Heifer Management

A good dairy heifer is a great investment in any dairy production enterprise because the heifer constitutes the tomorrow’s milking cow. It is therefore important to raise a large herd of heifers which will provide wide scope of selection of replacement stock. After weaning, the heifer should be kept growing continuously because any setback will affect its lifetime productivity. Proper management ensures that the heifer attains puberty and the desired breeding weight early so that it achieves first calving by 22 to 24 months of age.

Under-feeding and over-feeding is undesirable in heifer rearing. Heifers should be well fed on good fodder and pasture and supplemented with concentrates after weaning them. A mixture of grass-legume pasture, good quality hay or silage may be provided on free-choice basis and supplementation with concentrates will depend on the body condition of the heifer. Avoid feeding the heifers on high energy diet since it leads to deposition of fat in the mammary gland tissue resulting in low milk yield. Ensure that the heifers have access to adequate clean drinking water and mineral salt supplement all the time.

It is important to minimize stress in the young heifers. Provide good housing and increase space as the heifers grow to avoid overcrowding which induces stress in the heifers. The management practices such as removal of supernumerary teats should be done at a young age. Effective bio-security measures, deworming, dipping and vaccination program should be put in place to avoid health problems as the heifers grow. Accurate vaccination and health records should be kept to help reduce death losses.

The correct breeding time is guided by the age and weight of the heifer. Generally a well managed heifer attains the target breeding weight by 14 to 16 months of age. The smaller breeds may be bred at this time while the large breeds which are slow maturing will be bred 2 to 3 months later. Flushing, which refers to provision of high nutrient diet to improve reproductive performance of the heifers, should be done before breeding. Once they have conceived, the pregnant heifers should be provided with adequate forage with level of concentrate supplementation depending on the quality of the forages.
During pregnancy the heifer should be handled gently and familiarized with the milking shed. Handle the udder and teats more frequently prior to calving to accustom the heifer to being milked once it has calved down. At about one month to parturition, accelerated heifer nutrition (steaming up) is necessary to facilitate easy calving and ensure high milk production in the early lactation phase.