Selection/Purchasing of Animals
First of all it needs to be decided which breed of animal you prefer. For selection of breed keep in mind the following characteristics of a good breed:
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| Selection/Purchasing of Animals |
● First calving and first lactation should be at early age
● More production per lactation
● Less calving interval
● Short dry period
● Short service period
● Less feed intake and more production (Better FCR)
Preferably purchase the animals of the breed of choice from it native area, from a reputed and reliable breeder
Try to purchase young animals, recently calved and preferably in second lactation
Make sure that animal is disease free
Carefully examine the udder including the teats. After milking, the udder should shrink like a balloon from which air blows out. In other words, on palpation, the udder should not give any feeling of being meaty or containing any hard tissue. The teats should be properly placed and of moderate size. There should be no extra teats
To determine the daily milk yield, the animal should be milked for three consecutive milkings. This also helps find out the temperament of the animal
Make the animal move a few steps to assess if there is any leg problem
Also check that the animal has healthy eyes
The dairy animal should not be abnormally over or under conditioned
Better watch the animal while it is ingesting feed. Possibly, examine its teeth and observe that it ruminates well
Ask the owner which method of breeding was used. AI or natural service
Ask the owner about vaccinations done and about the diseases that commonly are encountered in the area.
Only high producing animals should be selected
Keep the newly purchased animals separate and away from the already eating stock for at least 3 weeks to make it sure that they do not have any disease problem
Provide almost the same feed to the animals which they were being fed by the previous owner and if need be, change the feed gradually over a period of 10-14 days so that production is not affected
Find out the brand mark or some other mark of identification of the animal
Make sure about the ownership of the animal. The deal should be documented and signed