49. Dry cow and transition cow management – it’s all about the COW. Featuring Dr Sue Macky

Well known New Zealand-based veterinarian, nutritionist and farmer Dr Sue Macky joins Charlotte Westwood in our latest podcast. Sue steps us through everything to do with the individual dairy cow during the dry and transition periods - from the cow's point of view. Too often we get overly focused on the detail of the diet and management dry and transition dairy cows - and forget about focusing specifically on the cow herself. Not in this latest episode, this is very much about the cow herself!

Sue discusses a cow-centric approach to managing dairy cows from dry off, during the far-off dry period and into the “springer” period (close-up dry period) and colostrum mob.  This is one episode you simply will not want to miss!

0.40 Introducing Dr Sue Macky, defining her lifetime of global experience in dairy cow feeding and management

3.35 The dairy cow is an elite athlete, and should be treated as such

4.35 The New Zealand dry (non-lactating) cow period - redefined

5.10 Managing cows heading into dry off including redrafting cows for the dry period. Impacts on an individual cow with changing herd social structure discussed

7.10 Cow body condition score at dry off through to calving

7.50 Gut fitness in dairy cows; Capacity and muscularity during the dry period

10.20 Feeding cows through dry off – “don’t confuse the cow”

10.50 Immune functionality through dry off

11.40 Stock water supply and access by cows during the dry period 

13.30 Late dry period through to the transition period – setting cows up well

14.00 “Calves are obligate parasites during late pregnancy”

14.40 The challenges of pasture-based diets in late pregnancy

15.30 Mob size for springer (close-up) dry cows, it’s all about compromise

16.05 How long should cows remain in the springer mob?

16.30 The calving cow – the importance of access by cows to feed and stock water

17.50 The cow-newborn calf bond

18.45 Feed, water and calcium for freshly calved cows

20.10 Cow behaviour after calving – the modern cow vs. the cow of ancient times

21.05 Milking out a cow after calving (“energy in, energy out”)

21.35 Once-a-day milking of cows after calving, it’s all about gut fill and rumination