Understanding
the Dairy Cow
Third Edition
John Webster, MA, VetMB, PhD, DVM (Hon), MRCVS
Professor Emeritus of Animal Husbandry
School of Veterinary Science
University of Bristol
Bristol, UK
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Webster, John, 1938– author.
Title: Understanding the dairy cow / John Webster, MA, VetMB, PhD, MRCVS, Professor of Animal Husbandry, University of Bristol, School of Verterinary Science.
Description: Third edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Wiley-Blackwell, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020006388 (print) | LCCN 2020006389 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119550228 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119550235 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119550242 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Dairy cattle. | Cows.
Classification: LCC SF208 .W4 1987 (print) | LCC SF208 (ebook) | DDC 636.2–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006388
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006389
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © TonyV3112/Shutterstock
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‘The cow, crunching with depressed head, surpasses any statue…they are so placid and self‐contained. I stand and look at them long and long.
Walt Whitman ‘Song of Myself’
Contents
Acknowledgements xiii
Preface to the Third Edition xiv
About the Companion Website xvi
Part I How the Cow Works 1
1 Introduction – The Dairy Cow of Today 3
Milk as Food 6
Nutrient Supply 7
Healthy Digestion 8
Taste and Appetite 9
Do no Harm 9
Biological Efficiency of Milk Production 10
Milk Production: Species and Breed Comparisons 11
Efficiency of Feed Conversion to Milk, Eggs and Meat: Competitive and Complementary Feeds 12
Behaviour and Welfare 14
2 Digestion and Metabolism 18
Structure of the Digestive Tract 18
Eating and Rumination 22
Grazing 22
Salivation 23
Rumen Movements 23
Rumination 25
Digestion 26
Fermentation of Carbohydrates in the Rumen 28
Utilization of Metabolizable Energy for Maintenance and Production 31
Digestion of Crude Protein 32
Microbial Protein Synthesis 35
Truly Absorbed Amino Nitrogen 37
Urea Recycling 38
Digestion of Lipids 38
Absorption and Secretion of Minerals 39
Calcium Exchange 41
Appetite and Food Intake 42
3 Reproduction and Lactation 45
Anatomy of the Female Reproductive Tract 45
Follicle Development and Ovulation 45
The Oestrus Cycle 49
Puberty 49
Fertilisation 50
Pregnancy 51
Placental Transfer and Foetal Nutrition 53
Parturition 53
Dystocia 55
Lactation 56
Anatomy of the Udder 56
Milk Yield 58
Extended Lactations 59
Hormonal Control of Lactation 60
Reproduction in the Male 61
4 Environment, Behaviour and Welfare 64
Environmental Needs 64
Behaviour 65
Physical Comfort 66
Thermal Comfort 68
Sensible Heat Loss 68
Evaporative Heat Loss 69
Metabolic Heat Production 71
Climate, Production and Welfare 73
Tropical Climates 73
Cold Climates 74
Security and Social Behaviour 74
Sexual and Maternal Behaviour 75
Behaviour as an Indicator of Welfare 76
Part II Feeding the Dairy Cow 77
5 Nutrition: Supply and Demand 79
Nutrient Requirements and Responses 81
Nutrient Allowances for the Lactating Cow 84
Mineral Requirements 88
Nutritive Value of Feeds 90
Ration Formulation 93
Prediction of Food Intake 93
Assessment of an Existing Ration 94
Feeding Plans for Dairy Cows 95
Inputs 95
Outputs 96
Allowances for Growing Heifers 97
6 Feeds and Feeding Strategies 99
Pasture 100
Grazing Strategies 102
Legumes 104
Grass Silage 104
Dry Matter 105
Metabolisable Energy 106
Protein 106
Silage Additives 107
Hay 107
Straw 108
Ensiled Whole-crop Cereals 108
Other Green Feeds 109
Root Crops 109
Cereals 109
By-products 111
Oilseed Cakes and Meals 111
Miscellaneous By-products 113
Sugar Beet Pulp 113
Maize Gluten 113
Brewers’ and Distillers’ Grains 114
Wheat Bran 114
Balancing Forages and Concentrates 114
Feeding Strategies 117
Feeding to Yield 117
Total Mixed Rations and Flat Rate Feeding 119
7 Feeding Problems and Metabolic Diseases 121
Feeding Problems 123
Rumen Acidosis 123
Abomasal Disorders 125
Bloat 126
Metabolic Disorders 127
Ketosis 127
Prevention and Treatment 129
Parturient Hypocalcaemia (‘Milk Fever’) 130
Prevention and Treatment 131
The Downer Cow 132
x
Hypomagnesaemic Tetany (Grass Staggers) 133
Prevention and Treatment 135
Other Mineral Deficiencies 136
Phosphorus 136
Copper and Molybdenum 137
Cobalt 138
Selenium 138
Vitamin Deficiencies 139
Vitamin A 139
Vitamin D 140
Vitamin E 140
Last Words on Minerals and Vitamins 141
Part III Housing Health and Management 143
8 Healthy and Humane Housing and Handling 145
Accommodation 145
The Cow House 146
Cubicle Design 150
The Cubicle Bed 153
Passageways 154
Calving and Isolation Boxes 154
Heifer Yards 156
Handling Facilities 156
Lameness 157
Conditions that Cause Lameness 159
Sole Haemorrhage and Sole Ulcers 159
White Line Disease 161
Digital Dermatitis 161
Interdigital Necrobacillosis ‘Foul’ 162
Aseptic Laminitis, ‘Founder’ 162
Risk Factors for Lameness 162
Transport and Slaughter 164
Loading and Unloading 164
The Journey 165
A Gentle Death 166
9 Milking and Mastitis 168
The Milking Machine 171
The Milking Parlour 174
Hygiene in the Milking Parlour 174
Mastitis 175
Indicators of Mastitis 176
Contagious Mastitis 177
Environmental Mastitis 178
Summer Mastitis 180
Dry Cow Therapy 181
10 Miscellaneous Maladies 182
Signs of Disease 183
Sudden Death 183
Drooling 185
Abdominal Symptoms 186
Nervous Symptoms 187
Fever 187
Inappetence and Anorexia 188
Notifiable Diseases 189
Bovine Tuberculosis 191
Foot and Mouth Disease 192
Other Infectious Diseases 193
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) 193
Johne’s Disease 194
Salmonellosis 194
Leptospirosis 195
Parasitic Diseases 195
11 Breeding 199
Selection Criteria 202
Genomic Selection 206
Sexed Semen 206
Cow Selection 207
Beef Bulls 209
12 Fertility 211
Fertility Management 212
Behaviour at Oestrus 212
Aids to Oestrus Detection 213
Synchronisation of Oestrus 216
Time of Insemination 217
Pregnancy Diagnosis 217
Rebreeding 219
Infertility 219
Ovarian Dysfunction 220
Uterine Disorders 221
Retained Placenta 221
Endometritis 222
Early Foetal Death 222
Abortion 223
Nutrition and Infertility 223
Condition Score at Calving? 225
Condition Score at the Time for Rebreeding? 225
Milk Yields in Early and Mid-lactation? 225
How Well Does Nutrient Supply Match Requirements? 226
Transition Management 226
Part V Cows, People and the Environment 229
13 Cows, People and the Living Environment 231
Most of Those who can Consume Too Much Meat and Milk 232
Food We Could Eat is Fed to Animals While the Poor Grow Hungry 233
Intensive Livestock Production is Incompatible with Animal Welfare 233
Livestock’s Long Shadow is Destroying the Planet 235
Methane Production and Climate Change 237
Pollution from Dairy Units 238
Alternative Husbandry Systems 240
Organic Dairy Farming 240
Traditional and Village Systems 241
Fair Play for Cows, People and the Planet 242
Herd Health and Welfare 242
Herd Health Management 243
Animal Welfare: Quality Assurance and Quality Control 243
Further Reading 247 Index 252
Acknowledgements
I thank the following for permission to reproduce illustrations: Geoffrey Pearson, Figure 2.3; The Scottish Farm Business Investigation Unit, Figure 8.1; The Institute for Food Research, Reading, Figures 8.1 and 8.2; Martha d’Andrade, Figure 13.2. The wisdom of any group with shared interests and enthusiasms is so much greater than the sum of its parts. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to all my special friends and colleagues on farms, in the veterinary profession and academe who share my fascination with the dairy cow. Among so many I give special mention to Nick Bell, Geoff Davies, Richard Dewhurst, Clive Snell and Becky Whay. Finally, I must once again thank Nick Jeanes, who contributed the best of the illustrations.
Preface to the Third Edition
The mediaeval expression ‘milch cow’ is, in modern parlance, variously used to describe a cow kept for milk production and an everlasting source of easy money. It is not hard to see how this second definition has come about. Since the earliest days of agriculture, the cow has served humankind as a regular, reliable source of excellent sustenance, in many different physical and social environments and from almost any mixture of feeds that we can provide or that she can forage for herself. Her value comes from her infinite ability to adapt. At the time when the first edition of ‘Understanding the Dairy Cow’ (UDC) was published in 1987, most dairy farmers in the UK fed their cows largely from pasture and other home‐grown crops, the milk lorry took it away and regular cheques arrived in the post. It was all so simple. The subsequent 30+ years have witnessed a roller‐coaster ride of change. The imposition then removal of quotas on milk production. The explosive increases in individual cow yields, achieved by a combination of genetic selection and radical changes in nutrition. Our greater concern about the environmental impact of farming in general and ruminants in particular. Our greater concern, expressed through our buying habits, about farm animal welfare and the potential risks attached to the consumption of food from animals. The circumstances in which the dairy cow may find herself are many and varied but a cow is still a cow. For this reason UDC, in its successive editions, has never taken the form of an instruction manual on dairy cow management but an examination of the fundamental principles of physiology, health and behaviour that govern both her capacity to produce milk and also give proper attention to her welfare in all circumstances; intensive or extensive, high‐tech or organic.
This third edition is, in effect, is a complete rewrite with over half the material radically updated or entirely new. It reflects the major shift in dairy production away from family farms with 100 cows or less, each producing modest amounts of milk largely from their own resources, to very large production units, with perhaps 1000 cows, housed throughout lactation, producing very large quantities of milk (and excrement) from feed tractored to them from near and far. It considers in detail the impact of these changes on cow health and welfare, and their environmental impact in terms of methane production and nitrogen pollution. It also
Preface to the Third Edition xv
acknowledges that dairy farmers can no longer operate on the simplistic assumption that while they continue to produce milk, the people will continue to buy it. Consumers and retailers now demand quality assurance as to production standards with regard to environmental quality, sustainability and animal welfare. All these things receive my attention.
There are some changes in the presentation. I have decided to include no references to specific papers and reviews within the text. If I were to give proper credit to the good scientific and technical publications that underpin the evidence I present in this book, the list of publications would run into thousands. If I were to be selective, I would be rightly accused of leaving too many good papers out. This book has been written for those actively involved with dairy cows and those university and college students beginning their education in these matters. It is not really intended for postgraduates and research workers – although I would like to think they might enjoy it and learn something. The list of papers and websites for further reading, which appears at the end of the text, provides a lead into the literature for those who wish to delve deeper. I would add that one of the incentives for me to prepare this new edition, and one of the reasons I felt I could achieve it, has been the recent publication of a multi‐author, high‐science (expensive) book ‘Achieving sustainable production of milk: Vol 3. Dairy Herd Management and Welfare’. I was invited to edit this book and, in the process, learned a lot.
Finally, I have acknowledged the need to conform to public demand for gender neutrality. Farmers and vets are no longer referred to simply as ‘he’. Stockmen have become herders or cowherds. I draw the line at emasculating that excellent word ‘husbandry’.
Achieving Sustainable Production of Milk Vol 3 Dairy Herd Management and Welfare 2017 ed. John Webster, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing.
About the Companion Website
Don’t forget to visit the companion website for this book: www.wiley.com/go/webster‐dairy‐cow
The website contains downloadable figures from the book.
Part I
How the Cow Works
Introduction – The Dairy Cow of Today
Understanding the dairy cow is a matter of heart and mind. We need to consider her scientifically as a complex and elegant biological instrument to provide us with milk, the nearest thing in nature to a complete food. Equally, we need to recognise her as a sentient (and highly engaging) creature who deserves a reasonable quality of life and, at the end, a gentle death. In both senses of the word this understanding is not static. The more we study the workings of the dairy cow, the more we can exploit her capacity to produce food for human consumption from milk, butter, yoghurt and a dazzling variety of cheeses. The more we study her health, behavioural and environmental requirements, the better we can ensure her welfare.
The cow was one of the first animals to be domesticated for human use and has come a very long way since then. The traditional role of the family cow was to provide milk, work, fertiliser, fuel, clothing and the occasional fatted calf, while sustained by fibrous feeds that the family could not digest for themselves, usually from land that the family did not own. The modern dairy cow, typified by the Holstein breed, is a very different creature: bred, fed and managed to produce as much milk as possible within intensive, highly mechanised dairy units. Meat production has become a relatively minor consideration, with calves destined for beef or veal sent, more often than not, off farm to other specialist rearing units. Other roles for the milch cow have disappeared altogether. The modern Holstein is most unlikely to be harnessed to a plough! Most of this change has taken place in the last 80 years since the industrialisation and mechanisation of agriculture made it more convenient to bring the feed to the cows than expect them to forage for themselves on a year‐round basis. This has had a profound effect on the types of cow that we have bred to suit our current purpose. Consider the four pictures in Figure 1.1. All illustrate top quality cows from breeds in use today. The Dairy Shorthorn (Figure 1.1a), now something of a rare breed, has the traditional, functional shape of a dual‐purpose cow bred to produce milk and beef, primarily from grazed and conserved pasture. In the second half of the 20th Century this breed was largely replaced in the UK by the British Friesian (Figure 1.1b), which, when managed essentially within a pastoral system but given more concentrate, was able to produce more income from the sale of milk (with beef
Understanding the Dairy Cow, Third Edition. John Webster. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Companion website: www.wiley.com/go/webster-dairy-cow
as a good secondary enterprise). The two cows are rather similar in appearance (phenotype). Both have deep bodies, containing a large rumen able to digest large quantities of forage. Both also carry a substantial amount of muscle (and fat when well fed) which enables them to sustain health and production at times when the quantity and quality of feed may be in relatively short supply. This trait is, obviously, consistent with the potential to produce good beef. These two breeds may be said to be at the dairy‐type end of dual‐purpose (milk and beef) cows.
The modern Holstein, however, is a very different creature (Figure 1.1c). Not only does she have a conspicuously larger udder, she is bigger framed, much more rhomboid in shape and carries much less muscle. This phenotype is the consequence of a breeding policy designed to ensure the production of as much milk as possible from individual cows spending most of their adult life in barns on a diet of rich feed. The fourth picture is of a Jersey cow (Figure 1.1d), much smaller and daintier than the Holstein, but essentially similar in shape and conformation. These breeds are both examples of the extreme dairy type.
This book will explore our understanding of the physiology, behaviour, feeding and breeding of the modern dairy cow mostly within the context of specialist, intensive systems of dairy production. There are several good textbooks on dairy farming (see section on Further Reading) and the information given in these is constantly augmented and brought up to date by booklets from the advisory services: in the UK, the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service (ADAS), the Milk Marketing Board
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Figure 1.1 Shapes of dairy cows. (a) Dairy Shorthorn, (b) British Friesian, (c) American Holstein, (d) Jersey.
– The Dairy Cow of
(MMB) and a number of private enterprises (e.g. GENUS, etc.). This book is not intended to compete with these excellent sources of information but to complement them. It is intended for those who wish to enrich their concern for the dairy cow with better understanding based on sound evidence. It is primarily addressed to students in agriculture and veterinary science but will, I hope, be of interest and value to farmers, stockpersons (herders), those supporting the dairy industry as feed advisors and in other agricultural support trades; also for those with no direct contact with the dairy industry but that have real concerns for the welfare of farm animals and the environment.
If we wish to achieve this better understanding, we have no option but to take a deep breath and plunge into the principles of nutrition, physiology, genetics, animal health and behaviour. This poses a different set of problems. Most textbooks and scientific papers that deal with the workings of the cow, i.e. the physiology of digestion, reproduction, lactation etc. are written by scientists (such as myself) who have spent most or all their working lives in academic research. They tend to carry a degree of complexity that may be necessary for those directly involved in agriculture or veterinary science, but which are prone to tell the farmer, student or advisor rather more than they actually want (or need) to know. Publications of this sort that are full of information important to the fundamental scientist may provoke from the farmer, non‐specialist student or concerned member of the general public, the question ‘gee whiz, but so what?’. They are of interest to the microbiologist, for example to identify the thousands of species of microorganisms that inhabit the rumen and fundamental information of this sort has undoubtedly contributed much to (e.g.) the development of feed additives, and current efforts to restrict production of methane, a significant contributor to climate change. Similarly, they are of interest to the reproductive physiologist to investigate in ever greater depth the cascade of hormones that regulate sexual function and such research has led to major innovations in the practical control of reproduction. However, knowing the names and specific biochemistry of the individual microorganisms in the rumen, or all the specific hormones involved in reproduction, is not really of much practical use to the dairy farmer. My aim in this book is therefore to concentrate on those aspects of cow function in health and disease that are of economic or welfare importance and amenable to improvement through action on the farm. These will be presented in sufficient detail to convey a basic understanding – but no more.
Part I: How the Cow Works deals with the physiology of digestion and metabolism, reproduction and lactation, together with the science of animal behaviour in the context of welfare and adaptation to the environment. True scientists may find this section rather simplistic, although it is undoubtedly more complex that that found in most textbooks of husbandry and management. It assumes no more than a good general knowledge of chemistry and biology and is, I hope, largely self‐explanatory. Recommendations for further reading are given at the end of the book.
Parts II–IV deal respectively with feeding, breeding and fertility, housing, and health and welfare. In each case husbandry practices are evaluated critically in the context of the physiology, behaviour and welfare of the cow. This is not an instruction manual that says ‘do this, do that’. It assumes that the reader has
reasonable practical knowledge of dairy cow management and addresses the question ‘when I do this, or if I do this, how will the cow respond?’.
Part V goes beyond simple consideration of how the cow works, behaves and responds to various inputs and management practices to examine important current themes within the broad context of cows, humanity and the living environment. When the first edition of ‘Understanding the Dairy Cow’ was published in 1987, the objectives of dairy farming for most producers were simple: to produce wholesome milk in large quantities as effectively and efficiently as possible, in the confident assumption that it would all sell at a fair price and the consumer would not ask too many questions. Since then, times have changed. Relatively affluent consumers with far greater access to information, more‐or‐less supported by evidence, have become much choosier in their food selection and buying habits. Those who continue to buy milk (omnivores and lacto‐vegetarians) may select low‐fat, lactose‐free, or organic options for reasons usually related to anxiety about personal health. Many consumers, including vegans, express concerns about cow welfare and the impact of cattle production on the living environment. These are valid concerns and it is in the interest of both dairy cows and dairy farmers that they are given proper attention. Part V considers environmental issues: environmental challenges and factors relating to sustainability and quality of life in intensive and pastoral systems. It examines what is meant by good husbandry in the context of practical ethics and public opinion then explores how these aims may be achieved through the establishment, validation and promotion of systems that best reconcile the occasionally conflicting demands of biological and economic efficiency with the need to ensure healthy and reasonably happy lives for both the cows and the farmers.
I say again, this is a book about cows. It is not a treatise on dairy farming. The success or otherwise of dairy farming in general and individual systems in particular is heavily influenced by non‐biological issues of economics, politics, market forces and fashion. Predictably, these things are unpredictable. However, the yield of nutrients from the land and their conversion by cattle into milk and meat are governed by fundamental, logical and essentially invariant laws of biology. In this book I shall devote little space to the economics of dairy farming because they are so variable and subject to so many factors outside the scope of my argument. The processes that define the biology and behaviour of the dairy cow are complex, and we do not yet fully comprehend any of them, but the more that we who are interested in dairy cows and dairy farming can understand them the better we shall preserve and develop our craft to meet the needs of the age and our long‐term responsibilities as custodians of the land and the animals.
Milk as Food
The four essential qualities of a good diet are to:
1) Provide a correct balance of nutrients to meet our metabolic needs at all stages of life
2) Ensure healthy digestion
3) Satisfy taste and appetite
4) Do no harm.
Nutrient Supply
The most important nutrient for all animals is energy. We tend to get more excited by essential but quantitatively minor components of food such as minerals and vitamins but our greatest need by far is for fuel to sustain the fire of life. The energy value of food is measured in joules or calories (1 kcal = 4.2 kJ). This describes the amount of heat liberated when that food is combusted completely in a bomb calorimeter. One gram of wheat, for example, generates about 16.6 kJ of heat on combustion. Animals extract energy from food by the processes of digestion and absorption, use it to meet metabolic needs for maintenance, exercise and synthetic processes like growth and lactation and produce heat in the process. After energy, the principal nutrients required, in decreasing amounts, are amino acids from proteins, minerals and vitamins.
Table 1.1 lists the principal nutrient requirements for an adult doing moderate exercise and a growing four‐year‐old child, and illustrates the extent to which these can be met from whole milk alone. Table 1.2 illustrates how these requirements would be met if man and boy were to subsist on a daily diet of 500 g of whole milk and breakfast cereal. These tables make some important points that are too frequently overlooked in many popular articles on human nutrition and dietetics. The adult and child require, respectively, 12.6 and 6.4 MJ/day. The adult can meet this need by consuming 800 g cereal plus 60 g of milk solids (total 860 g), the child needs to consume 350 g cereal plus 60 g milk solids (total 410 g). Requirements for protein, the second most important nutrient, are 87 g/day and 56 g/day, i.e. only 10% and 14% of the diet respectively. Absolute daily requirements for minerals and vitamins are much smaller still. In other words, an adult requires about 90% of digestible food as a source of energy (fuel), the child about 85%. The affluent are inclined to
Table 1.1 Contribution of 0.5 L cow’s milk per day to the daily nutrient requirements of a four‐year‐old child and an adult doing moderate work.
Four‐year‐old child Adult
Table 1.2 Meeting the energy and protein requirements of an adult and a four‐year‐old child from a diet of milk and breakfast cereal.
Adult Child
Energy supplied by milk (60 g solids, kJ)
required from cereal (kJ)
Cereal intake (g/day)
Protein
from milk and cereal (g/day)
paranoia about calories but this is because we eat too much. For the hungry, calories are the biggest need by far.
A balanced diet is one in which the nutrients match the specific requirements of the consumer. Humans cannot live on a diet of bread and milk alone (not quite) because it lacks some of the minor nutrients. However, as indicated above, milk and cereal can meet not only energy but also protein requirements, even for growing children. When one looks at the minor nutrients, milk becomes even more impressive (Table 1.1). Relative to its capacity to provide energy, milk is rich in high quality protein, calcium, vitamin A and vitamin C. The nutrients it lacks are iron, vitamin D and some of the B vitamins, e.g. nicotinic acid. In practice this only constitutes a problem for animals such as veal calves reared on milk alone. As a food for human consumption therefore, cow’s milk is rich in almost all the nutrients essential for life, especially essential nutrients such as high‐quality protein (well balanced with respect to essential amino acids), calcium and vitamin A, so can provide an excellent balancer for low‐cost, high energy foods such as cereals.
Healthy Digestion
Most people who drink milk on a regular basis can digest it without difficulty. Some individuals can suffer the consequences of lactose intolerance manifest by abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea. This is caused by a deficiency in the enzyme lactase that divides the disaccharide, lactose into its constituent monosaccharides, glucose and lactose. All healthy mammals must have lactase at birth to digest their mother’s milk. If, after weaning, they drink no more milk the lactase enzyme is down‐regulated so that if they suddenly consume milk as adults, they may experience discomfort. The real prevalence of lactose intolerance is difficult to gauge, being confounded by individual differences in severity of symptoms, real and imagined. It is certain that the prevalence of lactose intolerance is much higher some Asian and African communities than in Western communities accustomed to consuming dairy products throughout life. What is not certain is the extent to which
