In this article, we will tell you more about the advantages and disadvantages of keeping dry cows in two groups.
A large part of the problems during lactation are caused in the dry period. No wonder, then, that the transition period is getting more and more attention. The importance, feeding the cow as much as possible according to its needs, is increasingly recognised. With this in mind, a concept has been developed where dry cows can be kept in two groups.
Two separate groups
When creating two separate groups, we speak of a far-off group (the first three weeks of the dry period) and a close-up group ( the last three weeks before calving). Based on a dry period of 6 weeks.
The ration in the far-off phase is often limited in energy and protein, as cows do not have as high a nutritional requirement during this period as during the milk production process. The purpose of the far-off phase is to allow cows to recover and optimise their body condition before entering the next lactation.
The far-off phase is usually followed by the close-up phase, which takes place in the last three weeks before calving. In the close-up phase, the dry cows receive nutrition that is more focused on stimulating milk production, programming the calf and preparing the body for calving.
The effects
By separating dry cows into different phases, you as a dairy farmer can better tailor the nutrition and management of dry cows to their specific needs in each phase. Which contributes to the cows' health and productivity in the next lactation.
The downside is, that housing and feeding dry cows separately at different stages of the dry period can require more time, labour and resources. It also means that cows have to be transferred to another group on a regular basis. Cows are true creatures of habit and cannot cope well with change. These constant relocations, potentially stress the cows. Which can disrupt feed intake.
In practice
In practice, we see that this concept is easier to realise on relatively large farms. Therefore, on a farm with less than 200 cows, it already often seems to require more work than it brings in. As a dairy farmer, it is up to you to carefully weigh up the costs and benefits and determine whether implementing different phases of the dry period is feasible and desirable within your business conditions. We would be happy to think along with you in this regard.
Would you like to know more about keeping cows in one or two groups or make an appointment with our specialists to see how we can optimise this on your farm? Feel free to contact us.
