Choosing Feed for Your Dairy Herd

You know your herd better than any bag label does. You see them at morning milking — which cow eats well, which one has gone quiet — and you can tell when something in the ration isn’t right. Feed choice starts there, with the animals in front of you, not with the shelf at the feed store.

The right feed supports them through every stage — milking, dry, transition, calf rearing.

Start With Your Animals, Not the Bag

Start with your own herd: cows, buffaloes, or both? Who’s in milk right now, who’s dry, and is anything due to calve soon? And what are you feeding at the moment — and honestly, how are the animals doing on it?

A feed that suits a milking cow won’t necessarily suit a dry one, and a calf needs something different again — so match the feed to the animal and the stage first, before price, brand or habit.

Cows and Buffaloes Are Not the Same

If you keep both, you already know they don’t use feed the same way, and their milk doesn’t respond to a ration change the same way. Buffaloes generally need a ration that supports their higher milk fat, cows often do better on one built around steady milk volume — so feed each group on its own needs.

When you change a feed, don’t just read the label — watch the animals. Appetite, cud chewing, dung, condition: they’ll tell you more in a week than any label can. Change it gradually, so the rumen has time to adjust.

Match the Feed to the Production Stage

Milking animals need a ration that supports daily milk production — that’s where the protein in the feed matters most. Dry animals still need balanced nutrition to hold condition for the next lactation — too much or too little can both cause trouble later. The weeks before and after calving need special care — that’s what a transition feed is for, and Close-Up 400, at 18% CP, is made for this stage rather than for general milking.

Calves need a starter feed that helps the rumen develop and supports steady growth. That’s what Calf Starter is for. One thing to know plainly: no protein percentage is published for Calf Starter, so judge it on its purpose and on how your calves are doing, not on a CP number.

How to Read the Protein (CP) Figure

That protein figure on the bag is written as CP — crude protein — and a few things make the comparison fair.

First, compare like with like: Vibro’s CP figures are on a dry-matter basis, moisture taken out, so always check the basis before comparing feeds. Second, higher isn’t always better. A higher CP suits animals with higher demands, like milking animals, while a lower CP may be plenty for animals with lower demands. And protein is only one number — energy, fibre, minerals and ingredient quality all matter too, so judge a feed as a whole ration, not on a single figure.

The Vibro Dairy Range at a Glance

Here’s the range, matched to the animal’s stage. Milk 122 HD is the flagship milking feed at 22% CP, for cows and buffaloes in milk; Milk Prime 111 sits one step below at 21% CP, and Milk 100 is the everyday dairy feed at 20% CP. Milk 200 is a lower-protein milking option at 18% CP, VB 16 the economy wanda at 16% CP, and Close-Up 400 the transition feed for the weeks around calving, also at 18% CP. Calf Starter is the starter feed for young calves, with no CP percentage published for it.

Don’t just pick the highest number on the shelf — choose by stage and condition, and if you’re unsure, ask the supplier to walk through your animals with you.

What to Check on Any Feed Bag

Before you buy, check the bag: the feed should be halal certified and aflatoxin B&G tested — Vibro feeds are both — with full nutrition printed on a dry-matter basis. If any of that is missing, ask.

A Simple Way to Decide

Here’s a routine that works: list your animals by type and stage, note what you’re feeding now and how they’re doing, compare CP figures on a dry-matter basis and match the level to the stage. Change feed gradually, watch appetite, condition and dung for a week or two, and ask questions — about the feed, the stage, the ration as a whole. Good feeding is the right feed, for the right animal, at the right stage, fed consistently.

Talk to the Vibro Team

Every herd is different, so talk it through with the Vibro team — your animals’ type, production stage, and what you’re feeding now — and explore the feeding options for your farm. WhatsApp 0330 0044001.