Livestock
Feeding Dairy Cows for More Milk: Fodder, Dairy Meal and Minerals
A cow can only milk to the level her diet allows. Balancing fodder, concentrates and minerals is the cheapest route to more litres.
JAAG Livestock TeamAnimal nutrition & healthPublished 7 min read
Many zero-grazing farmers in Kiambu, Nyandarua, Nakuru and Meru have cows with the genetics to give 20 litres or more a day, yet average under 10. The gap is usually feeding.
Start with quality fodder
Harvest Napier grass at about 1 m (roughly 6–8 weeks of regrowth) when it is leafy and nutritious. Chop it to reduce waste and mix with a legume such as desmodium or lucerne where you can. Good fodder alone can support around 5–7 litres a day.
Add dairy meal by yield
Above the milk that fodder supports, feed about 1 kg of dairy meal per 2 litres of extra milk. A cow giving 15 litres on good fodder needs about 4–5 kg of dairy meal, split between milkings.
Don't skip minerals
Mineral deficiencies rarely look dramatic but they show up as poor fertility, retained placentas and low milk. Mix a measured dairy mineral into the meal every day, including during the dry period.
