A cow can only produce milk after calving. This animal is not a dairy production machine. Certain physiological processes take place in the body of cattle; milk appears when the calf needs to be fed. The stomach of a newborn is not able to digest plant foods. This opportunity occurs in the animal at 3-4 months of life. The man took advantage of this feature and began to take away the milk intended for the calves.
When does a cow start giving milk?
A cow produces milk immediately after giving birth, but not earlier, since a female without a calf does not milk. Puberty in animals occurs at 8-10 months. True, females are ready for mating (insemination) only in the second year of life. The body weight of heifers at this age should be at least 330 kg.
Pregnancy (pregnancy) in females lasts 9 months. Immediately after coating, the young heifer’s body undergoes changes, the mammary glands prepare to produce milk. If a dairy cow is pregnant, then after insemination she is milked as usual, and two months before giving birth she is started, that is, she is transferred to dry land and milking is stopped.
The lactation period in animals lasts 12-14 months. It is constantly extended by the next calving. Cows are usually impregnated two months after the calf is born. Without giving birth, that is, without calving, a cow does not give milk. Lactation occurs only after the calf is born. It can last 5 years, but females are inseminated every year. The more often a cow gives birth, the more milk she produces. Peak productivity occurs after the birth of the fifth calf.
Another nuance is that the older the cow, the more milk she gives. Young animals are not as productive. They give only 10-12 liters of milk per day, and a cow over 5 years old - 20-30 liters of milk per day.
Where does it come from?
A cow is a ruminant animal that eats grass and hay. The food enters the rumen, then regurgitates, is chewed again and again returns to the anterior sections and into the stomach itself.Cattle eat 7-8 hours a day and spend the same amount of time chewing food. Through the walls of the stomach and intestines, the released nutrients enter the blood.
During the digestion of feed, a large amount of gas is released, which the cow burps. Nutrients entering the blood are distributed throughout the cattle’s body. They are used as energy and building material, as well as for milk production. True, lactation in an animal begins for the first time only after the birth of a calf.
Milk is produced by the epithelial cells of the alveoli, which are located in the udder. It is taken, or rather, formed from nutrients that enter the mammary glands from the blood. To produce milk, ordinary proteins, fats and carbohydrates are used. The composition of this product depends on the animal’s diet. It is removed from the udder due to the milk ejection reflex. With slight irritation of the nerve endings in the walls of the nipples, a stream of nerve impulses rushes to the brain and hypothalamus, resulting in the release of the hormone oxytocin. It enters the mammary gland through the bloodstream and causes contraction of myoepithelial cells.
The resulting milk enters the cavity of the alveoli, ducts and cisterns of the udder. If the udder is full, secretory functions are suspended. Although milk can be produced continuously, because the secretion process begins immediately after milking the cow. This is why it is so important to milk the animal until the end. When the tanks are released, a signal is given to produce a new portion of milk. In stressful situations, on the contrary, the hormone adrenaline is formed, which leads to compression of the muscles of the milk ducts and inhibits the milk ejection reflex.It is not advisable to frighten cattle before milking, otherwise they will not produce milk.
How to help a product appear
Milk, or rather, initially colostrum, appears in cattle after calving. It is recommended that the animal be milked immediately after giving birth, completely emptying the udder tanks in order to stimulate the production of a new portion of the product.
The amount of milk is affected by feed, its quality and quantity, as well as regular milking (3 times a day at the same time).
The basis of the cows' diet is grass, hay, haylage, and silage. Bulk feed is needed for the smooth functioning of the cattle digestive system. The volume of milk production depends on their quantity. Root vegetables have a milk-containing effect. It is for this reason that farmers try to feed cows with fodder beet tops and grated vegetables. Grain mixtures, on the contrary, reduce milk yield, but increase the weight of animals.
In order for a cow to regularly produce a lot of milk, she must have a good appetite. Yeast probiotics help improve this indicator. The cow should eat enough, that is, eat at least 50 kg of grass per day. In half-starved animals, milk yield is usually low. Milk production is affected by water. Cattle should drink 30-40 liters of liquid twice a day. The cow's lactation lasts for a long time, almost a year. It is extended after the next calving.
What affects the quality of milk?
The quality of milk produced in the mammary glands is influenced by several factors: feed, cattle care, cow health. Animals are recommended to organize grazing on pasture during the warm season.
During grazing, cows receive complete proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and microelements. Desirable vegetation is leguminous and cereal grasses 15 cm high.
During the grazing period, animal health improves and productivity increases. True, during grazing you need to make sure that the cow does not eat wild radishes, buttercups, rapeseed, rapeseed, and field mustard. These herbs give a bitter taste to dairy products. Vegetables such as turnips, rutabaga, turnips, garlic, onions, fennel, and cabbage degrade the quality of milk. The presence of peppermint in the diet can color dairy products bluish, and ivan-da-marya or maryannik will give a bluish tint. When cattle eat buttermilk, they produce sticky milk.
Feed that is fed to animals all year round affects the quality indicators of dairy products. If cattle are given too much cake, the butter becomes soft and quickly spoils, and the milk is not suitable for making cheese (it does not curdle well under the influence of rennet). For the same reason, it is not recommended to graze animals in swampy areas.
Soft butter is obtained when animals graze in the meadow, while hay and grain, on the contrary, give this product hardness. As for keeping cattle, if cows are milked in a dirty barn, the milk will pick up the smell of manure.
Can a cow give milk without calving?
A cow is an animal that produces milk in order to feed the calves that are born. Cubs eat this product for up to 3-4 months. Immediately after the birth of calves, the female is milked several times a day, which makes the body feel as if the newborn is constantly lacking milk. Regular milking keeps the udder tanks full.
If cattle are not milked for several days, the milk will disappear until the next calving. In order for a female to milk consistently, she must give birth annually. Without the birth of a calf there is no milk. A cow that is unable to become pregnant is called barren.Such an animal is sent to slaughter for meat.
Problems of low milk and dairy-free
A few days after the calf is born, the cow produces the largest amount of milk. After 6 months, productivity begins to drop sharply, and after 300 days, lactation may stop. To increase milk production, it is recommended to inseminate the female again two months after calving.
True, she will begin to produce more milk only after giving birth. The cow needs to be milked regularly, without breaks, three times a day. It is recommended to empty the udder completely. If for some reason (prolonged starvation, stress, climate change, mastitis) a cow produces little milk, you need to cure the cattle, adjust the diet and continue milking the animal. Over time, productivity will improve.
