Short answer: to increase buffalo milk yield, give unlimited clean water, feed good fodder, add a balanced concentrate according to each animal's milk (about 1 kg for every 2 to 2.5 litres), keep her cool in summer, and record milk daily. There is no magic powder; these basics, done every day, raise milk.
A milking buffalo is a factory that runs on what you put in front of her. At Vital Feeds (Private) Limited, when farmers ask us why milk has dropped, the answer is almost always one of the steps below. Get them right — in this order — before spending on anything exotic.
Does water really affect buffalo milk?
Yes — water is milk. Milk is mostly water, and the University of Nebraska extension guide on water for dairy cattle notes that milking cows need several kilograms of water for every kilogram of milk, and that even a small limit on water lowers feed intake and peak milk. Buffalo need at least as much care, especially on a hot Punjab day.
- Keep clean troughs and scrub them often.
- Put shade over the water so it stays cool.
- Make sure water is available at night, not only at feeding time.
This alone lifts more herds than any powder ever sold.
Why is green fodder alone not enough?
Green fodder is the base of the diet. FAO's guide to feeding dairy cattle and buffalo describes a 500 kg buffalo being fed 60 to 70 kg of succulent fodder such as berseem (Egyptian clover). But fodder has a ceiling: a buffalo giving good milk cannot eat enough berseem or maize fodder in a day to fuel that yield. The shortfall comes out of her own body, and next month's milk quietly falls with her condition.
FAO also warns that a diet heavy in wheat or rice straw can leave animals short of calcium and phosphorus. That gap is what a concentrate is for: our dairy vanda is built to carry the energy, protein and minerals that fodder cannot.
How much vanda should I feed per litre of milk?
The most common costly habit in Pakistan is giving every animal the same scoop. The rule used by dairy professionals is to feed concentrate by production. FAO's guide gives it plainly: about 1 kg of concentrate for every 2 to 2.5 litres of milk produced, adjusted to body condition (see also Penn State dairy extension for feeding by production).
In most herds the high-yielding animal is underfed and the low or dry animal is overfed. Fixing both often pays for the change. Do not forget the dry buffalo completely, though: FAO advises 1 to 1.5 kg of concentrate in late pregnancy, on top of good fodder, so she rebuilds her body and calves well. A strong start to the next lactation begins in the dry period.
Does summer heat reduce buffalo milk?
Yes. A 2023 scientific review of heat stress in dairy buffalo (Animals journal) explains that buffalo skin has about one sixth the density of sweat glands of cows, so buffalo lose heat poorly by sweating. Heat lowers feed intake, and lower intake means lower milk. The same review found that wallowing was the best cooling method, with fans and sprinklers a good option where there is no pond.
- Give shade in the hottest hours.
- Offer a wallow, or shower the animals in June and July.
- Feed in the cool hours of early morning and evening.
- Keep a dry, clean standing area.
It is the same physics we explain in poultry heat stress, only with bigger animals.
Does feed quality and storage matter?
Yes. Vanda that has gone damp or mouldy in the store loses value and can harm the animal. Keep bags dry, off the floor and used oldest first — our guide on how to store animal feed on the farm covers the rules. If a buffalo is sick, off feed, or suddenly drops milk, call your vet first; feed cannot fix illness.
How fast will milk go up?
No bag doubles milk in a week, and a mill that says so is selling you a story. Fed by yield alongside decent fodder, a good vanda usually shows its result on the second and third week's milk record — steadily, and it holds. Keep a simple daily milk notebook per animal; it is the cheapest dairy instrument ever invented, and it tells you which animal deserves more feed.
What is the simple daily checklist?
- Clean, cool water in front of every animal, day and night.
- Good green fodder as the base of the diet.
- Concentrate by yield: about 1 kg per 2 to 2.5 litres of milk.
- Shade, wallow or shower in summer; feed in the cool hours.
- Dry, clean feed store; oldest bags first.
- Write each animal's milk down every day.
Want a feeding plan for your herd size and yields? Browse our cattle feed in Pakistan, including dairy vanda for buffalo and cows, or find your nearest stockist on our dealers page.
Written by Waqas Rafiq, CEO, Vital Feeds (Private) Limited.
See our poultry feed, cattle and dairy feed and fish feed, or message the mill on WhatsApp (UAN 0311 1555136) to plan delivery sizes that suit your farm.