Common health disorders such as metabolic diseases and clinical mastitis in the first stage of first lactation, affected the productive life of dairy cows.
Dairy farmers decide to cull cows for low production or disease so the decision of when and how each cow should be discarded becomes particularly important.
Postpartum administration of acetylsalicylic acid can improve milk production in lactating cows during the first 60 DIM compared with untreated cows.
Research has reported that the postnatal injection of zinc, manganese, copper, and selenium before 30 days old, reduced the incidence of calf diarrhea and pneumonia.
When cows’ health is compromised by disease or trauma that deteriorates their well-being, and causes pain and suffering that cannot be alleviated by treatment, culling through timely euthanasia should be recommended.
Larger dairies oftentimes have rumen fluid donor cows (either rumen-cannulated or through rumen pumps) to transfer rumen fluid and “jump-start’ the digestive system of a cow undergoing digestive and/or metabolic problems.
According to past research up to 70% of lactating dairy cows develop metabolic and/or infectious diseases during the early post calving period, regardless of production, breed or management.
Flunixin meglumine is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). In the US it is the most commonly prescribed analgesic for cattle. An injectable flunixin formulation has been available in the US market labeled for intravenous treatment of dairy cattle with fever associated with bovine respiratory disease and endotoxic mastitis, and the treatment of endotoxemia associated with coliform mastitis.
Most of the metabolic problems of the dairy cow happen during the first two weeks of lactation. In a review of several experiments, researchers found that approximately one out of three fresh cows have at least one clinical disease during the first 3 weeks of lactation
Insulin is an anabolic hormone that allows body cells to absorb glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids circulating in the blood and increases the synthesis of fat and protein. At the beginning of lactation insulin levels in blood are very low to support milk production.
