By Allie Arp
Like most species, the three weeks leading up to and three weeks after giving birth are a time of great change for dairy cows. This time, known as the transition period, often brings about additional inflammation and changes in metabolism that can reduce the cows’ ability to properly intake nutrition and fight off infections and disease, leading to health issues and decreased production at a very crucial time.
“It's a very dramatic period for the cows in terms of their physiology and health because everything's changing so quickly for them,” said Tony Bruinje, assistant professor in dairy production at South Dakota State University. “There are a number of cows that unfortunately struggle to adapt biologically to the start of lactation. If not properly managed, one in every four cows can have some sort of health problem during that time.”
The consequences of the health issues brought on by calving can last a lot longer than the transition period itself. The diagnoses are wide-ranging and include having a retained placenta, a uterine disease, mastitis, lameness, difficulty calving or metabolic problems that can oftentimes go unnoticed. Compounding the severity of the situation is that these health problems don’t just appear in first-time mothers, and the cows may not appear sick, making timely diagnosis and treatment difficult.
Source : sdstate.edu