{"id":1232,"date":"2025-04-14T14:44:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T11:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/daminvet.com\/?p=1232"},"modified":"2025-04-23T20:29:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T16:59:01","slug":"factors-affecting-the-prevention-of-metabolic-diseases-in-dairy-cows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/factors-affecting-the-prevention-of-metabolic-diseases-in-dairy-cows\/","title":{"rendered":"Factors Affecting the Prevention of Metabolic Diseases in Dairy Cows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most veterinary care for sick cows is needed in the first three weeks after calving.<\/strong>
Cows that show signs of illness around the time of calving tend to be more susceptible to other diseases as well. If we can prevent one disease\u2014such as milk fever\u2014we automatically reduce the risk of ketosis and mastitis in the herd.<\/p>\n

If we can successfully prepare the cow for the stress of calving and the start of lactation by focusing on the following three key points, we can prevent 90% of the problems seen in sick cows.<\/p>\n

Prevention:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Preparing the rumen to handle high-energy diets to meet the cow\u2019s energy demands during lactation:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    • Stimulating the growth of beneficial bacterial strains in the rumen.<\/li>\n
    • Stimulating the growth of the rumen wall to maximize nutrient absorption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      How do we do this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Add grains to the cow\u2019s diet for at least three weeks before calving, especially for heifers who need to be fed this diet for five weeks. The protein content of the transition period diet should be 16%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        A \u2013 In herds fed with a TMR (Total Mixed Ration),<\/strong>\u00a0feed a diet with 0.71 to 0.73 Mcal NEl\/lb of energy for three weeks, and for heifers, at least five weeks.<\/p>\n

        B \u2013 In herds where forages and concentrates are fed separately,<\/strong>\u00a0start adding grain four weeks before calving, and gradually increase the amount over two weeks so that in the last two weeks before calving, cows consume 0.75 to 1% of their body weight in concentrate.<\/p>\n

          \n
        • If corn silage is the primary forage, this amount can be reduced.<\/li>\n
        • Always provide forage\u00a0before<\/strong>\u00a0concentrate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Maximize feed intake by drying off cows at a\u00a0Body Condition Score (BCS)<\/strong>\u00a0of 3.5. A cow with a BCS above 3.75 is considered over-conditioned. Decreased feed intake at calving leads to\u00a0fatty liver<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0ketosis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

          Final outcome:<\/strong>
          Less ketosis, less displaced abomasum, less rumen acidosis, and less lameness\u2014resulting in lower incidence of\u00a0laminitis<\/strong>\u00a0in early lactation.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Preventing a severe drop in blood calcium concentration at calving:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            As a large amount of calcium is diverted into colostrum and milk, the cow\u2019s blood calcium levels can drop significantly. Mild cases cause reduced feed intake and muscle weakness, which in turn lead to\u00a0retained placenta<\/strong>,\u00a0displaced abomasum<\/strong>, and\u00a0environmental mastitis<\/strong>\u00a0(especially because the teat sphincter doesn\u2019t close properly after milking).<\/p>\n

            How do we do this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Control dietary cation-anion balance (DCAB):<\/strong>
              Milk fever is typically caused by\u00a0high potassium<\/strong>\u00a0in the diet (and sometimes high sodium, particularly in heavily irrigated areas of North America). The effects of potassium can be partially neutralized by adding anionic salts like\u00a0calcium chloride<\/strong>,\u00a0ammonium chloride<\/strong>, or\u00a0magnesium sulfate<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
            • Provide adequate magnesium:<\/strong>
              Magnesium deficiency impairs the hormonal response that helps maintain blood calcium. I recommend higher magnesium levels than current NRC guidelines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              A good mineral profile for transition cow diets (3\u20134 weeks before calving):<\/strong><\/p>\n

                \n
              • Calcium: 1 \u2013 1.2%<\/li>\n
              • Phosphorus: 0.4 \u2013 0.5%<\/li>\n
              • Magnesium: 0.4%<\/li>\n
              • Sodium: As close to 0.1% as possible<\/li>\n
              • Potassium: As close to 0.7% as possible (most diets will work if potassium is reduced to 1.5\u20131.8%)<\/li>\n
              • Sulfur: 0.3 \u2013 0.4%<\/li>\n
              • Chloride: Sufficient to keep urine pH between 6\u20136.8 for Holsteins and 5.8\u20136.5 for Jerseys<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                My current approach:<\/strong>
                I formulate the diet using forages with the\u00a0lowest possible potassium<\/strong>\u00a0content that are still reasonably digestible. Corn silage is excellent. Beet pulp (without molasses), distillers\u2019 grains, fermented barley mash, and corn gluten can also be used.<\/p>\n

                First-cutting alfalfa typically has more potassium than later cuttings grown in dry conditions.\u00a0Do not rely on potassium levels reported by infrared forage analysis!<\/strong><\/p>\n

                Then I add\u00a0magnesium sulfate or magnesium chloride<\/strong>\u00a0to bring magnesium levels to 0.4%. If needed, I add\u00a0dicalcium phosphate<\/strong>\u00a0to bring phosphorus to 0.45% and\u00a0calcium chloride<\/strong>\u00a0to raise chloride to 0.55%.
                Calcium carbonate<\/strong>\u00a0can be added to bring calcium to 1%. In some cases,\u00a0a small amount of calcium propionate<\/strong>\u00a0(113 g\/day) may be used to help increase dietary calcium while also supplying\u00a0propionate<\/strong>, which the cow converts to glucose.<\/p>\n

                (The issue: Cost)<\/strong><\/p>\n

                That\u2019s where I start. If urine pH isn\u2019t low enough, I increase\u00a0calcium chloride<\/strong>\u00a0in the diet. Add the\u00a0minimum effective amount<\/strong>, as anionic salts generally reduce feed palatability and carry the risk of decreased intake.<\/p>\n

                Looking ahead:<\/strong>
                Hydrochloric acid may become available as a cheap and palatable source of anions for preventing milk fever. If so, I would use it instead of calcium chloride.\u00a0Calcium carbonate<\/strong>\u00a0would still likely be needed to bring calcium up to 1%. Some calcium can also be supplied by calcium propionate.<\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Most veterinary care for sick cows is needed in the first three weeks after calving.Cows that show signs of illness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1232"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1760,"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232\/revisions\/1760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daminvet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}