Hi Mr. Escribano,

I prefer to provide the feed additives after milking, not while milking. Personally, in this case, I prefer to provide a place under shade to feed additives....you can use an artificial and mobile device like the ones on the link (1 and 2) below...Or use the shade of trees, using more rustic devices to provide the feed (link 3 and 4)....

Link 1: http://cifraleite.com.br/public/cifraleite/imagens/area-de-sombrite-movel-na-fazenda-prata-de-baixo.jpg

Link 2: http://ruralpecuaria.com.br/painel/img/noticias/190/noticias_1406059869.jpg

Link 3: http://vulcaodaborracha.hospedagemdesites.ws/novo/images/produtos/1587/COCHO%201.jpg

Link 4: https://s3.amazonaws.com/mfrural-produtos-us/116668-138893-609260-cocho-bebedouro.jpg

I hope I've helped...

Cheers,

William Mochel

Feed additives to cows in extensive production:

There are a variety of feed additives which, one day, may be called upon to take up the role vacated by antibiotics as they are forced out of the industry. Fortunately there are a wide variety of tools available, which when used properly can enhance the performance of the immune system, improve the digestive process or cause metabolic changes in the animal that improve efficiencies.

A type of feed additive, that have been used for years in beef cattle programs are direct fed microbials (DFMs). Direct fed microbials are cultures of bacteria, yeasts or fungi that have shown to be useful in enhancing digestive performance at different points within the gastrointestinal system. For cattle, being ruminants, this may extend from the rumen system (rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum) through the small and large intestines. However, the predominant target areas are the rumen and the small intestine. The actual applications in cattle have varied a bit over the years. Bacterial cultures have been used for quite some time in feedlot cattle as a means of overcoming stress, reducing the incidence of digestive upset, predominantly bloat and acidosis and as a competitive inhibitor of pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7. Similar cultures have been used in young calves in an effort to reduce gut inflammation and reduce the colonization of the immature digestive tract by pathogenic organism which might cause an increase in scouring and dehydration. More recently, research has shown fed bacterial cultures to have benefits in lactating dairy cows. Yeast cultures have been used for years in most classes of cattle for a variety of purposes. Generally they have been shown to improve ruminal function, reduce stress effects and help improve dry matter intake. Finally, several strains of fungi have also been fed for their beneficial effects, much of which is related to improvements in fiber digestion.

Hi,

Thanks for your answers.

I have been recently visiting Ecuador and I could observe a lack of control regarding the amount of feedstuff (and feed additives) given to dairy cows.

They mainly followed two ways of providing extra feed (concentrates and feed additives):

1) During milking

2) In the field, on large canvas (nice picture but imagine what happened due to hierarchy...)

It is quite often to offer to dairy cows after milking, after they have left the dairy barn, small amount of grain or corn silage, mixed with additive, such as vitamins or minerals, or both. It is placed in feeders, in a paddock nearby the dairy barn, waiting for the rest of the animals to be milked. With this management it is eluded the cattle lay down, avoiding the udder to face contact with the ground, preventing the incoming of microorganisms to the gland, remembering that the tip canal remains open for about two hours after milking

Dear Guillermo,

Why after milking instead of while milking?

Hi Mr. Escribano,

I've found the following paper that maybe can help to answer your question:

Svennersten, K., Gorewit, R. C., Sjaunja, L-O and Uvnäs-Moberg, K. 1995. Feeding during milking enhances milking-related oxytocin secretion and milk production in dairy cows whereas food deprivation decreases it. Acta Physiol. Scand, 153:309-310.

Svennersten, K., Nelson, L., Arvinder, K. and Uvnäs-Moberg, K. 1989. Milking and feed inginduced release of the gastrointestinal hormones gastrin and somatostatin in dairy cows. J. Dairy Sci. 72:2276-2282.

Maybe this one can help as well:

http://www.nmconline.org/articles/milkejctn.pdf

Good luck!!

Hi William,

Thanks very much for the papers.

This is why I asked you why to feed animals after milking, because doing both things at the same time seems to improve milk yield.

Regards,

Alfredo.

Hi Mr. Escribano,

I've found this one below that looks much more accurate about our doubts:

BIRGITTA JOHANSSON, KERSTIN UVNÄS-MOBERG, CHRIS H. KNIGHT and KERSTIN SVENNERSTEN-SJAUNJA (1999). Effect of feeding before, during and after milking on milk production and the hormones oxytocin, prolactin, gastrin and somatostatin. Journal of Dairy Research, 66, pp 151-163.

And I've found this Masther Thesis from Sweden:

http://stud.epsilon.slu.se/7387/13/stadtmuller_l_140930.pdf

Regards,

William

Great William,

Thanks and regards.

Alfredo.

Hi Mr. Escribano,

My answer is related to a management condition. The idea offering feed after milking, is to keep the animal stand up, while they are waiting for the rest of the cattle to be milked, avoiding lay down in an area highly contaminated, just to reduce the probability of getting mastitis. Remember that the sphincter of the teat canal take around 2 hours to be close enough in order to prevent the incoming of microorganism.

Dear Guillermo,

Thanks very much for the answer. So now my questions are, in your production system:

  1) Do animals stay together after milking or do they go to their cubicle/resting area...?

  2)How is the cleanliness of the area? Why not to clean more: economic cost (workforce), difficult due to humidity and/or higher stocking rates?

Alfredo J. Escribano.

On field feeder feed additives could be provided to animals by spraying on the field. Before spraying the feed additive solution, the feed biomass shall be estimated. Estimation of feed biomass if it is grass, enable you to determine the amount to be added. The animal for who feed additives are given, production stage and physiology also need to be taken into consideration.