Buffaloes in Dairy Farms - Practical Queries for problems encountered

[shaakti daairy farm]

Dear All,

I am a new entrant into the business of Dairy Farming and I currently have over 30 Buffaloes. Its been just over a month that i have been into this business and I am encountering a few problems on which I request you to help me:

1) we have come to notice that buffaloes which have consistently been giving us about 10 litres of milk a day suddenly goes almost dry and stays that ways giving only about 2 to 3 litres of milk. It is important to note that the buffalo had giving birth to a calf about a month back and hence is in the middle of the lactation period. On consulting with the doctor, we were told that the buffalo has become "cold" or "thandi pad gayi hai".. Request the members to please provide the reasons and symptoms for such a situation arising in a buffalo and how we can detect and avoid such a thing from happening ?

2) in certain buffaloes we encountered a drop in milk but not as substantially as the one mentioned above and this was attributed to the reduction in calcium in the animal ? Is there a particular reason or situation why the calcium gets reduced and what is the way to detect and avoid such a situation and also the way in which the drop in milk production can be restored to the normal levels ?

3) In certain other buffaloes, we have encountered some problems with the udder area getting spoilt either temporarily or permanently ? Is this a frequent occurence ? Can this be avoided ?

4) a large number of calves die in the first month or two. Is there a way to protect them ? should certain precautions be taken to save them ?

5) What is the mix / formula / proportion of ingredients that the ideal feed of a bufflao should have and how does it vary from the feed during the dry period ?

Friends, I would be highly obliged if someone can give me detailed reasons and answers to my queries as there may be a possibility that we are not doing certain things right.. We have the Mehsana breed of Buffaloes and all my queries belong to that category.

Regards

Rahul

 

[cravi]

Rahul,

It is very nice that some one has stared a thread like this to discuss the practical problems and day to day things about running a dairy operation.
Extreme care has to be taken regarding livestock and it is not an easy business as most people take it to be.

I can suggest a couple of things based on our own experiences running cows in a dairy farm. This may be extendable to buffaloes also.

For lactating cows only, we feed cotton cake and immediately we have noticed at least a liter of milk difference.

Calf mortality is indeed a big problem and we have learned to control it to a certain extent by keeping the surroundings clean and vaccinating them as soon as they are born. Anytime you see the calves experiencing diarrhea call the vet immediately, because that is a precursor to its death.

Can you share how you are milking buffaloes and how you are able to manage the feed and labor to run the dairy farm.

 

[azahe]

It is nice to see such kind of quries.
It seems some managment problem and some sort of feeding (balance diet)
may be deficient in concentrate.
Yes calcium and other minerals are important. Calcium deficiency because of milk contain good amount of clacium, thats why it need to suppliment calcium.
Also check if you used dewormers.
Check feed. Check managment.
Advice you to consult some veterinarian. He can advice you in better way after visting your farm and checkup of animals.

 

[prateekvaish]

It gives me immense pleasure in introducing ourselves as not only prominent but also leaders in dairy consulting. We are the only dairy consultants in India which actually own and operate a 250+ cattle breeding Farm with Indian born Pure HF (F6/F7 i.e.92%+ exotic blood level). Also we are maintaining a herd of 80 murrah buffaloes.
Lets address to your issues one by one:-
1. reasons for sudden drop in milk yield could be :-
a. Check for subclinical mastitis.
b. Check for rumen acideosis (grain overload).
c. check for toxins in feed.
d.I never advice for using any calcium supplement because it is actually not a decline in blood calcium level in mid lactation but a case of calcium imbalance (calcium and phosphorus ratio should be around 2:1) and instead of wasting money on sugar based pink colored calcium syrups just add 2% Dicalcium phospahate in ur feed.
e. always prefer to purchase pregnent animals or freshly calved buffaloes which have calved within 48 hours (it could be verified by checking milk status i.e. it should be colustrum so that one can be absolutely sure about lactation stage)
f. check for housing conditions.
g. Check the breed of animals because pure murrah, nili ravi or jafrabadi buffaloes never drop. its always gradual.
i. check for ecto and endo parasites.
j. check feed (15% DCP, 70% TDN, 2400 Kcal/per kg,fiber less than 10%).
k. check for silent heat etc.
l. check for pilferage of feed or milk.

 

[prateekvaish]

third issue is about mastitis. Mastitis is a common phenomenon in farms where:-
a. hygine is not maintained.
b. wrong milking practices are adopted.
c. number of young stock is less and a greater % of animals are old with a case history of mastitis.
Check all three conditions and diagnose problem.

 

[prateekvaish]

Fourth issue is about calf mortality. it could be because of following reasons:-
1. Low level of colustrum feeding.
2. low milk feeding or inadequate milk replacer feeding.
3. hygine condition of calf pen.
4. follow following deworming schedule:-
day 1 = banminth
day 3 = ivermectin 1 ml/sc
day 10 = piperazine
day 21 = albendazole
day 30 = levamisole
day 45 = banminth
day 60 = fenbendazole
day 90 = ivermevtin inj. s/c
day 100= albentazole
5. start antibiotic feeding
6. immediately treat cases of naval illness, calf scoures, calf diptheria, tetanus, calf pneumonia.