The Calving Cow
Even where a well designed dry cow and transition feeding and management program has been followed, calving is a critical time for the cow.
What
happens at and around will have a major bearing on whether the cow moves seemlessly into lactation achieving
exceptional milk yields. Will she be free of milk fever (hypocalcaemia), metritis, metabolic disorders,
ketosis, mastitis, maintain body condition, get back in calf and survive to see another lactation. Or
will she succumb to clinical or sub-clinical milk fever, retained cleansings, metritis, ketosis, displaced
abomasum and other metabolic disorders, infertility, reduced milk output and be culled early.
Milk Fever and the Calving Cow
Milk
fever or hypocalcaemia (shortage of calcium) will typically hit around 5% - 10% of cows in the UK, mainly
3rd of 4th lactation cows. Sub clinical milk fever may affect a further 40% - 50% of cows.
These sub-clinical
cases are the ones that you don't see. The cost of clinical cases is
plain to see. The downer cow. The vet bills. The cows that are lost every year. The overall cost of a
clinical case of milk fever can easily be over £300 per cow.
But it is the sub-clinical milk fever cases whose true economic cost to the dairy farmer is often not appreciated. These sub-clinical milk fevers the ones that don't show any symptoms can, and do, cause a variety of problems including retained cleansings, metritis, mastitis, displaced abomasums, reduced dry matter intakes, ketosis, increased negative energy balance in early lactation, excessive loss of body condition score, reduced milk yields and infertility.
So it's important to take some preventative action. In the time shortly before and after calving,
large amounts of calcium are removed from the blood to the milk resulting in a rapid drop of calcium.
Failure of calcium absorption to increase fast enough, often results in milk fever, with symptoms such
as lack of appetite, low body temperature and muscle tremors. A well designed dry cow feeding programme
is essential, but even so, unless forages can be fed which are particularly low in potassium sub-clinical
milk fevers will still be reducing performance and profitability.
Milk Fever Prevention at Calving
Magnesium Chloride and DCAD - The traditional approach to controlling milk fever in the UK is to feed a low calcium, high magnesium diet throughout the dry dry period. This approach has often failed where calcium levels in the forage are not sufficiently low to allow the cow to adapt to a shortage of calcium during the dry period thus avoiding hypocalcaemia and milk fever when she calves.
Milk fever is rarely a problem where the Dietary Cation Anion Balance (DCAB or DCAD) on the dry cow diet is low for example when the potassium levels in the diet are below 1.5%. In practice the potassium level of UK forages is difficult to predict and is very variable between 2% and 4%. Straw, maize and wholecrop is generally lower than grass or grass silage.
Feeding 50 - 200gms of magnesium chloride flakes in the TMR or dissolved in water to reduce the DCAD of the diet and to add additional magnesium can be effective in preventing milk fever at low to moderate potassium levels. This approach is not effective where potassium levels in forage are above 2.5%. The cows urine pH can be tested and should be 6.5 - 7pH. If this cannot be achieved then the forage should be changed or another approach considered.
X-Zelit - a
new product developed in Denmark to prevent milk fever, is now available from RWN. X-Zelit is a new
approach using synthetic zeolites to bind calcium from the feed in the gut. This stimulates the cow to
produce hormonesto ensure effective mobilisation and absorption of calcium from the bodies reserves.
X-Zelit is fed at 0.5kg / cow / day for two weeks prior to calving. X-Zelit has proven highly effective
even on farms where potassium levels are high and where other systems of milk fever control have failed.
Whilst more costly than traditional approaches to milk fever control, X-Zelit has proven extremely effective
and the additional cost involved is easily justified by increased milk yield even in herds which by most
standards didn't have an issue with milk fever.
Download our X-Zelit PDF brochures Making Milk Fever History and see how X-Zelit can increase milk yield by a litre a day over a lactation even in dairy herds with well designed dry cow feeding programmes who are already achieving very low incidence of milk fever Have a Litre On Us .
Calcium Bolus Extra - widely used in The Netherlands and the rest of Europe is now available from RWN. The popularity of calcium boluses has increased phenomenally in recent years right across Europe. The routine use of calcium boluses across all second calvers and above is now highly recommended as a preventative for sub-clinical milk fevers. Bolusing is a much better option than injecting with bottles of calcium borogluconate.
Farmers using the Calcium Bolus Extra report that it is much quicker and easy to administer than bottles of calcium. The bolus is based on calcium lactate a rapidly available and non-caustic source of calcium which quickly dissolves into the rumen fluid and is rapidly absorbed into the blood. The bolus is proving to be very effective in preventing milk fever. Cows are typically dosed at or a few hours before calving and again 12 hours later where required. The result is better appetites and fewer problems.
Dose all 2nd Calvers and above at Calving as Routine.
The cost of a Calcium Bolus is minimal compared with the cost of Milk Fever
The Fresh Calver
The hours immediately post calving are a critical time which can have massive implications for performance during the ensuing lactation. It is vital to get new calvers fully re-hydrated, up and back on to feed as soon as possible. Many of our clients now use a highly palatable rumen-filling drink as routine to rehydrate all new calved cows.
F1
Fresh Start - is a soluble energising formula designed to achieve rapid post-calving intake of
energy, calcium propionate, phosphorous, live yeast and probiotics, vitamins, protected choline, trace
elements, electrolytes and water in order to achieve effective re-hydration. 1kg of this extremely palatable
post calving supplement is dissolved into 20 - 40 litres of hot water. Fed immediately, within 10 minutes
post calving, most cows drain the bucket before going to lick the calf and then go and take solid feed.
This results in a rapid return to full appetite.
Increasing the capacity of the rumen by up to 40 litres at this stage has some very impressive long-term benefits. Re-inflation of the rumen and rapid return full appetite reduces the risk of a displaced abomasum (LDA) as well as returning the cow to normal intakes of calcium, minerals, trace elements and energy. Effectively we create a big appetite right from the start of lactation. This reduces negative energy balance (NEB) and gives a more rapid uplift in milk yield and a significant fertility response later on in lactation.
Farmers using F1 Fresh Start report fewer milk fevers, reduced incidence of retained placenta, less displaced abomasums and fewer metabolic disorders during early lactation, as well as improved performance with fewer health problems in the subsequent lactation.
Fresh Start is
a fundamentally essential product for all fresh calved cows.
There are major long-term benefits
Getting
the feeding, housing and management of dry cows right through the dry period, and the through Transition,
3 weeks pre-calving to 3 week post calving, is more important than any other time. Transition management
is key to herd health to fertility and to profitable milk production.
Even when you have it as good as you can it, it is still well worth putting some additional measures in place to minimise the effects of sub-clinical milk fever and to get the new calver fully rehydrated and back on feed and into lactation without problems.
Full nutritional support package free of charge to customers along with the most extensive range of high quality feed inputs available.
For advice on designing an effective dry cow and transition feed programme, contact Richard Webster