{"id":1037,"date":"2026-07-22T06:37:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T06:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/?p=1037"},"modified":"2026-07-22T06:50:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T06:50:33","slug":"dairy-heifer-silage-feeding-the-next-milking-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/application\/dairy-heifer-silage-feeding-the-next-milking-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"Dairy Heifer Silage: Feeding the Next Milking Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dairy \u00b7 Heifer Rearing \u00b7 Silage Nutrition<\/div>\n

The nutritional targets, silage quality thresholds, and feeding programme for 0 to 24 month dairy heifers \u2014 why replacement heifers need different silage management to milking cows.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Heifer That Enters the Milking Herd Reflects Every Feed Decision Made Before<\/h2>\n

The dairy industry has a well-worn saying: the cost of rearing a heifer is the second-largest capital investment on a dairy farm after the land itself. At current Australian costs of AUD $2,400 to $3,800 per heifer from birth to first calving (including feed, labour, housing, and health), the feed management decisions made across the 22 to 26 month rearing period directly affect both the cost of producing each replacement heifer and the lifetime milk production performance of the animal after she enters the milking herd.<\/p>\n

A heifer that enters the herd at 22 months with good body condition score (3.0 to 3.5 on the 1-5 scale), correct frame development (110 to 120% of the adult breed weight target), and a well-developed rumen is worth significantly more to the farm than one that enters underweight or with poor condition \u2014 not just in the first lactation but across her entire productive life. The research is consistent: heifers reared on adequate nutrition through the 4 to 24 month period produce 200 to 500 litres more milk in their first lactation than heifers that experienced nutritional restriction during rearing, and this advantage persists into subsequent lactations.<\/p>\n

Silage is the primary stored roughage in most Australian dairy heifer rearing programmes, particularly through winter and early spring when pasture growth is insufficient. Getting silage quality right for heifers \u2014 which have different requirements at different rearing stages \u2014 is the management focus of this article. For how high-volume silage production for the milking herd is approached as a system, our article on reducing dry matter loss on dairy farms with a combined baler-wrapper<\/a> covers the production side of the dairy silage equation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Australian<\/p>\n

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Nutritional Requirements by Rearing Stage<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rearing Stage<\/th>\nAge<\/th>\nTarget Weight (Friesian)<\/th>\nME Required<\/th>\nCP Required<\/th>\nSilage Role<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Pre-weaning<\/td>\n0\u201310 wks<\/td>\nBirth to 90 kg<\/td>\nMilk + calf starter<\/td>\n16\u201318% CP calf starter<\/td>\nNot fed silage \u2014 rumen undeveloped<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Early weaning<\/td>\n10\u201316 wks<\/td>\n90\u2013140 kg<\/td>\n10.5\u201311.5 MJ\/kg DM<\/td>\n14\u201316% CP<\/td>\nIntroduce ad-lib good silage + calf meal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Growing heifer<\/td>\n4\u201312 months<\/td>\n140\u2013280 kg<\/td>\n10.0\u201311.0 MJ\/kg DM<\/td>\n13\u201316% CP<\/td>\nPrimary roughage + grain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pre-puberty<\/td>\n12\u201315 months<\/td>\n280\u2013360 kg<\/td>\n9.5\u201310.5 MJ\/kg DM<\/td>\n12\u201314% CP<\/td>\nMain silage + pasture<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Post-puberty to pregnancy<\/td>\n15\u201322 months<\/td>\n360\u2013480 kg<\/td>\n9.0\u201310.0 MJ\/kg DM<\/td>\n11\u201313% CP<\/td>\nMaintenance + growth<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Late pregnancy<\/td>\n22\u201324 months<\/td>\n480\u2013520 kg<\/td>\n10.5\u201311.5 MJ\/kg DM<\/td>\n13\u201315% CP<\/td>\nPre-calving transition silage<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

The Critical 4 to 12 Month Window \u2014 Getting Rumen Development Right<\/h3>\n

The 4 to 12 month rearing period is when the calf transitions from a milk-and-concentrate system to a ruminant feeding system where roughage provides the majority of energy and protein. The rumen microbiome that forms during this period determines the heifer’s lifetime ability to digest high-fibre pasture and silage efficiently. Heifers that receive poor-quality, high-NDF roughage during this period \u2014 mature hay above 60% NDF, poorly fermented silage \u2014 develop a rumen microbiome weighted toward structural carbohydrate fermentation at the expense of the mixed fermentation population needed for efficient pasture conversion.<\/p>\n

Good-quality silage at 55 to 65% NDF and 10.0 to 11.0 MJ ME, fed alongside a small grain allocation (1.0 to 1.5 kg per head per day of rolled barley or equivalent), provides the rumen development environment that produces efficient adult ruminants. Poor silage at 70% NDF and 7.5 MJ ME produces rumen development biased toward low-quality roughage fermentation \u2014 an effect that is partially but not fully correctable once the heifer enters the milking herd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Silage Quality Specification for Each Rearing Stage<\/h2>\n

Early Rearing Heifers (4\u201312 months): Highest Quality Required<\/h3>\n

The counter-intuitive finding from dairy research is that young heifers need the highest-quality silage in the system \u2014 not the milking cows. This is because young heifers have a smaller rumen relative to body size than adult cows and cannot consume as much DM per unit of body weight. Every kilogram of DM they eat must count nutritionally. Silage at 65% NDF with 7.5 MJ ME requires a young heifer to eat almost twice as much DM to achieve her growth target as silage at 55% NDF with 10.5 MJ ME. Since she cannot physically eat twice as much, she falls short of her growth target and the rearing schedule falls behind.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Silage Parameter<\/th>\n4\u201312 Month Heifers<\/th>\n12\u201322 Month Heifers<\/th>\nMilking Cows<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
ME (MJ\/kg DM)<\/td>\n\u226510.0 (ideally 10.5+)<\/td>\n9.5\u201310.5<\/td>\n\u226510.0 at peak<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Crude protein (DM)<\/td>\n14\u201318%<\/td>\n12\u201315%<\/td>\n16\u201320% (peak lactation)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NDF<\/td>\n50\u201360%<\/td>\n55\u201365%<\/td>\n45\u201358%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
pH<\/td>\n3.9\u20134.5<\/td>\n3.9\u20134.8<\/td>\n3.8\u20134.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ammonia-N (% of total N)<\/td>\n<8%<\/td>\n<10%<\/td>\n<8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Using Lower-Quality Silage Batches Strategically<\/h3>\n

Most dairy farms produce silage batches of variable quality across a season \u2014 first-cut spring silage at higher D-value, late-season cuts at lower D-value, occasional batches baled at sub-optimal moisture. Rather than feeding these batches randomly, assign them strategically by heifer age class: premium batches to 4 to 12 month heifers and transitioning cows; mid-grade batches to 12 to 22 month heifers; lower-grade batches to dry cows and far-off dry heifers. This allocation costs nothing but the management decision and significantly improves the per-dollar return from the silage programme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Feeding System and Bale Format for Heifer Groups<\/h2>\n

Group Feeding Without Dominant-Animal Intake Suppression<\/h3>\n

Dairy heifers in group pens show social hierarchy feeding behaviour \u2014 dominant animals access the silage bale before subordinate animals and may consume a disproportionate share of the daily allocation. In a pen of 15 to 25 heifers, intake variation between the dominant and subordinate 20% of the group can be 30 to 50% of daily DM allocation. This variation directly affects growth rate uniformity across the group, producing a spread of condition scores at mating that makes management more difficult.<\/p>\n

The management response is bale placement to allow simultaneous access from multiple points \u2014 placing multiple 1.0 m bales rather than a single 1.25 m bale ensures all animals can eat at once, regardless of social rank. The 9YCM-850 bundling film wrapping machine<\/a> paired with a 1.0 m or 1.25 m baler allows the dairy to produce appropriately sized silage bales for heifer groups of different sizes \u2014 smaller bales for young heifer pens of 10 to 20 animals where daily turnover of the full bale is required, larger bales for pre-calving heifer mobs of 30 to 60 animals where slower consumption over 2 to 3 days is acceptable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"9YCM-850<\/p>\n

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Common Heifer Silage Management Mistakes<\/h2>\n
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\u274c Feeding the Worst Silage to Young Heifers<\/div>\n

The logic of ‘save the best silage for the milking cows’ makes sense in isolation but fails when applied to 4 to 12 month heifers. Young heifers fed poor-quality silage through their critical rumen development period enter the milking herd with measurably lower peak lactation potential \u2014 a permanent production loss that outweighs any silage cost saving from the rearing period. Allocate your best silage batches to young heifers first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u274c Over-Conditioning Pre-Calving Heifers With High-Energy Silage<\/div>\n

Heifers entering their first calving with body condition score above 3.5 (on the 1-5 scale) have significantly elevated risk of calving difficulty, milk fever, and retained placenta compared to heifers calving at 3.0 to 3.25. In the final 3 months before calving, reduce silage quality and quantity to slow the rate of condition gain \u2014 or switch to lower-ME silage batches to achieve the same effect without reducing intake capacity. Monitor BCS monthly from 18 months onward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u26a0 Introducing Silage to Pre-Weaned Calves Before Rumen Development<\/div>\n

Silage fermentation acids in the abomasum of pre-ruminant calves (below 6 to 8 weeks of age) cause abomasal pH disruption and increase the risk of abomasal bloat. Do not offer silage to calves below 8 weeks of age. From 8 to 12 weeks, offer small amounts of good-quality silage (pH below 4.5) alongside calf starter to support the rumen development process. Full silage inclusion is appropriate from 14 to 16 weeks onward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Not Monitoring Heifer Growth Against a Target Weight-for-Age Curve<\/div>\n

Silage quality problems in heifer rearing are often not identified until mating \u2014 when the mob’s pregnancy rate reveals which heifers were cycling at the target age. By this point, 12 to 15 months of sub-optimal nutrition have already occurred and cannot be corrected. Weigh heifers monthly from 4 months and plot against the breed weight-for-age target. If actual weight is below target by 8%, investigate silage quality and allocation before the deficit accumulates further.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
\nHow much silage DM should a 6-month dairy heifer consume per day?+<\/span><\/summary>\n
A 150 kg Friesian heifer at 6 months requires approximately 4.0 to 5.5 kg DM total per day for a target growth rate of 0.75 to 0.90 kg live weight gain per day. If silage is 60% of the ration DM alongside 1.2 kg of rolled grain: silage DM intake target is 2.4 to 3.3 kg per head per day. At this intake level, good-quality silage (10.0 MJ ME, 14% CP) meets ME and protein requirements without additional protein supplement. Poor-quality silage (7.5 MJ ME, 9% CP) at the same intake falls 25 to 30% short of ME requirements and requires additional grain to compensate.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n
\nCan I use silage as the sole roughage for heifers, without any pasture?+<\/span><\/summary>\n
Yes \u2014 silage can be the sole roughage source for dairy heifers in indoor or sacrifice-paddock systems, but the silage quality required to meet growth targets without pasture supplement is higher than in systems where heifers have access to some grazing. Indoor silage-only systems for heifers in winter need silage at 10.0 to 11.0 MJ ME and 13 to 16% CP, supplemented with 1.5 to 2.5 kg DM of grain. Systems with even minimal pasture access (1 to 2 hours of strip grazing per day) can use lower-quality silage as the primary supplement with smaller grain allocations.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n
\nWhat is the minimum silage quality that will still support heifer growth targets?+<\/span><\/summary>\n
The practical floor for 6 to 12 month heifers on a silage-based system: ME \u22659.5 MJ\/kg DM, crude protein \u226512% DM, NDF \u226462%, pH \u22644.8. Below these thresholds, daily weight gain drops below the 0.70 kg per day minimum needed to reach target mating weight at 14 to 16 months, and the growth deficit compounds each week below target. If silage tests below this floor, increase grain allocation to 2.5 to 3.0 kg DM and supplement with protein meal (canola, cottonseed) at 0.3 to 0.5 kg per head per day.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n
\nShould heifer silage be tested separately from cow silage?+<\/span><\/summary>\n
Yes \u2014 test every silage batch that enters the heifer programme separately from the milking cow programme, even if it came from the same paddock cutting. Silage batches from the same paddock can vary in fermentation quality between bale runs (moisture variation, inoculant application consistency), and the impact of a poor-quality batch on heifer growth is more severe than on milking cows. A standard NIR forage analysis (ME, CP, NDF, DM, pH, ammonia-N) costs AUD $40 to $65 and should be done for each cut entering heifer pens.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n
\nHow do I plan silage inventory for a year-round heifer rearing programme?+<\/span><\/summary>\n
Calculate from the rearing calendar backward: number of heifers \u00d7 daily silage DM requirement by age group \u00d7 number of days on silage (typically 120 to 180 days for winter-spring supplementation in southern Australia). Example: 60 heifers mixed age averaging 3.5 kg DM silage per head per day for 150 days: 60 \u00d7 3.5 \u00d7 150 = 31,500 kg DM. At 200 kg DM per 1.25 m bale: 158 bales needed for the heifer programme. Add 20% buffer = 190 bales. This demand is separate from the milking cow silage inventory and should be budgeted and stored separately.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n

\"9YG-1.25\"9LZY-9.0<\/p>\n

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EverPower Baling Machinery \u00b7 Condell Park NSW 2200<\/div>\n

Discuss Your Dairy Heifer Silage Programme<\/h2>\n

Tell us your heifer numbers, rearing system, and current silage quality outcomes \u2014 we’ll help plan the silage production and quality targets for your replacement heifer programme.<\/p>\n

Request a Quote<\/a> About EverPower<\/a><\/div>\n
+61 2 9708 3322<\/a> \u00a0|\u00a0 \u2709 sales@silage-baler.com<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dairy \u00b7 Heifer Rearing \u00b7 Silage Nutrition The nutritional targets, silage quality thresholds, and feeding programme for 0 to 24 month dairy heifers \u2014 why replacement heifers need different silage management to milking cows. The Heifer That Enters the Milking Herd Reflects Every Feed Decision Made Before The dairy industry has a well-worn saying: the […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-applications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1037"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1045,"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037\/revisions\/1045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silage-baler.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}