milk production of dairy cows is less than 25.5 kg, it does not need to be added.
Practice has proved that cows with milk fat rate below 3.5% have better effect of feeding protective fat, but when the milk fat rate is higher than 3.5%, the adding effect is not obvious.
Feeding protective fat should be gradual. Feeding dairy cows with protective fat should be gradually increased to avoid the problem of poor palatability.
Generally, it is divided into three stages, and it takes 3~4 weeks to reach full use.