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A Guide To Dairy Herd Management
A Guide To Dairy Herd Management
RRP AUD$39.00
A guide to dairy
herd management
Contacts:
Meat & Livestock Australia LiveCorp
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Author:
John House, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Editor:
Ian Partridge
Acknowledgment:
Dr John Moran, Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Australia
Published by:
Meat & Livestock Australia Limited
ABN: 39 081 678 364
October 2011
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Introduction
lncreasing numbers of Australian dairy animals are being exported to coun-
tries seeking to improve their production of milk and dairy products.
Some cattle are going to countries in the tropics and subtropics, other
going to countries with more temperate climates.
These Australian dairy cattle are of high genetic potential; they need good
management and good feeding to produce high yields of milk in their new
homes and environments.
The success of such programs depends largely on the awareness and abil-
ity of new owners of these stock to meet these standards of feeding and
general herd management, and this book is designed to provide the infor-
mation needed for good decisions to be made. Key factors in management
include nutrition, cow comfort and reproductive management.
In collaboration with the importing countries, the Australian Government
has instigated procedures for strict animal selection and quarantine prior
to transport, while the exporting agencies are developing post-arrival pro-
tocols to reduce stresses on the newly-arrived stock.
A guide to dairy herd management has been developed for distribution
to dairy farmers and organisations in the countries that source Australian
dairy heifers. It highlights the important dairy herd management practices
required to reduce undue stress on unadapted, high genetic merit dairy
heifers once they arrive at their new destination.
2 Nutrition 5
Key points 5
Feed composition 6
nutrients for milk production 6
Water 6
Energy 6
Protein 6
Fibre 7
Energy and digestibility 7
Vitamins 8
Minerals 8
Sources of feed 9
Temperate and tropical grasses 9
Nutritional requirements 14
Useful resources 16
3 Feeding management 17
Key points 17
Feeding high-production cows 17
Useful resources 21
5 Reproduction management 32
Key points 32
Heat detection 32
Reproductive goals 36
Nutrition, cow health and reproductive performance 37
Biosecurity 38
Useful resources 39
6 Cow comfort 40
Key points 40
Dairy and shed design 40
Shed design and management 45
Useful resources 47
7 Heat stress 48
Key points 48
Sources of heat 48
Cooling strategies 49
Cooling cows 50
Feeding management 51
Useful resources 52
8 Milk harvesting 53
Key points 53
Milking hygiene 61
Drying cows off 62
Post-harvest milk quality 62
Milk cooling and storage 62
Milk transport 62
Useful resources 63
from introduced livestock, people, equipment, Developing training programs for staff
feed, wildlife and water. to implement the operating procedures
effectively
Human food quality The dairy produces
milk and meat for human consumption, Scheduling staff and defining staff roles
and the consumer expects that the product improves staff productivity
will be nutritious and safe. A number of Identifying individual animals and keeping
pathogens can infect both animals and good records
humans. Properly functioning equipment Establishing a monitoring system for each
for milk harvesting, cooling and storage aspect of the business to provide rapid
and good milking routines are important for feedback regarding program outcomes. It
the health of the cows and for milk quality. is difficult to manage practices for which
Some medications to treat sick cattle or to there is no measure of success.
facilitate their reproductive management can
Identifying knowledge gaps and seeking
have adverse impacts on milk products or
professional input in these areas;
people. Individual identification, good record
examples include nutrition, animal health,
keeping of medication and chemical use, and
milk harvesting and milking machines, milk
observance of withholding periods will avoid
cooling and storage, agronomy, finance.
contamination of human food.
Animals
Expertise
There are numerous approaches to
Dairy farming is a sophisticated industry that
profitability in dairy farming. Some focus on
calls for diverse knowledge and expertise
minimising input costs while accepting lower
relating to animal health, soils, cropping,
milk production; others use high inputs to
mechanics, business, and construction. As
maximise production and profitability.
herd size increases, so does the need for extra
staff. The success of the dairy farm is often There is no universal best system. Which
constrained by the weakest link in the staff system is best will greatly depend on the
team. For example, investing in resources costs of feed and labour and the price for
to keep cows comfortable will not achieve milk, but will also reflect differences in skills
high production if the person responsible for and resources on any given farm.
feeding the cows does not pay attention to The genetic capacity of the cow to produce
detail and fails to feed cows their appropriate large volumes of milk can be realised only if
ration. the amount of nutrients fed meet the nutrient
The complexity and difficulties associated output in the milk. High-potential cows
with staff management increase as the number cannot produce large volumes of milk if fed
of staff employed increases. Management poor-quality or inadequate amounts of feed.
needs to be proactive in developing staffing They will attempt to produce milk but at the
structure and protocols. Planning increases expense of body condition and reproduction.
the likelihood of good outcomes. Farms that The five conditions of animal care to promote
do not have development plans for staff health, productivity, and longevity are:
and project plans tend to practice crisis
freedom from hunger and thirst
management, moving from one problem to
the next. freedom from discomfort
freedom from pain, injury or disease
Proactive strategies include:
freedom from fear and distress
Establishing clear goals for each area of
the business freedom to express normal behaviour.
Developing standard operating procedures
for common tasks
Dairy herd health and The risk of calf disease is reduced when
production calves are fed colostrum at birth, fed milk that
has been appropriately handled and stored,
The cycle of life born and raised in a clean dry area and kept
The life cycle of a dairy cow is predictable separate from older calves that could be a
and therefore can largely be managed with source of infection.
scheduled activities. For dairy farms that Heifer conception The onset of sexual
maintain a seasonal calving pattern with cows maturity is related more to body weight than
calving every twelve months, the life cycle of to age. Heifers should weigh 85% of the adult
the cow can be linked to an annual calendar cow weight at the time of calving. Target growth
of management events. However, maintaining rates and breeding weights for heifers differ
a 12-month calving interval poses several slightly for those raised in intensive systems
reproductive challenges, and farms calving or on pasture. Well-fed Holstein heifers will
cows all year round often have a calving gain around 800 grams per day to achieve a
interval closer to 13 months. target breeding weight of 350375kg by 15
This section focuses on the life cycle of the months of age; heifers reared on pasture are
cow rather than on the calendar year. more variable, reaching a body weight of 310
350kg at 18 months.
Birth Holstein cows have been selected for
milk production and not for ease of calving or Weight at joining is related to weight at calving
mothering ability; thus birth is a high risk event and subsequently to milk production. Well-
that can lead to the loss of both the cow and grown heifers are less likely to have calving
calf. Calf mortality is approximately three per difficulties, will produce more milk and get
cent of those born to cows and some six per back in calf more rapidly than poorly grown
cent of those born to heifers. Calf mortality heifers.
at birth can be much greater when heifers Calving Individual animal identification and
are poorly grown, the nutrition of pregnant good reproductive records and management
stock is poorly managed, the calving area is are important for management of calving
disruptive to normal cow behaviour, and when cows. Reproductive records allow prediction
sire selection does not take calving ease into of when cows are due to calve.
consideration.
Good nutritional management of cows
Strategies to reduce the risk of calving before calving reduces the risk of metabolic
problems include nutritional management of diseases that can contribute to weakness and
young stock so that heifers are well grown subsequently calving difficulty. For a good
when they have their first calf and use of ration to be effective, it needs to be fed to the
calving-ease sires to breed heifers. right cow for the appropriate period.
At birth, the calf is immunologically nave and The four weeks prior to calving are recognised
highly susceptible to pathogens. Good quality as a crucial time for dairy cattle. Cows that
colostrum promotes calf immunity and should are fed and managed well before calving are
be fed to calves within six hours of birth. less likely to have problems with metabolic
Colostrum quality is influenced by: diseases such as milk fever, ketosis, retained
the age and health status of the mother placenta, metritis, abomasal displacement or
the timing of colostrum harvest relative to death.
birth The health of cows after calving is also
the hygiene of the equipment used to influenced by the environmental conditions at
harvest and store the colostrum. calving and by the quality of care provided to
calving cows. Cows calving in dirty wet yards
As bacteria can multiply in colostrum, it
are more likely to develop uterine infections, as
should either be fed directly to the calf after
do unhygienic practices or excessive traction
being harvested or cooled rapidly to 4oC for
by handlers helping calving cows.
short-term storage.
Death Common causes of death include the non-lactating or dry period provides an
calving difficulty, mastitis and metabolic opportunity to treat existing intra-mammary
disease; nearly all occur within 60 days of infections and to prevent new intra-mammary
calving. Strategies to prevent disease and infections.
mortality should deal with the period which
Strategies to reduce the risk of new intra-
spans the four weeks before and the four
mammary infections during the dry period
weeks after calving.
include intra-mammary therapy at the
Conception After calving, cows should start time of drying off and implementing good
into a reproductive management program environmental and nutritional management.
with targets established for average days-to- Attention to detail is important when working
first-breeding, efficiency of heat detection and with cowsparticularly when administering
for pregnancy rate. Contingency plans should medications as poor treatment technique
also be in place for cows that experience can introduce pathogens. When milking
calving difficulty, retained placenta, or metritis is stopped, the mammary gland becomes
so as to minimise their impact on reproductive engorged and some cows may leak milk. This
performance. The days between calving and opens the teat end allowing bacteria to enter
conception dictate the calving interval and the gland. Similar engorgement and leakage
have a large impact on future milk production, of milk can be seen before and after calving.
herd structure, and availability of replacement During these times, the cows must be kept in
heifers. a clean environment.
Culling Cows should be culled from the Routines In batch-calving herds where all
herd toward the end of their lactation on the cows calve over a short period, the cycle
basis of a lowered future productive potential. of life may be incorporated into an annual
Culling decisions based on voluntary criteria calendar. This is not possible with year-
such as low production, age and conformation round calving herds where efficiencies
tend to promote herd productivity whereas can be gained by scheduling repetitive
those based on involuntary criteria associated routine tasks into daily, weekly or fortnightly
with failure of conception, disease or injury activities. A good record-keeping system
have a negative impact on herd structure. facilitates scheduling of common tasks with
Recording the identity of animals culled, stage procedures such as vaccination schedules
of lactation at which they were culled and and reproductive synchrony programs linked
reason for culling helps to identify causes of to the stages of the production cycle. Many
attrition that need to be investigated. dairy software programs can generate lists of
cows according to their stage of lactation or
Dry cows Cows are dried off 5060 days
pregnancy. Establishing a schedule provides
before their projected calving date to allow the
a level of predictability to work routines and
mammary glands to recover. High-risk periods
assigns responsibility to individuals promoting
for new intra-mammary infections include the
accountability when multiple people are
early and late dry period and early lactation;
involved.
2 Nutrition
Key points
Feed composition All feedstuffs fed to When the nutrient output in milk exceeds
cows contain some water. To account for the amount of nutrients eaten during early
the different water contents, the weight of lactation, cows lose weight. Excessive
feed is expressed on a dry matter basis. loss of weight or Body Condition during
The dry matter of a feed is the weight early lactation indicates the nutrient
of the feed after all the water has been requirements of the cow have not been
extracted. met.
The dry matter content of mixed dairy Milk production is driven by dry matter
rations is usually formulated to be intake, which is influenced by the quality
5075% of the ration. Wetter or drier than or digestibility of the feed fed.
this limits consumption. Poor-quality feed takes longer to digest
Feed utilisation Dairy cows use feed for and therefore limits the amount of feed
several different functions. These include a cow can eat each day; this limits the
maintenance of bodily functions, growth amount of nutrients available for milk pro-
(in young stock), pregnancy and milk pro- duction.
duction. Good-quality forage provides the foun-
Feed consumption The daily feed dation of dairy rations.
intake for maintenance of a non-pregnant Key points in growing good-quality for-
mature cow is about 1.2% of her body ages for dairy cows:
weight. Thus a 600kg cow needs to eat
about 7.2kg of good-quality dry matter 1. Select the most appropriate species
per day just to maintain bodily functions. for the region and environment.
The amount of dry matter fed to heavily 2. Manage the crop to optimise growth
pregnant, non-lactating cows should be and quality.
around 2% of bodyweight. The additional 3. Harvest the crop at the optimum
feed is to meet the needs of advancing stage of maturity for nutritive value.
pregnancy.
Excess forage can be conserved as
Lactation dramatically increases the feed silage or hay.
requirements of high-producing dairy
Concentrate supplements can be sourced
cows. The amount of good-quality dry
already formulated or as raw ingredients.
matter a milking cow should be fed can
Their selection should be based on the
be estimated by adding 5kg per 10 litres
need for additional energy or protein in
of milk produced to the maintenance
the diet.
requirement of the cow.
High-producing cows can eat 4% of their
body weight in dry matter per day at peak
lactation when fed highly-digestible feed.
Table 2.2. Crude protein requirement for levels of milk fore produces saliva which buffers the rumen
production against sudden changes in acidity (see aci-
Milk yield (litres/day) Crude Protein % dosis).
0 13 Fibre can be quantified as Neutral Detergent
10 14 Fibre (NDF) and Acid Detergent fibre (ADF).
20 15
High levels of NDF reduce the intake of a
ration. High-producing dairy cows are limited
30 16
to a NDF intake that is equal to 1.1% of the
40 17 cows bodyweight.
50 18 Dry matter intake (DMI) can be estimated for a
forage or ration
Fibre
DMI = (1.1 x Body weight)/ NDF %
The fibre fraction of the ration is digested
For example
slowly in the rumen by rumen microorgan-
isms. For efficient digestion, the rumen must If a 500kg cow is fed forage with a NDF of
contain fibre from forages. Fibre ensures that 40%
the cow chews its cud (ruminates) and there- Estimated DMI = (1.1 x 500)/ 40 = 13.75 kg
Carbohydrates
Hemi-
Sugar Starch Pectin cellulose Cellulose Lignin
Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF) is the more indi- Examples of deficiencies of macro-minerals
gestible or more slowly digested component for dairy cows include:
of NDF, and is mostly lignin from plant cell
Calcium (Ca) Deficiency in young animals
walls. A high ADF content indicates the forage
leads to soft bones and growth deformities.
is mature and the amount of available energy
Inappropriate management of cow around
will be low. The amount of ADF in the diet is
calving results in milk fever
associated with milk fat percentage.
Phosphorus (P) Deficiency results in reduc-
Vitamins tion in intake, lameness, low milk and poor
Vitamins are organic compounds that ani- fertility
mals require in very small amounts. They are Magnesium (Mg) Deficiency results in nerv-
needed for many metabolic processes in the ousness, restlessness, twitching of muscle
body, eg for production of enzymes, bone and the cow will collapse.
formation, milk production, reproduction and
disease resistance. Trace or micro-mineral requirements
Table 2.4. Trace mineral requirements for dairy cows in
Fresh forages are generally high in vitamins. relation to total DM intake
Vitamins can be water-soluble or fat-soluble. Total intake
The B group of vitamins are water-soluble Trace mineral (mg per kg DM)
(mg)
and are produced by bacteria in the ani-
Copper (Cu) 12 265
mals digestive system. Fat-soluble vitamins
(Vitamin A, D, E and K) can be stored in the Zinc (Zn) 52 1140
liver or fatty tissue for 36 months. They may Manganese (Mn) 40 880
need to be supplemented if cattle have been Cobalt (Co) 0.11 3
off green feed for a long time as they are lost
Selenium (Se) 0.25 5.5
with prolonged storage of feeds.
Iodine (I) 0.60 13
Minerals
Iron (Fe) 15 330
Minerals are inorganic elements. They are
needed for bone and teeth formation, for Symptoms of deficiency of micro-minerals in
enzyme, nerve, cartilage and muscle function dairy cows:
or formation, milk production, blood coagu-
Copper (Cu) Weak immune system, reduced
lation and efficient utilisation of energy and
conception rate, dilution of coat colour, brittle
protein.
bones and diarrhoea.
Table 2.3. The macro-mineral requirements for dairy
cows as a percentage of total DM intake. Zinc (Zn) Weak immune system, reduced
Mineral Requirement (% of total DMI) conception rate, reduced feed intake,
increased incidence of lameness.
Calcium (Ca) 0.70%
Phosphorus (P) 0.40%
Manganese (Mn) Silent heats, reduced con-
ception rates, cystic ovaries.
Magnesium (Mg) 0.30%
Selenium (Se) Increased retained pla-
Potassium (K) 1.06%
centa, reduced fertility, weak or silent heats,
Sodium (Na) 0.25% increased incidence of mastitis, muscle weak-
Chlorine (Cl) 0.28% ness in young stock.
Sulphur (S) 0.20% Cobalt (Co) Rough hair coat, poor intake,
anaemia, weakness.
Iodine (I) Enlarged thyroid gland (goitre).
early to mid-flowering,
60-65 green Moderate production 8.2-9.1
Figure 2.2 Forage quality of temperate (dotted line) and tropical (solid line) grasses at
different stages of plant development (modified from NSW Ag Primefact 1070)
The basic principles for producing quality for- Choice of method of conservation may be
ages are: partly driven by rainfall patterns during the
1. Select the most appropriate forage spe- growth season but, with dairy cattle, silage
cies for the region increases the yield of nutrients, decreases
feed costs, lowers harvest losses, and often
2. Prepare the forage production area for
increases forage quality.
sowing
3. Manage the crop, particularly with ade- Silage
quate fertiliser, to optimise growth and Ensilation is an anaerobic fermentation pro-
quality cess that converts plant sugars to organic
4. Graze the pasture or harvest the crop at acids. The resulting acidity effectively pickles
the best stage of maturity for nutritive the forage to maintain its quality for long
value. periods.
The saying Rubbish in, rubbish out espe- Effective fermentation is controlled by:
cially applies to dairy cow rations where the moisture content of the forage
quantity and quality of milk produced is a sugar content of forage
direct result of the ration being fed. The quality exclusion of air, aided by fineness of chop
of all the components of a ration, with special bacterial populations, both naturally
attention to the forage components, must be occurring and supplemented.
monitored when feeding dairy cattle.
The forage is generally wilted to 30% dry
Knowing the nutritional value of plants at matter before being ensiled, with silage addi-
varying stages of their life cycle will help tives added if forage dry matter is below 30%.
determine the correct time to harvest forage
for maximum quality and quantity (Figure 2.2).
The leaf of a grass plant is at its highest quality
(nutritional value) when actively growing,
quality declines slightly during the late vege-
tative stage, and then decline markedly once
it flowers and puts up stalks. The quantity
moves through the opposite phase. Forages
should be grazed during their active growth
phase and cut during their late vegetative
phase to maximise forage quality.
Forage harvest and preservation Silage must be fine-chopped to allow compaction and
exclusion of air.
In pasture-based dairy systems, excess
forage from the peak production is used to
fill feed gaps at the times of year when the
growth of forage is inadequate to meet the
nutritional needs of the herd. Feed gaps may
be caused by low temperatures in temperate
and subtropical regions, and by dry seasons
in tropical and subtropical regions. Irregular
feed gaps may be created by droughts asso-
ciated with inter-annual climate variability.
Conservation may be as hay or silage but the
rule of Rubbish in, rubbish out" applies; good
quality hay or silage cannot be made from
poor quality forage. Poor quality silage - coarse maize stems that do not
compact.
Some forage leaf is lost when mowing or by Concentrate and protein supplements
raking during curing. The best practice is to Milking cows need concentrates to supple-
rake the hay once only and that should occur ment the foragewith the type of concentrate
on the day of baling. depending on the composition of the forage.
Table 2.5. Recommended moisture contents (%) for Some supplements that are by-products from
safe storage of various bale types
processing crops include canola meal, soy-
Moisture content bean meal, cottonseed meal, beet pulp, citrus
Bale type
(%)
pulp and rice bran; others are formulated con-
Small rectangular bales 1618 centrates from feed millers.
Round bales (soft centre) 1416
By-products can be categorised as energy or
Round bales (hard centre) 1315
protein supplements. Table 2.4 classifies sup-
Large rectangular bales 1214
plements to balance cow diets that may be
Source: http://new.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/
grain-crops/pastures/haystack-fires-spontane- low in dietary energy or protein.
ous-combustion Products such as citrus pulp may contain a
Hay should not be baled until it is under about large amount of water. Calculations regarding
20% moisture to prevent spontaneous com- energy and protein to determine how much
bustion in the shed or stack. should be fed are based on the dry matter
content of the ingredients.
Storage
Good conditions for feed storage are impor-
tant to maintain feed quality, minimise
wastage, and reduce the risk of feed spoilage
and toxicoses.
Important considerations for storing feed
include:
the characteristics of the feedparticu-
larly moisture content
accessibility of the location under different
weather conditions
Hay baled when too moist will heat up and may
spontaneously combust when stored. risks associated with poor storage con-
ditions, for example the build-up of
mycotoxins in mouldy feed
Table 2.6. Classification of supplements and basal forages according to their energy and protein contents.
wastage
turnover
Dry commodities need to be kept dry. Wet
commodities should be held in a concrete
silo, and the volume of feed ordered must
be matched to the amount required so that
the feed remains fresh. Wastage is generally
highest when the feed is stored on soil, which
may also contaminate the feed with stones
and dirt. Flies can be a problem with wet pro-
tein sources and wind loss with dry dusty
ingredients.
Feed wastage Cows may trample and waste about 30% percent of
hay fed in the field.
Feed may be wasted through physical loss
foundation of the ration; concentrates and
of dry matter or by spoilage of feed quality.
by-products are added to provide additional
Physical loss occurs if the feed is trampled
energy and protein.
by cows; spoilage with reduced energy and
protein value occurs with contamination by Digestion is facilitated by continuous regur-
moulds or fungal toxins, moisture damage gitation (rumination) of plant fibre (cud) and
or leaching. The most common example is chewing to reduce particle size. Chewing pro-
mould on spoiled silage. motes the production of saliva, which contains
high levels of buffering salts and so helps to
Feed losses occur during delivery and storage,
maintain a stable pH of the rumen fluid. The
when diets are mixed, and especially when
rumen microbes break down plant cell con-
the diet is fed out to cows.
tents and cell walls, including fibres, for their
Wastage can be less than 5% with good own multiplication. They use the plant protein
feeding systems but as high as 30% when fed and derive energy from sugars and starchs; in
on bare ground. the process, they generate volatile fatty acids
(VFAs) that are absorbed through the rumen
wall to provide the major source of energy for
the cow. The main VFAs are acetic acid (ace-
tate), propionic acid (propionate) and butyric
acid (butyrate).
The microbes are continually washed out of
the rumen and are in turn digested further
down the digestive system. This microbial
protein is an important source of energy and
protein for the cow.
The type and number of microbes present in
the rumen depends on the type and quality of
feed in the ration. The microbes that break-
down fibre prefer a pH range of 6.26.8
These cows will waste less than 5% of their feed. whereas the microbes that breakdown starch
Feed digestion and utilisation prefer a pH range of 5.26.0. Under normal
conditions, the pH is maintained at 5.56.5 by
Feed eaten by cows is initially digested in the buffering action of the saliva.
the rumen by the mix of microbes present,
and these rumen microbial flora must be Achieving optimal rumen function involves
kept healthy for the health and productivity promoting maximum microbial growth, sur-
of the cow. Good-quality forage provides the vival and activity with a rumen pH of 5.86.4.
pregnant increasing the risk of culling due to find feedstuffs that are low in calcium but
conception failure. provide enough energy and protein to
overcome the negative energy balance.
Hypocalcaemia High-producing older cows
are prone to experiencing a rapid decline in feeding a diet that contains low levels of
blood calcium around the time of calving. This potassium and higher concentrations of
reflects the large amount of calcium that is chloride and sulphur by feeding forages
incorporated into the milk produced by the that are low in potassium and adding
cow. The second objective of the transition salts such as calcium chloride or ammo-
ration is to minimise the decline in blood cal- nium sulphate to the feed. As the salts
cium around the time of calving to prevent are not very palatable, it is important to
cows from going down with milk fever (weak- monitor how much the cows are eating
ness caused by low blood calcium). to avoid inducing negative energy bal-
ance. Commercial salt preparations such
as Biochlor (Arm and Hammer Animal
Nutrition) are reported to be more palat-
able.
Ruminal acidosis Lactation dramatically
increases the feed requirements of high-
producing dairy cows. An extra 5kg of
high-quality dry matter should be added to
the maintenance ration per 10 litres of milk
produced; high-producing cows can consume
4% of their body weight in dry matter per day
at peak lactation when fed highly digestible
feed. Abrupt increases in the energy content
Cows with milk fever need immediate injection with
calcium boro-gluconate.
of the ration causes excessive fermenta-
tion (ruminal acidosis) and disruption of the
Older cows are more likely to have problems microbes in the rumen. Gradual increases in
with milk fever than heifers. Cows that suc- the energy content of the ration before calving
cumb to milk fever are more likely to have promote gradual adjustments in the microbes
calving difficulty, retain their placenta, and in the rumen allowing the cow to safely eat the
have problems with mastitis than cows that higher energy lactating-cow ration.
do not. Less than 2% of cows should experi-
ence problems with milk fever. Feeding the milking cow
A high incidence of milk fever indicates a Milk production is driven by dry matter intake,
nutritional management problem. which is influenced by the quality or digest-
Strategies to prevent milk fever include: ibility of the feed fed. Poor-quality feed takes
longer to digest and therefore limits the
ensuring that there is adequate magne-
amount of feed a cow can eat each day and
sium in the ration by including 50 grams of
the amount of nutrients available to produce
magnesium oxide per head per day in the
milk. When the nutrient output in milk exceeds
feed during the last 34 weeks of gesta-
the amount of nutrients ingested during early
tion.
lactation, cows lose weight. Excessive loss
keeping the fat content of the diet below of weight or Body Condition during early
4% during the last 34 weeks as excess lactation is associated with reduced milk pro-
fat binds to magnesium preventing its duction and an increased risk of disease.
absorption in the rumen.
feeding a diet low in calcium, typically by Milk fat and milk protein
feeding higher levels of cereal hays such Rations high in starch or non-fibre carbohy-
as oaten or wheaten hay that are low in drate are fermented to propionic acid and
calcium. However, it is often difficult to have the greatest influence on milk protein.
Rations high in fibre are fermented to acetic Feeding the non-lactating or dry cow
acid and have the greatest influence on milk
Milk production over the cows lifetime is
fat.
increased when she is not milked for 5060
At least 60% of the ration should be forage as days between lactations. Stopping milking
lower levels will reduce milk fat and increase is referred to as drying off and the non-lac-
the risk of ruminal acidosis. The quality of the tating period as the dry period. Ideally, cows
forage determines the intake and digestibility should be dried off in the body condition in
of a ration. which they should calve; this is a body condi-
tion score of 3.25 on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1
Milk protein is dependent on the total intake of
is very skinny and 5 very fat). Dry cows should
digestible energy. A cow eating large amounts
be heavily pregnant and should not lose
of high-quality feed will produce milk with a
weight during the dry period.
high milk protein (>3.3), whereas a cow con-
suming small amounts of low-quality feed The amount of dry matter fed to heavily preg-
will produce milk with a very low milk protein nant non-lactating cows should be around
(<2.9). 2% of bodyweight, or 12kg of good-quality
dry matter for a 600kg cow.
The ratio of milk protein to milk fat indicates
the energy and fibre balance in the ration. The loss of appetite around calving has to be
A milk protein to fat ratio of 0.810.85 indi- minimised. As after she has calved, the cow
cates that the cow is well fed and the ration will be fed a high-energy ration, she should
is balanced. A ratio of less than 0.75 indicates be fed increasing amounts of energy from 4
insufficient energy; a ration above 1.00 sug- weeks before calving to allow the rumen to
gests insufficient fibre in the ration. adjust to the new diet.
3 Feeding management
Key points
Good-quality feed and water should A well-balanced ration will give production
always be available. only if enough is fed.
Sufficient feed bunk and water trough Simple observations of the cattle
space will minimise competition at the can identify problems with feeding
feed bunk. management.
Milking cows need a lot of drinking Maximise feed intakes around calving
water as much as 150200 litres per and in early lactation by providing enough
day for high-producing cows during the high-quality feed.
hot season. Avoid sudden changes in diet when cows
Most forages will support only 68kg of calve and join the milking herd.
milk/cow/day, and must be supplemented Do not overcrowd cows before and after
with high-energy concentrates. calving.
As a general guideline, feed 1kg Manage first-lactation cows as a separate
concentrate for every 2kg of milk produced group to reduce bullying by older cows.
above that supplied from forages. Cows are social animals, and frequent
Better decisions can be made if the changes in cow grouping can be
feeding value of the forages and disruptive; for example, introduce cattle
concentrates, and their costs are known. onto the pre-calving ration once a week
Diets should be balanced for energy, rather than daily.
protein, fibre and certain minerals for
optimum cow performance and to prevent
any metabolic problems.
10 minutes less feeding time each day before may sort through the feed and consume
calving, the risk of cows developing a uterine the concentrates but not the fibre. This
infection almost doubles; for every kilogram sorting can lead to subclinical acidosis
dry matter less feed a cow eats each day, the despite an apparently balanced ration. The
risk of uterine infection increases threefold. ration that dictates performance is that
which is actually eaten by the cows. Chop
the hay to shorter lengths.
Individual cows may sort feed differently.
Dominant cows that eat more concentrate
may develop acidosis; timid cows that
are left with the less digestible portion of
the ration eat more fibre and produce less
milk. Variable manure consistency is often
observed in group housing facilities.
Rumination; ideally half the herd should be
ruminating when resting. If the percentage
Conception rates are compromised in cows that
is low and there are other indicators of
develop a uterine infection. ruminal acidosis (loose manure, lameness,
low milk fat percentage) there is probably
Trouble-shooting feeding problems not enough effective fibre in the ration.
Many simple observations can identify prob- This could result from inadequate fibre,
lems with feeding management. These in- chopping the forage too finely or excessive
clude: fat in the diet, or from cows sorting and
failing to eat the fibre.
Manure consistency, colour and content.
The manure should have moist but Physical appearance and smell of forages.
thick consistency. Dry manure suggests Moist feedstuffs are prone to spoilage
insufficient water and/or carbohydrate by the growth of moulds. Some moulds
in the diet. Loose manure that contains produce toxins.
bubbles indicates ruminal acidosis, and Physical appearance and smell of
reflects incomplete digestion of feed in concentrates. Mould can also be a
the rumen with further fermentation of problem in moist concentrate feeds such
nutrients in the lower bowel. as corn gluten.
Comparing the composition of the feed Sudden changes in milk yield. Rapid
fed with the feed remaining at the end of changes in milk yield most likely reflect
the day. If forage fibre length is long, cows adverse environmental conditions such
Manure consistency reflects feeding management. Normal consistency (left) indicates good feeding, whereas loose
manure (right) is associated with excess starch or insufficient fibre.
as heat stress or changes in nutrition. Good nutritional management during the dry
Attention to detail and consistency in ration period and early lactation is the key to pre-
preparation and delivery are important. venting or minimising metabolic disorders.
Cows are creatures of habit and do best The aim is to:
when a consistent routine is maintained.
maximise feed intakes around calving
Sudden changes in milk composition, and in early lactation by providing enough
namely fat and protein (or SNF) contents high-quality feed
Disease incidence, as discussed above avoid decreases in intake and disruption
Body condition at different stages of of rumen function caused by sudden
lactation. Cows should calve in a body changes in diet when cows calve and join
condition score of around 3.25 on a scale the milking herd
of 15 (BCS1 is very skinny and BCS5 is avoid overcrowding cows prior to and
fat). Cows should not lose more than 0.5 following calving
of condition score during the first month
always provide good-quality feed and
of lactation.
water
provide sufficient feed bunk space to
minimise competition at the feed bunk
manage first-lactation cows as a separate
group to reduce bullying by older cows
minimise changes in cow grouping as
cows are social animals; for example,
introduce cattle onto the pre-calving ration
once a week rather than daily.
Maternity management
The risk of difficult calving and calves dying
at or shortly after birth may be influenced by
environmental conditions, nutrition, technical
expertise, age of the cow and sire selection.
Calving environment
Scours is a common disease problem, and the
young calf may be infected by the cow and
the environment into which it is born. As the
cows immunity is depressed around the time
of calving, they are more likely to shed patho-
gens in their manure. Some of the pathogens
may also proliferate in a moist environment.
Cows should calve in a clean environment with calves
removed at birth and placed in a clean dry pen.
Age
Heifers often have difficulty delivering their first
calf. This is largely influenced by their growth,
nutrition during the last trimester, and by the
sire they conceived to. The most common
cause is a failure of the calf to fit through the
birth canal especially in poorly-grown heifers.
Calving difficulty in older cows is more often
associated with metabolic disease such as When a cow is standing, the calf should be pulled in a
milk fever or negative energy balance. downward direction
Technical expertise. Some heifers and cows 4. Positioning and angles. When a cow is
will experience calving difficulty associated standing, the calf should be pulled in a
with their prior nutrition and management. The downward direction. If a cow lies down
outcome for the calf and the dam is influenced on her side during the delivery, the sides
by the technical skill of the staff that assists of the crush or race should be able to be
with the delivery. opened so that the calf can be pulled in
Key points regarding calving assistance the same direction.
include: Sire selection
1. Timing of intervention. The cervix must be
dilated before attempts are made to deliver In many countries, semen can be ordered
the calf. Most mature cows will either from bulls that are known to produce smaller
have delivered the calf or be making good calves at birth. This can help reduce the risk
progress in delivering it within 30 minutes of calving difficulty in heifers delivering their
first calf.
Calf management
Calf environment
After birth, calves should be removed from
the cow and placed in a clean dry environ-
ment. Newborn calves should not be mixed
with older calves as this could expose them to
pathogens that cause diarrhoea.
There are many systems of calf rearing ranging
from individual calf hutches through to group
rearing systems. Where calves are raised in
groups, it is best to keep them in batches of
similar age and size, and to clean the facility Calves raised in elevated pens. Ideally calves should
thoroughly between batches. not be able to touch each other or contact manure from
other calves.
Figure 4.1. The rumen of the young calf develops as it begins to eat fibrous feed
Oesophagus
Oesophagus
Rumen
Rumen
Reticulum Reticulum
Omasum
to small intestine
oesophageal
Omasum
groove
Abomasum
Abomasum
Small intestine
Never work with sick calves and then give The calf ration should be specially formulated
colostrum to newborn calves. Handlers with protein levels of 2022%; milking cow
hands and clothes become contaminated concentrate formulations contain only 16%.
and can transmit infections between Initially calves should be fed only a couple
calves. of handfuls a day to keep it fresh, encourage
Pathogens that cause disease in calves consumption and avoid wastage; dusty feed
can survive and multiply in milk and dirty is less palatable. Calves prefer to eat out of
equipment. After every feeding, clean shallow bowls. The amount of concentrate fed
the equipment with warm soapy water to is increased as they eat more; feeding milk
remove any fat residue. once a day when the calf is over four weeks of
age helps them to develop an appetite for the
Equipment used to give colostrum to
concentrates.
newborn calves should not be used to
feed or treat sick calves. It is best to have It is easy to monitor consumption when calves
equipment dedicated to handling colos- are raised in individual pens, but more difficult
trum to avoid the risk of contamination in group facilities. Calves should be grouped
and infection of newborn calves. on size and age to avoid bullying and uneven
Ninety nine percent of cleaning is achieved consumption.
by the physical removal of organic debris.
Forage feeding
Disinfectants do not work properly in the
presence of dirt, milk residue, and manure. The rumen must be functioning to efficiently
digest forages. Young calves cannot extract
The cleanliness of equipment for calf milk and
sufficient nutrients from hay and straw alone
colostrum handling is important for reducing
to grow well. Calves fed very poor quality
the risk of disease. Check its design and wear
forages and insufficient concentrate are thin
as worn rubber and old galvanised buckets
yet have large abdomens reflecting accumula-
contain cracks and crevices that make effec-
tion of poorly digestible feed. It is not essential
tive cleaning impossible.
to feed forages before weaning; when good-
quality forage is fed it should be limited to
100200g/calf/day.
Calves with scours experience a number Antibiotic therapy Pathogens such as rota-
of medical problems that may contribute to virus, coronavirus, and cryptosporidia are not
death; these include dehydration, acidosis, susceptible to antimicrobial therapy. However,
bacterial infection, low blood glucose and antibiotics are useful for the treatment of
hypothermia. Fluid therapy is the corner- scours caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli and
stone of treating calf scours. Calves infected Salmonella spp. and for treating secondary
with bacterial pathogens and calves that are bacterial infections in severely debilitated
severely debilitated also benefit from anti- calves. As different antibiotics target different
microbial therapy. Affected calves need a bacteria it is best to seek veterinary assis-
clean, dry, warm environment and nutritional tance.
support.
Fluid therapy Young calves with diarrhoea
rapidly become dehydrated and collapse.
As it is difficult to manage collapsed calves
on the farm, sick calves should be identi-
fied and treated early while they still have a
suck reflex. Oral electrolyte solutions are
effective at rehydrating calves. Oral electro-
lyte solutions should contain: sodium; agents
to facilitate absorption of water and sodium
from the intestine (glucose, citrate, acetate,
proprionate, or glycerine); an alkalinising
agent (acetate, proprionate, or bicarbonate to
correct acidosis; and a source of energy such Dehydrated calves must be given electrolytes
immediately.
as glucose.
During a disease outbreak, it is usually Nutritional support Calves with diarrhoea
possible to identify the age of onset of diar- have depressed appetites, compromised
intestinal function, and often lose nutrients
from the damaged gastro-intestinal tract. Umbilical infections can be treated with anti-
Young calves also have limited fat reserves to microbial therapy and may require surgery to
maintain bodily functions when they are sick. drain and resect the infected umbilical struc-
The inclusion of glucose in calf oral electrolytes tures.
facilitates sodium absorption and provides
calves with a source of energy. The amount Pneumonia
of energy that can be provided to calves in Pneumonia refers to disease of the lungs and
the form of glucose each day is limited so it is most common in calves around the time
is desirable to get calves back onto milk as of weaning. Poor colostrum management,
soon as possible. As the damaged intestine overcrowding, poor ventilation (especially in
may not be able to digest and absorb the indoor housing), nutritional stress, concurrent
volume of nutrients fed, diarrhoea may be disease, mixing of different age groups and
exacerbated when calves are re-introduced environmental stress can predispose calves
onto milk unless smaller volumes of milk are to pneumonia.
fed more frequently.
Several viral pathogens can be transmitted
Environmental support Sick calves lose between calves when calves are weaned and
body condition and are vulnerable to cold and placed into groups, and these may compro-
heat stress. In cold climates, calves need to mise respiratory defence mechanisms.
be provided with a warm dry environment; in Coccidiosis around the time of weaning can
hot climates, they need shade and ventilation. make calves more susceptible to respiratory
disease. Coccidiostats such as monensin,
Umbilical infections and swollen joints
lasalocid or decoquinate should be included
Good colostrum management helps to protect in calf rations to prevent coccidiosis.
calves from bacterial pathogens, but poor
Pneumonia is unusual in calves less than four
colostrum management can be manifested
weeks of age unless they are housed in poorly
by an increased incidence of umbilical or joint
ventilated barns. If calves develop pneumonia
infections.
during the first two weeks of life, it may be
Cows should calve in a clean environment and associated with feeding through stomach
the calves should be fed four litres of high- tubes as poor technique or damaged equip-
quality (clean) colostrum during the first 12 ment can lead to calves breathing liquid into
hours of life. Dipping the umbilicus with 2% their lungs.
chlorhexidine at birth may also reduce the risk
Young calves may also develop pneumonia,
of infection, while dipping in an iodine solution
joint infections, and ear infections if they
will reduce the risk of screw worm infection in
become infected with mycoplasmaan
many tropical regions.
organism that causes contagious mastitis in
cows. Calves become infected when they are
fed milk from mastitis-infected cows. Other
diseases that may be transmitted through
mastitis milk include salmonella, mycobac-
terium paratuberculosis (Johnes Disease),
bovine leukosis and pestivirus.
If a farm experiences problems with pneu-
monia in calves, it is best to seek veterinary
assistance to diagnose the cause of the
problem and establish an appropriate treat-
ment and management plan.
5 Reproduction management
reduced feed intake
Key points
clear stringy mucus hanging from the vulva
Key factors that influence reproductive per-
swelling and redness of the vulva.
formance include:
heat detection Heat detection must be optimised to limit
missed heats. If the cow is not pregnant, oes-
artificial insemination technique or bull
trous will re-occur 18 to 24 days after the last
management
heat, and this can be predicted with good
nutrition farm records.
environmental conditions
At the same time, feeding management must
growth of replacement heifers. ensure:
All dairy farms should: body condition scores are adequate at
have a reproduction plan calving
a plan for cows that experience prob- losses in body condition are minimised
lems during the transition period during early lactation
have regular routine reproduction exam- target live weights are achieved for grow-
inations to establish which cows: ing heifers.
are pregnant The first step to investigating heat detection
can be bred efficiency is to determine which cows are eli-
have uterine or ovarian disease. gible to be bred. After calving, cows are not
normally bred for 4060 daysreferred to as
keep full and up-to-date records
the voluntary waiting period. Breedings con-
reduce the risk of introducing reproduc- ducted less than 40 days after calving have a
tive diseases through strict biosecurity. lower conception rate.
Heat detection
A common cause of poor reproductive perfor-
mance in artificially inseminated herds is poor
detection of heat. This can often be addressed
by personnel training, scheduling, and record
keeping.
The average duration of heat or oestrous
activity is about 14 hours in normal weather
conditions. As it may be as long as 28 hours
or as short as 2 hours, twice daily observa-
tions are essential to catch any short heats.
Observations in the cool of early morning and
evening are more likely to detect heat than
those in the middle of the dayparticularly Routine pregnancy diagnosis is an integral part of good
reproductive management.
during hot weather.
Cows eligible for heat detection include
Signs of oestrous that may be observed
non-pregnant milking cows that are past the
include:
voluntary waiting period and that are not to
cows standing to be mounted be culled.
cows mounting other cows
Even if all these eligible cows are watched
increased activity (restlessness) closely for 21 days, only 5075% will be
observed to have a heat. This suggests that Heat synchronisation can offer more efficient
between 25 and 50% of heats are missed or use of labour as the work of heat detection
cows are not cycling. and AI is shortened into planned, intensive
periods. Synchronising cows to come into
The proportion of eligible cows observed to
oestrous at the same time increases the num-
have a heat over a 21-day period is referred
ber of sexually-active cows making it more
to as heat detection efficiency. For example, if
obvious which cows are in heat.
60 of 100 eligible cows are observed to have
a heat, the heat detection efficiency would be Cessation of ovarian activity (anoestrous).
60%.
Anoestrous or cessation of ovarian activity
may be associated with poor body condition,
small inactive ovaries or cystic ovaries. The
combination of poor body condition and small
inactive ovaries suggests cows are failing to
cycle due to inadequate nutrition.
Inadequate nutrition is often reflected most by
cows in their first lactation as they have the
additional nutritional demand associated with
growth. Holstein cows have been selected for
their capacity to produce milk; when nutrition
is limiting, they will direct available nutrients to
milk production before reproduction.
Note the blue tail paint on the tailheads of these cows. Anoestrous resulting from poor nutrition is
Paint rubbing off suggests that they may have been best prevented through nutritional manage-
ridden by other cows.
ment of the cows before and after calving.
Poor heat detection efficiency (<60%) reflects Attempting to promote ovarian activity in
either failure of detection or failure of the cows anoestrous cows using hormonal therapies is
to cycle. Rectal palpation to check the pres- not generally effective, and is expensive.
ence of ovarian structures (follicles and corpus
lutea) can distinguish heat detection failure Good nutrition of the herd and good breeding
from failure to cycle while observation of the records are more effective.
cows may reveal rub marks on the pin bones Artificial insemination and conception
where the cows have been ridden.
For artificial insemination to be effective, viable
Heat detection can be improved by: sperm needs to be delivered to the bifurcation
increasing the number of observation peri- of a healthy uterus shortly before ovulation.
ods
Key factors are:
clarifying signs of heat with the people
timing of insemination
responsible for detecting cows in oestrous
viability of sperm
checking records for days since previous
heat (for closer observation). insemination technique
using heat detection aids such as tail paint, uterine health.
kamars, or estrous alerts. Timing of insemination
running vasectomised bulls or hormone-
Cows usually ovulate about 12 hours after
treated steers with the mating herd
the onset of oestrous. Best conception rates
using oestrus synchronisation as a man- occur following insemination 4 to 12 hours
agement aid. after the first signs of heat are observed, but it
is not always known at what stage of oestrus
the heat was detected.
Cows should be inseminated at the next Provide a clean entry for the gun through
opportunity after detection of standing heat. the vulva open the lips by pressing your
The cow does not need to be re-inseminated arm down in the rectum or with the aid of
if she is still on heat at the next milking, but paper towel.
should be if still on heat two milkings (24 Direct the gun upwards at 45 to avoid the
hours) later. opening to the bladder.
Sperm viability Follow the progress of the gun with your
hand in the rectum.
The viability of frozen semen is influenced by
tank handling, semen thawing and insemina- Do not push your hand towards the cervix
tion technique. ahead of the gun.
Work the gun through the cervix. Place the
Handling of semen tanks
index finger at the front of the cervix to feel
Check the liquid nitrogen level twice a the gun passing through, preventing the
week using a dipstick. gun progressing too deep into the uterus.
Lift the canister only to the frost lineNOT Position the gun so it is only just protrud-
to the top of the tank ing from the front of the cervix.
Always use tweezers to remove straws Deposit all the semen slowly into the body
from the tank. of the uterus just through the cervix.
Keep good records of straw locations to Wait a moment before withdrawing the
find straws faster. gun.
Thawing straws Remove the gun with a smooth action
Do not lift straws out of the tank for more while the arm is still inserted in the rectum.
than two seconds.
Only thaw as many straws as you can use
in 10 minutes
Thaw straws in water at 3238C
Ensure the water level covers all but the
top one centimetre of the straw.
Thaw straws for at least 30 seconds.
On cold days, rub the gun briskly with a
dry paper towel to avoid cold shock and
keep the loaded gun warm before use.
Only touch the ends of the straw, and do
not allow it to flick.
Dry each straw thoroughly with a paper Good insemination technique is critical for high
conception rates.
towel before loading into the gun.
Load the straw into the gun, then cut it Uterine health
at right angles with clean scissors before The health of the uterine environment is influ-
covering with a sheath. enced by the prior nutritional management
Keep the loaded gun free of contamination of the herd, maternity pen management, and
and out of direct sunlight. insemination technique.
Insemination technique Cows that have difficulty calving or that
get sick following calving are more likely to
Patience, practice and proper hygiene are the
develop uterine infections. Good records
keys to good insemination technique.
regarding health events helps the identifica-
Wipe the lips of the cows vulva clean of tion, evaluation, and treatment of these cows
mucus, dirt and faeces using a clean paper prior to mating.
towel.
Treatment options include short-cycling the if the bull is lame or sick. Problems with bulls
cows with prostaglandin and/or intra-uterine include fighting between bulls and the poten-
infusion with antibiotics, and are best admin- tial for bulls to injure people. Fighting can be
istered 34 weeks after calving. minimised by rotating bulls weekly and group-
ing bulls of similar size, age, and temperament.
Conception rates and pregnancy rates
With small herds, it is best to avoid using a sin-
The proportion of cows that conceive following gle bull in case it is infertile. Younger bulls are
insemination is referred to as the conception less likely to charge people than older bulls,
rate. In the previous example with 100 eligible and are less likely to be infected with sexually
cows and a heat detection efficiency of 60%, if transmitted diseases. It is recommended to
20 of the bred cows conceive, the conception use bulls between 15 months and four years
rate would be 20/60 or 33%. The proportion of of age, and all bulls should be regularly vac-
eligible cows that get pregnant during the 21 cinated against vibriosis.
day period is the pregnancy rate which, in this
Herd grouping
example, would be 20/100 or 20%.
Cows in early lactation have high nutrient
Note that heat detection efficiency and preg-
demands but may not reach full intake capac-
nancy rate relate specifically to the proportion
ity until two to three months post-calving;
of cows that cycle and conceive during one
thus many lose weight and body condition,
heat cycle respectively. Calculations of con-
delaying their first heat. When all of the milk-
ception rate are not necessarily limited to one
ing cows are managed together as a single
heat cycle.
herd, early-lactation cows have a relatively
When investigating reproductive perfor- higher nutritional deficit relative to their milk
mance, it is normal to evaluate conception production. Feeding cows according to their
rates achieved by different inseminators, dif- production helps to minimise this disparity
ferent sires, and different classes of stock. with cow grouping facilitating good nutritional
Comparisons of conception rates should be and reproductive management.
based on a minimum of 50 breeders in each If the reproductive program goes according
group. Inseminator-related problems should to plan, the lower-producing cows should
be suspected when there is greater than a include the pregnant cows in later lacta-
15% difference in conception rate between tion while the higher-producing cows will
inseminators. A low first-service conception include non-pregnant cows in early lactation.
rate may indicate transition-related problems Grouping non-pregnant cows together ena-
leading to poor uterine involution. Differences bles heat detection to be focused on the cows
in conception rates are common between dif- that need to be bred.
ferent AI sires. When poor conception rates
In larger herds where it may be feasible to
are observed across sires and inseminators,
have multiple groups, it is beneficial to group
the problem may be with semen storage.
first-lactation cows together so they do not
Bull breeding have to compete with the heavier, more domi-
Some herds may choose to use bulls to breed nant older cows.
cows that have failed to conceive to artificial Regular reproductive examinations
insemination or to breed all cows. There must Early pregnancy diagnosis is important not
be enough functional bulls for the number of only to identify cows that have conceived but
cows to be bred. In a year-round calving herd, also cows that have not conceived and need
this means one bull for every fifty cows if these to be re-bred. Skilled operators can identify
are not synchronised to come into heat at the cows that are 6 weeks pregnant. Testing for
same time; with synchronisation, one bull for pregnancy between 6 and 10 weeks of ges-
every twenty five cows. tation provides accurate conception dates;
The keyword with bulls is functional; poor these can be used to determine the appropri-
reproductive performance should be expected ate time for cows to be dried off and moved
onto the transition ration.
Reproductive examinations can be performed manually or with ultrasound. The expertise of the person performing
the procedure is more important than the method adopted.
Source http://www.extension.org/pages/Compost_Bedded_Pack_Barns_for_
Dairy_Cows#Compost_Dairy_Barns
The cubicles can be arranged with cows fac- Building a free-stall barn represents a signifi-
ing one another (head-to-head), head-to-side cant investment and specialised engineering.
wall, or tail-to-tail. It is cheaper to do the job properly the first
time than it is to attempt fixing design prob-
The tail-to-tail arrangement has a central flush lems once the concrete has been poured.
alley 2.2m wide between the cubicles; head- Some people with little experience in con-
to-head cubicles have a flush alley behind finement dairy farming try to save money by
each row. Usually one of the flush alleys is taking shortcuts on matters that they do not
combined with the feeding alley behind the fully understand. The long-term cost is often
feed troughs. significantly more than the short-term saving.
The cubicles can be arranged with cows facing one another (head-to-head), head-to-side wall, or tail-to-tail.
Note: The measurements in Figure 6.1 are in inches and feet; those in Table 6.1 are in metres.
Table 6.1. Dimensions for free-stall cubicles for Holstein cows of different size
Recommendations
First lactation Mature cow Pre-Fresh
Stall dimension (metres)
(635kg) (725kg) (820kg)
Total stall length facing wall 2.74 3.05 3.05
Head to head platform 5.18 5.49 5.49
Stall length from rear curb to brisket board 1.73-1.78 1.78-1.83 1.83
Stall divider placement on centre (width) 1.22 1.27 1.37
Height of brisket board 0.1 0.1 0.1
Height of lower divider rail (maximum) 0.3 0.3 0.3
Height below neck rail 1.22 1.27 1.27
Horizontal distance between rear curb and neck rail 1.73-1.78 1.78-1.83 1.83
Rear curb height 0.2 0.2 0.2
A free-stall barn with side curtains closed to keep the High incidence of lameness or mastitis
barn warm. The flush alley has a rubber matt running could indicate problems with stall design or
the length of the barn for the cows comfort and maintenance.
reduced wear on the cows feet.
7 Heat stress
Key points Sources of heat
Environmental conditions
The comfort zone of milking Holstein
and Jersey cows is between 6 and 18oC. Fermentation of rumen contents
Cows have a large body mass to sur- Body heat from other cows
face area making them inefficient at dis- Normally the degree of heat stress is dictated
sipating heat. Heat stress depresses by both the ambient temperature and humid-
dry matter intake, milk production and ity although fermentation of feed in the rumen
reproductive efficiency. also generates heat. Stressed cows are not
During hot weather, milking cows must likely to want to eat as much because it fur-
be provided with means of dissipating ther contributes to their discomfort.
heat.
More heat can come from body heat from
Cooling measures for milking cows in- other cows when they are all clustered to-
clude designing sheds for maximum gether in yards as occurs before milking. The
ventilation, sprinklers, fans, and modi- movement of cows into a holding yard before
fying feeding management. milking can therefore exacerbate heat stress if
there are no cooling systems in place.
Comfort zone
Heat stressed cows eat less, produce less
The comfort zone for milking Friesian and milk, and are more difficult to get pregnant.
Jersey cows is between 6 and 18oC. Between
5oC and +5oC, appetite will be stimulated. Symptoms of heat stress
Above 24oC, dry matter (DM) intake decreases Cow behaviour consistent with mild to moder-
by about 3% for every rise of 1.2oC; then,at ate heat stress includes:
the upper level for discomfort above 27oC,
body aligned with direction of solar radia-
appetite is depressed and both biological and
tion
economic efficiencies decline.
seeking shade
As cattle have a limited ability to sweat, and
refusal to lie down
have to lose heat mainly through evaporative
cooling from the respiratory tract. They in- reduced feed intake and/or eating smaller
crease their breathing rate to increase move- amounts more often
ment of air over the moistened surface of the crowding over water trough
mouth and the nasal passages. However, if body splashing
humidity levels are high, this evaporative cool-
agitation and restlessness
ing is less effective, and cattle may be unable
to dissipate accumulated body heat. reduced or halted rumination
grouping to seek shade from other animals
45
open-mouthed and laboured breathing
excessive salivation.
Temperature (C)
40 Fatal
35
Severe stress
The severity of heat stress is influenced by
many factors including:
30 Distressed
temperature and humidity
25 Mild stress
length of the heat stress period
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Relative humidity (%) degree of night cooling available
Figure 7.1. Degree of heat stress is related to the ventilation and air flow
ambient temperature and the relative humidity. cow breed and size
Figure 7.3. Shed orientation and roof overhang should allow entry of morning sun to dry the floor.
Cooling cows
Wetting cows
Evaporative cooling is an efficient way of cool-
ing cows. Heat-stressed cattle can be cooled
by applying water to the head and back so it
The low height and shallow pitch of this roof would runs down their sides.
make the shed very hot in summer and contribute to
heat stress. Sprinklers work well in hot dry weather but
Loafing yards are less effective in humid conditions with-
out forced ventilation to promote evaporative
Loafing yards should be provided with shades cooling. Sprinklers are placed above feed-
in a north-south orientation The cows will move bunks positioned to wet the neck and back
as the shadow moves and this will spread out of the cows without wetting the feed. Large
the manure and urine reducing the build up of droplets are more effective than small while
moist areas. Water or moisture should not be misters tend to increase the humidity without
allowed to build up under shade structures as forced ventilation. A filter should be installed
cows will seek out the moisture for coolness at the beginning of the waterline and the
increasing the risk of mastitis. There should be sprinkler nozzles should be easily removable
sufficient shade for all cows to prevent cows for cleaning. The nozzles should be directional
crowding and sometimes stepping on anoth- so that they can be adjusted to reduce wetting
er cows udder. This will be reflected by fresh of feed under seasonal shifts in the prevailing
blood in the milk. wind.
Applying water to cows every five minutes re- and tilted to blow down to the floor directly
duces heat stress more than applying every under the next fan (about 30o from the verti-
10 or 15 minutes. Ideally, cows should be cal).
sprinkled for 1-3 minutes, applying 12mm
of water per 15 minute cycle. Pipe size de-
pends on the length and area of the shed to
be sprinkled, the number of sprinklers and the
flow rate. Pipe diameter should be 32mm for
up to 30 metres length or 51mm diameter pipe
for 60 to 150 metre length. Nozzles should be
spaced at twice the radius of their throw, for
example, every 2.4m for nozzles with a 1.2m
radius.
Feeding management
When given continual access to feed, cows
actively seek it from 5 to 9 in the morning and
again from 5 to 7 pm. Milking should be fin-
ished before 6 am and 6 pm. Cows prefer to
Sprinklers wetting the backs of cows at the feedbunk.
This system is controlled by a thermostat and timer. eat and drink following milking, after which
they should be offered a dry surface on which
Installing sprinklers and fans is expensive. to rest. They should stand for at least 30 min-
The best return on investment is in the hold- utes after milking so the teat end can close to
ing yard for cows before milking. protect the teat canal from bacterial invasion.
Cows can be hosed down at the same time as Hot cows eat less as fermentation of the
their udders and teats are cleaned in prepara- feed in the rumen generates heat.
tion for milking, but this should occur at least
30 minutes before milking so that the udders The cooler the drinking water, the better for
and teats are dry at milking. both intake and temperature balance in the
body. Feed the best quality forages at night
Cooling fans and feed more concentrates during hot peri-
A cooling fan increases the rate of cooling. ods. Offer more salt to replace the minerals
Permanent ceiling fans can be arranged in lost in sweat.
many ways. A 0.38KW, 0.91m diameter fan Heat stress can lead to higher incidences of
rated at 56 cu m/min will blow a distance of lactic acidosis. Depressed feed intake will
9 metres, while a 0.75KW, 1.21m diameter fan reduce saliva production, which buffers the
rated at 910 cu m/min will blow a distance of rumen against rapid changes in pH, and then
12 metres. Fans should blow with the prevail- reduce rumen contractions and the move-
ing wind. ment of digesta out of the rumen. Rapid respi-
In wide sheds, 0.9m fans should be spaced ration rates for lengthy periods can reduce the
side-by-side about 6m apart; 1.2m diameter concentration of sodium bicarbonate in the
fans should be spaced 9m apart. Fans should saliva, reducing its buffering capacity further.
be positioned about 2 to 2.2m above the floor, As feeding cows so that their heads are low
8 Milk harvesting
Key points Good cow comfort involves the harvest
Milk harvesting involves interaction of milk without damaging the cows teats
between cows, people and equipment. or introducing bacteria into the udder. For
Efficient dairies have facilities designed this, the milking equipment needs to be:
for the comfort of the cows and the peo- functioning properly
ple who work with them. clean
correctly applied and removed.
If milkers operate in a positive manner,
the cows will respond providing for a safe When machines are used to harvest milk,
and productive working environment. they must be tested and maintained reg-
ularly.
During milking, cows should be com-
fortable and relaxed, milking equipment The basics of good cleaning of milk-
should be applied to a clean dry teat and ing equipment can be summarised as
teats dipped with an antiseptic following WATCHWater, Action, Time, Chemicals
milking. and Heat.
Good cow handling and flow through the Hygiene includes health and personal
milking parlour will maximise cow com- hygiene, environmental hygiene, milking
fort and milk letdown. It will also minimise procedures and milk handling, and post-
adverse health impacts, particularly milking procedures.
lameness.
Milk harvesting involves interaction between handling more difficult, dangerous and time-
cows, people and equipment. The behaviour consuming. Milk let-down is compromised;
of the cows is determined by their interac- milk yield declines and cow injuries become
tion with the milkers and the equipment. more frequent.
The milkers work rate is determined by cow
Positive stock handling behaviour includes
flow, facilities and equipment. The design of
interactions such as stroking, rubbing, resting
the facility influences how milkers and cows
a hand on the cows back, slow and deliberate
interact with the equipment. Efficient dairies
movement and talking. Negative stock han-
have facilities designed for the comfort of the
dling behaviour includes hits, slaps, tail twists,
cows and the people who work with them.
quick or sudden movements and shouting.
The response of cows to people and facilities
is influenced by how people manage them. If Strategies to reduce fear in cows include:
milkers take care to operate in a positive man- Keep the milking routine calm and consist-
ner to the cows, the cows will respond by ent.
being more relaxed providing for a safe and Allow cows time to learn changes in the
productive working environment. milking routine or environment.
Cattle handling Use positive interactions such as stroking
and talking when working with cattle.
Cows respond well to positive consistent rou-
Use slow and deliberate movement and
tines; good stock handlers manage cows in a
talking.
quiet positive manner to maintain good cow
flow, low levels of fear, good milk let-down Avoid shouting.
and high levels of milk production. Minimise loud noise such as banging
gates.
Sudden changes in facilities or routines can
make the cow overly fearful of people or a Do not stare at a cow directly for a long
specific location, and this fear makes cow period.
Move cows by working on the edge of Right-angle turns should be avoided where
their flight zone. possible as they slow cow flow.
When possible, avoid painful procedures A good laneway surface will reduce the risk
in the dairy. of foot injury and soiling of teats. Dirt lane-
Move cattle as a group rather than individ- ways in a paddock and loafing areas should
ually when possible. be made with a foundation of compacted soil
Use rewards such as feed and positive or rock base. The lane surface should have
interactions to minimise unpleasant expe- efficient drainage and a camber of 510% to
riences. shed water but more than 10% will cause the
cows to walk only on the centre and edge of
Gathering cows for milking the laneway. The junction of dirt laneways and
Milking typically starts when cows are col- concrete holding yards are prone to break up,
lected from a pen or paddock. When they spilling stones onto the concrete and build-
are relaxed, cows walk with their head down ing up manure. The easiest way to drain water
watching where they are going to place their away from the junction is to make it the high
front feet. If they are walking comfortably, the point. A 150mm kerb at the junction helps to
hind foot will land in the same place as the keep the laneway dry and stop stones going
front foot. Given the choice, they will avoid onto the concrete, as will placing sawdust on
stones and adverse surfaces to avoid the pain the last 50 metres of lane before the junction.
associated with sole bruising. Facilities
On a good laneway, cows will walk at 4.5kph, Well-designed facilities take into account the
but will slow down to avoid injury if the surface anatomy and behaviour of cows. Cow-flow
is rough or irregular and when concrete sur- is enhanced by entries and exits which allow
faces are littered with loose stones. cows to clearly see and follow others.
When walking, cows like to focus on foot Cow flow is promoted by:
placement and prefer little physical con-
Wide, clear well-lit pathways
tact with other cows. Pushing cows to make
them move quickly causes them to lift up Visual contact with cows ahead of them
their heads and not watch the safe placement Consistent floor and wall surfaces.
of their feet; this increases the risk of foot Avoid:
bruising. Bunched cows shorten their stride
loud noises
causing the back feet to land in a different
location to the front feet increasing the risk of flapping objects
foot trauma. solid projections in the path of cows that
may cause injury.
It is important to understand cow behaviour
when moving cows as it determines cow flow. large changes in lighting.
Cows maintain a social group. When the herd Minimise distractions:
is walking, dominant cows tend to position The sight of stationary cattle next to a race
themselves in the middle of the herd. When will slow movement; the race wall should
a dominant cow stops, less dominant cows be screened.
behind her will also stop and avoid walking
Paint all walls one colour to avoid con-
past her. Pushing the tail of the mob causes
trasts.
bunching at the back of the mob, but does not
necessarily increase the speed of the whole Ramps with covered sides will not allow
group. animals to judge height so they will move
better.
The design of laneways and gateways has a
significant impact on cow flow and the risk Cow flow in the milking parlour
of lameness and mastitis. Gates need to be
The order cows enter the holding yard impacts
wide enough to avoid bottlenecks in cow flow.
flow into the dairy. Cows sort themselves into
dominance groups as they leave the pad- so abrasive or uneven as to cause excessive
dock or pen, and disturbing this order means wear or bruising of the cows feet. A simple
they have to reorganise in the yard. The best test of the yard surface is that it should be
entries to the milking yard are at the back or comfortable to walk on with bare feet.
back corner of the yard.
Diamond-shaped grooving should be 12mm
The size of the holding yard depends on the wide by 12mm deep with a long axis of
average size of the cow and the maximum 100mm and a width of 75mm. The long points
number of cowssmall cows need 1.2m2 per of the diamond point up and down the slope
cow and large cows 1.5m2. Training heifers to to facilitate washing.
enter the dairy is facilitated if they are well-
Excessive wear of cows feet that may occur
grown and able to compete with herd mates.
where they have to turn can be reduced by
Training should follow a consistent routine and
installing cushioned rubber floor mats. These
give the heifers time to become familiar with
should have a textured surface so that they do
the environment. Ideally, heifers should be
not become slippery when wet or soiled with
given an opportunity to become familiar with
manure. Recycled conveyor belts are some-
the dairy environment before they need to be
times used but tend to be slippery when wet.
milked. Heifers normally take two weeks to
become familiar with milking routines. The slope of the holding yard affects cow
flow, washing and drainage. Upward slopes
Cows can be encouraged to enter the dairy by
of 34 % encourage cows to face the dairy
offering feed in the bail and or by installing a
and facilitate drainage and washing. Cows
backing gate, but neither aid should be essen-
are often reluctant to go down slopes greater
tial. Feeding in the bail can promote bullying
than 5%, and slopes greater than 4% at the
by dominant cows and make cows reluctant
yard platform junction lead to excessive wear
to leave the milking platform after milking.
contributing to smoother concrete and an
Problems associated with feeding in the bail
increased risk of slips and falls.
can be overcome by using an entry race, stall
gates or individual feeding stalls in the dairy. In hot climates, shade and cooling should be
provided in the holding yard. Sprinklers for
Backing gates reduce the size of the yard as
cooling should be turned on before the cows
the number of cows declines during milk-
enter the yard to cool the concrete. Large-
ing; they keep the remaining cows close to
droplet sprinklers will wet the cows whereas
the dairy entrance but are not designed to
misting sprinklers increase the humidity mak-
physically push cows into the dairy. Backing
ing them less effective. Sprinklers should be
gates are less important on dairies with good
installed above the cows to avoid wetting the
entrance design and cattle handling skills.
udders and the risk of environmental mastitis.
Backing gates should move only at 1015m
Installing fans to promote evaporative cooling
per minute with audible, but not loud, alerts
improves the effectiveness of sprinklers.
warning cows that the gate is advancing.
Movement of the backing gate should be Dairy entrance design
observable and able to be activated from
the milking pit. Automatic moving of backing The interface of the holding yard and the
gates is potentially dangerous; electrification dairy should encourage cows to enter the
is not recommended as it punishes the least dairy. Important considerations include foot-
dominant cows. ing, lighting, and space or width. Safe reliable
footing will give cows confidence to enter
Yard surface the dairy. Cows will pause before crossing
sharp, dark shadows slowing cow flow so the
The surface of the yard needs to provide
dairy should have good lighting. Clear cow
traction in all conditions to minimise injuries
entrances and exits and wide clear platform
associated with cows slipping. The concrete
areas are best with straight in and out path-
surface should be textured or grooved but not
ways quickest and easiest.
Milking procedure
Calm and relaxed. Cows should be calm and
relaxed during milking. This will occur only if
the cows are handled gently, routines are con-
sistent, the milking equipment is functioning
properly and the equipment fits the cows been
milked. Calm cows manure less frequently,
kick the cups off less frequently and have bet-
ter milk let-down.
will dilute the product. The sanitiser should letdown usually occurs 6090 seconds after
remain in contact with the teat for 30 seconds, the cows teats and udder are first touched
and then removed with paper towels or suit- by the milker, or is stimulated by the sights
able woven cloths to avoid contaminating the and sounds of milking and the predictability of
milk. Each cloth must be used for only one a calm, consistent milking routine. Attaching
cow per milking. Cloths should then be placed machines within two minutes after first stim-
in disinfectant solution, washed and dried ulation makes maximum use of the let-down
before the next milking. effect.
Application. Air leakage through the teat
cups during milking should be minimised by
first checking that the teat cups hang over
the claw correctly. The cluster should be bal-
anced, each teat cup lifted with a kink in the
short milk tube until the moment of attach-
ment, and then the units adjusted for proper
alignment.
Detachment. At the end of milking, the vac-
uum to the cluster should be cut by kinking
the milk line so that the teat cups release.
Pulling the unit off the cow without cutting the
vacuum can damage the teats.
Using the same cloth and dirty water to wipe teats
on multiple cows before milking can spread bacteria Confirm. Check the cow after milking to avoid
through the herd. under- and over- milking.
Teat dip. Disinfect each teat after milking with
a spray or dip.
Teat spray should cover all teat surfaces. Check with a Early detection and treatment of mastitis
paper towel or look at the front of the teats as the cow are essential.
walks out of the milking parlour.
Useful resources
The information regarding facilities and cow
flow is largely based on material sourced from
the Dairy Australia Cowtime program. Further
detail can be found on the Cowtime webpage at
http://www.cowtime.com.au/Main.
asp?_=Home
An excellent resource regarding animal behav-
iour and animal handling that can be found at
http://www.grandin.com/index.html.
Dairy Australia has developed a compre-
hensive resource for dairy farmers called
Countdown Downunder. This site includes
useful information regarding milking proce-
dures and strategies to prevent, manage, and
treat mastitis. http://www.countdown.org.au/
Milking parlour
(Source: http://www.cowtime.com.au/Main.
asp?_=Home)
Environmental mastitis
checked again next milking. Milk containing
The keys to controlling environmental mastitis infection may be spread during this proce-
are good udder hygiene, correct use of good dure, so avoid splashes or sprays of milk, and
milking machines, pre-milking teat disinfec- always use gloves.
tion, dipping teats after milking and dry cow
It is easy to introduce bacteria into the teat
therapy. The order of milking is heifers first,
with a treatment nozzle if the teat end has not
then uninfected cows, and infected cows last.
been disinfected. Operators can be injured
Despite good preventative procedures, new by cows when administering intramammary
infections will occur while cows may some- treatments. It is important to take time and
times recover spontaneously. Infection with have help; more than one person is often
environmental bacteria can cause severe needed to do the job well, especially if cows
mastitis are not used to having their teats handled.
Drug therapy is the main treatment, and The steps involved in intramammary infusion
involves drugs reaching all sites of infection in include:
the affected quarters, and remaining at ade- 1. Restrain the cow.
quate therapeutic levels for sufficient time to
2. Milk the quarter out completely.
kill all infecting microbes. Chronic cases that
resist antibiotics should be culled. 3. Ensure that your hands and the teats are
clean and dry.
Contagious mastitis 4. Put on disposable gloves.
The main mechanism of transmission of con- 5. Completely disinfect the end of the teats
tagious mastitis is spread of pathogens from to be treated. This is critical. Disinfect
cow to cow at milking. These bacteria live on by vigorously scrubbing the teat open-
the teat skin or in the udder, and are spread ing with a cotton ball and alcohol (or teat
when infected milk contaminates the teat skin wipes) for a minimum of 10 seconds.
of clean quarters or other cows. This can be 6. Check the cotton ball. If there is any dirty
by milk on milkers hands or teat cup liners, colour, repeat the scrub using a clean cot-
through splashes or aerosols of milk during ton ball until there is no more dirt seen.
stripping, and by cross flow of milk between
teat cups. 7. If treating more than one teat, treat the
nearest one first, then the more distant
Spread of contagious mastitis infections can teats to reduce the risk of unintentionally
be minimised by good hygiene, keeping teat contaminating an already disinfected teat.
ends healthy, using milking equipment that is 8. Remove the cap of the tube of antibiotic
operating well, and disinfecting teat skin after and, without touching its tip, gently insert
milking. the nozzle into the teat canal.
Treatment of clinical mastitis 9. It is not necessary to insert the nozzle to
Cows should be treated for mastitis when its full depth as this can dilate the teat
there is heat, swelling or pain in the udder, or canal excessively and predispose the cow
there are changes in the milk (wateriness or to mastitis.
clots) that persist for more than three squirts 10. Squeeze the contents of the tube into the
of milk. Particular attention should be paid to teat. Massage it up the teat into the udder.
swollen quarters that do not milk out. Stripping 11. Teat dip treated quarters with freshly
foremilk involves squirting more than three made-up teat dip immediately after
streams of milkpreferably onto a black sur- treatment.
faceto look for clots, watery or discoloured
milk. Quarters with a few small flecks only in
the first three squirts may be left untreated and
Controlling mastitis
Teat skin health is affected by extreme cold,
Mastitis is best viewed as a problem with the exposure to mud and water, flies, and milking
herd rather than with individual cows. The machine factors.
level of infection in the herd must be known
Investigating possible causes of teat sores
to be able to assess seriousness, and source
involves assessing:
and risk of spread of infections.
Teat skin and teat ends at milking; discol-
Regular monitoring will indicate the level of ouration (red, blue or purplish) suggests
infection, and the proportion of cows or quar- teat end damage from faulty machine
ters infected. If the rate of infection is reduced, function.
the level of infection will fallthough very
The cows environment. Reduce mud prob-
slowly. If the duration of infection is effectively
lems by maintaining dry trough and loafing
shortened, the level of infection will soon be
areas, laneways, and entrances and exits
reduced, provided no new infections occur.
to the dairy area. Minimise use of water on
To keep mastitis at a low level, new infec- cows in the dairy. Ideally, teat cups should
tions must be prevented, and the duration of go only onto clean, dry teats. Use clean,
those that do occur must be shortened, then low-pressure water to wash dirty teats
eliminated. Table 9.1 summarises an effective but avoid wetting the whole udder. Cow
approach to controlling mastitis. behaviour. Biting flies will cause cows to
Culling infected (particularly older) cows is a bunch together and swish their tails.
key strategy in mastitis control by removing Lameness
bacterial challenge to clean cows. These older
cows with chronic infections are difficult to Diseases of the foot account for most lame-
cure, and some types of bacteria are resistant ness in dairy cattle. Eighty percent of lameness
to treatment. However, culling is an expensive is seem in the hind feet and eighty percent of
option and will not resolve herd mastitis prob- this is in the lateral claw.
lems if steps have not been taken to prevent The number of lame cows in the herd can be
new infections. assessed by watching cows walking to and
from the milking parlour. Lame cows may walk
Cull persistently infected cows. with an arched back and often come in last.
poor nutritional management leading to Hooves of cows that do not walk much need to be
trimmed regularly. With little wear from walking, the toes
subclinical acidosis become long and the cows weight is shifted abnormally
cows standing in mud or manure slurry toward the heel.
the feet become soft and more prone to Strategies to prevent lameness include:
bruising.
Design yards to keep cow flow as direct as
abrasive or rough laneways that increase possible with minimal turns.
foot wear and foot bruising. Stones may
Move cows gently without pressure.
abrade the skin between the claws allow-
ing bacteria to invade and cause foot rot. Maintain surface quality of laneways.
Limit the time cows spend standing on
concrete.
Provide cows with a comfortable place to
lie down.
Acclimatise heifers to facilities before they
start being milked.
Maintain routine foot care.
Install foot baths to medicate feet (5% for-
malin, 5% copper sulphate or 10% zinc
sulfate). Foot baths are useful for treat-
Muddy roadways may contain stones that damage the ment of footrot and foot warts and 5%
cow's feet.
formalin can be used to harden the claw.
excessive turns on rough surfaces lead-
ing into and out of the milking parlour. The
soles of the cows feet are abraded when
they pivot to turn. Thin soles increase the
risk of bruising.
poor stockmanship. Cows are normally
careful as to where they place their feet.
When cows are harassed, they lift their
heads and do not watch where they place
their feet and are more likely to step in
holes or on stones.
inadequate hoof care. Confined cows Note the use of two footbathsthe first is to wash off
should have their feet trimmed every 6 dirt and the second to medicate the feet.
months.
Foot baths should be the same width as the
passage, at least 3m long and 15cm deep.
A foot-trimming crush with belly bands to support Portable foot-trimming crushes allow their cost to be
the cow and winches to lift the feet makes trimming shared across farms.
overgrown feet easier. .
Risk factors for ketosis include increasing Niacin fed prior to calving at the rate of
parity, a prolonged previous calving interval, 6 to 12 grams per day may be helpful in
excessive body condition at parturition, heat reducing blood levels of BHB.
stress, cold stress, inadequate bunk space, Propylene glycol requires repeated daily
high levels of butyrate in forages, and inad- oral administration (240300mL).
equate housing and free-stalls.
Inclusion of monensin (300-450mg/day) in
Cows with ketosis have an increased risk of the lactating cow ration during the first 28
developing metritis, retained placenta, masti- days postpartum.
tis, and abomasal displacement. Conversely
metritis, mastitis, and abomasal displace- Ruminal acidosis
ment may lead to ketosis through depression Ruminal acidosis occurs when animals are
of appetite. Subclinical ketosis is more com- fed an excessive amount of digestible carbo-
mon than clinical ketosis. Milk fat percentage hydrate. Common scenarios include animals
is increased in cows with subclinical and clini- breaking through fences and consuming grain,
cal ketosis, and milk protein percent may be accidental overfeeding, and introduction to
lower in cows with sub-clinical ketosis. This new commodities. Offending feeds include
may be the result of a reduced energy sup- anything that contains an abundance of highly
ply because milk protein percent is positively digestible carbohydrate such as grain, bread,
associated with net energy balance. First test brewers grain, molasses, potatoes, and bak-
milk components may be used as a herd- ery by-products. The condition often reflects
screening test for negative energy balance a failure to acclimatise animals to a ration or
through the transition period. A large num- disruptions in feeding routine. The amount of
ber of cows with a first test fat percent >5% feed required to cause illness depends on the
reflects a negative energy balance during late nature of the feed, the prior diet of the animal,
gestation. Problems with the transition period nutritional status of the animal, and the nature
are also reflected by poor production during of the rumen microflora.
early lactation.
Sub-clinical acidosis
Because ketosis occurs in early lactation, rec-
ommendations for prevention focus on the Sub-clinical ruminal acidosis is a less severe
nutritional management of the dry and transi- but economically important manifestation of
tion cow. The dry period is divided into two the disease. Sub-acute ruminal acidosis may
feeding groups: far-off and close-up. The be a problem in dairy cattle when they transi-
goals of the transition diet (close-up) fed to tion from a relatively low energy ration during
cows during the 2128 days prior to calving the dry period to a high energy ration after
are specifically designed to prevent sub-clin- calving. Problems associated with sub-clinical
ical ketosis by maximising dry matter intake ruminal acidosis include depressed and vari-
and providing adequate energy density. able feed intake, depressed milk production,
and an increased incidence of lameness sec-
General principles relevant to preventing ondary to laminitis. While engorgement with
ketosis and feed additives purported to help wheat has been shown to decrease rumen pH
prevent ketosis are: to 4 or less and to result in critical systemic
Avoid ketogenic feedstuffs (silages high in disease, pH levels less than 5.5 are sufficient
butyrate). to predispose to subclinical rumen acidosis.
Feed concentrates in the close up period. Low-fibre high-starch diets are associated
Avoid over conditioning cows during late with an increased incidence of laminitis and
lactation and the early dry period. greater severity of corium lesions. Reduced
particle size also exacerbates acidosis through
Monitor dry matter intake and DCAD in the
increasing the ruminal digestion of starch.
close up ration. Excessive use of anionic
salts can depress palatability and dry mat- Ruminal microflora and papillae take approxi-
ter intake. mately 35 weeks to adapt to the change from
When a high incidence of displaced abomasa anorexia, and reduced milk production. Rectal
is observed, the rations of dry, transition, and examination reveals a large thin-walled uterus
lactating cows should be evaluated. If possi- that contains a foetid watery uterine discharge.
ble, dry matter intakes for each ration should
Therapeutic options for uterine infections
be determined. Check for mouldy hay and
include hormonal manipulation to promote
silage. The neutral detergent fibre of forages
oestrus, anti-inflammatories and antimicrobial
should be checked to determine if levels are
therapy. The objective of hormonal therapy
too low (insufficient roughage) or too high
in resolving postpartum metritis is to induce
(limiting dry matter intake). The possibility of
oestrous cycles, thereby increasing oestrogen
overcrowding should be investigated and the
levels. Oestrogen stimulates uterine tone aid-
as-fed ration should be examined to check
ing evacuation of abnormal uterine contents
for mixing errors and sorting. If anionic salts
and increases production of mucus that con-
are fed to eliminate or reduce milk fever, urine
tains host defence compounds.
pH should be checked. In the week before
calving, the urine pH of Holsteins should be Prostaglandin treatment of cows with peri-
6.26.8 and, of Jerseys, 5.86.3. Urine pH partum health disorders, including RFMs,
below 5.8 suggests excessive anionic salts dystocia, or both, is likely to benefit their
which are likely to depress dry matter intake. reproductive performance. However, blanket
The ratio of milk protein to fat may be used as treatment of all postpartum cows with pros-
an indicator of negative energy balance during taglandin is not recommended. Antimicrobial
early lactation. Ratios less than 0.71 are asso- therapy is indicated for the treatment of
ciated with a 2:1 odds ratio that an abomasal invasive metritis in which affected cows are
displacement will occur within the following systemically ill. Antimicrobials may be admin-
three weeks. Negative energy balance is also istered by intrauterine and or systemic routes.
reflected by loss in body condition. Intrauterine antimicrobial drug use achieves a
high concentration of drug in the uterine lumen
Treatment requires correction of the abomasal
and on the lining of the uterus but an inad-
displacement. This may be achieved by roll-
equate concentration of drug in the deeper
ing the cow (roll from right lateral recumbancy
tissues. Intrauterine therapy alone is unlikely
to dorsal and then left lateral recumbancy).
to achieve good therapeutic outcomes, and
Approximately 40% of cows will re-displace
systemic treatment of metritis is more effica-
following rolling. Alternatively the abomasum
cious as it provides better drug distribution to
can be repositioned surgically and sutured
all layers of the uterus and ovaries. Veterinary
into the correct location. Supportive treat-
advice should be sought to guide antimicro-
ments include oral fluids supplemented with
bial drug use.
100g of lite salt (NaCl/KCl mix), 240320 mL
of propylene glycol orally daily for three days Useful resources
and an intravenous injection of 400mL of 50% The Dairy Australia website 'Countdown
dextrose. Downunder' - investigating and managing
Metritis mastitis problems in dairy cattle.
Metritis results from uterine contamination http://www.countdown.org.au/
with bacteria during parturition. In the majority Lameness in dairy cattle Dairy Extension
of cattle that experience a normal parturi- Centre:
tion, this infection is resolved spontaneously. http://www.dairyextension.com.au/Main.
Lochia, or normal postpartum uterine fluid, is asp?_=Lameness%20and%20Laneways
normally mucoid and light yellow to brown or Merck Veterinary Manual at:
red. Passage of lochia begins three days post- http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/
partum, and all of the fluid is normally expelled index.jsp and the Cornell Consultant
by 18 days postpartum. With uterine infec- http://www.vet.cornell.edu/consultant/
tions, the uterine fluid develops a foul odour, consult.asp.
becomes more abundant and watery. Clinical
signs include fever, depressed mentation,
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