POST CALVING INFECTIONS MINIMISING
Good management of calving cows is a key part in ensuring the productivity of the herd, as Westpoint’s senior vet Tim Potter points out
D
ecisions made at the time of breeding, as well as the husbandry through pregnancy and prompt management of any problems encountered during calving will all impact on a herd’s health and productivity.
When considering post calving infections, it is important to remember that many of the conditions seen in the calving period are very closely related. For example, milk fever is a risk factor for animals having calving difficulties, as well as retained foetal membranes (RFM) which in turn both increase the risk of a cow developing a uterine infection post calving.
With this in mind it is important when considering how best to minimise post calving infections, that you take a holistic view to the management of cow health in the calving period as concentrating on one single disease or risk factor will have limited impact. Many issues encountered at and around calving can be avoided by ensuring the cow is not too fat or too thin. It is vital that pregnant animals are managed appropriately during their pregnancy so they are at body condition score 2.5-3 when they calve. One key step in managing body condition is to know when a cow will calve. Early scanning for pregnancy diagnosis and accurate recording of service dates will enable the most accurate identification of calving date and enable the nutrition of stock to be managed accordingly.
Milk Fever
One of the most commonly encountered problems around calving is milk fever, with the average annual clinical incidence in UK dairy herds estimated to be approximately 7-8%, though research suggests the sub-clinical incidence rate may be twice this level. Milk fever is caused by a lack of calcium in the blood stream, resulting from the body’s inabilities to mobilise its stores rapidly enough to keep up with increased demand associated with increased milk
90 THE JOURNAL OCTOBER 2014 production.
Clinical signs usually occur within 24 hours of calving, but can occur at or before calving. The clinical signs are often seen to progress over a period of 12 to 24 hours and include teeth grinding and muscle tremors, stiff legs, straight hocks and paddling of the feet when standing during the early stages. As the condition progresses you will see muscle weakness and the cow lies down with a characteristic kink (S-bend) in her neck. Later the head is held against the chest. Gut stasis causes bloat and constipation. Animals that are left untreated can die within 12-24hrs from bloat or paralysis of the muscles of the chest. Treatment of animals showing symptoms of milk fever involves the slow intravenous administration of 40% calcium borogluconate solution (containing 12g calcium). The solution should always be warmed to body temperature and administered slowly (400mL over 5-10 minutes).
Ensuring appropriate nutrition in the last 4-6 weeks before calving is the best method of preventing milk fever. The alternative preventative measure is to provide supplementary calcium to cows known to be at risk of milk fever at or just
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