How to Increase Milk Yield: 8 Feeding Rules for Cows

Search for 'doodh badhane ka tarika' and you will find powders, capsules and home remedies. Poor feeding explains nearly half of the lost milk potential of Indian dairy animals, so the most reliable way to more milk is not a product but a ration. Indian crossbred cows average under 9 kg of milk a day; a well-fed animal of the same breed can give much more. These eight rules come first.

Rule 1: feed the same good ration every day. The rumen works best on routine. Sudden changes, and the swing from plenty of green fodder in the monsoon to straw in summer, are the biggest hidden causes of low milk. A year-round base such as corn silage keeps the ration steady.

Rule 2: give enough energy and protein. Wheat bhusa has only 3–4% crude protein and cannot even meet maintenance needs on its own. Build the ration on a good roughage base: corn silage carries 7.9% crude protein on a dry-matter basis plus grain energy, and ICAR-IIMR trials found a 10–20% rise in milk with whole-plant maize silage.

Rule 3: feed concentrate by milk. Give about 1 kg of good concentrate for every 2.5 litres of milk, on top of the base ration. A 15-litre cow fed like a 5-litre cow will soon become a 5-litre cow.

Rule 4: never skip the mineral mixture. About 50 g of mineral mixture and 30 g of salt per adult animal per day. Mineral shortage shows up as low milk, poor heat signs and repeat breeding.

Rule 5: water, water, water. Milk is mostly water. A milking cow can drink 80–120 litres a day. Keep clean water available all day, especially in summer.

Rule 6: beat the heat. Shade, ventilation, water sprays or a wallow for buffaloes, and feeding in the cool hours protect milk in summer.

Rule 7: watch health every day. Check the udder and teats at every milking; mastitis quietly steals milk. Follow the vaccination and deworming calendar your vet advises.

Rule 8: record milk and change one thing at a time. Write down each animal's milk daily. When you change the ration, change one thing, wait two to three weeks and compare.

What to avoid. Do not use hormone injections to let down milk. They harm the animal, and their misuse is restricted by law in India. Be careful with powders and capsules that promise sudden jumps in milk; if a product claims more than a balanced ration can give, ask your veterinarian first.

Start with the base. Most farmers who move from a straw-heavy ration to a balanced ration built on corn silage see 1.5–2.5 litres more milk per animal per day within three weeks. Message us on WhatsApp for trial bales and a free ration chart.