Managing cows in adverse weather conditions

Need to prioritise feeding cows not milking them
At present the major problem will largely be a feed one with most farms in the middle of
calving and pasture covers dropping quickly. Generally we went into the winter with high
covers and have come out with very low cover due to some very low pasture growth rates
over the last 6-8 weeks. High rain fall from March to July led to high leaching. A PGR lull
after excellent PGR in the Autumn combined with wet then very cold soil conditions has led
to record low PGR over late July and August. A Big problem is an energy out increase but an
energy in decrease!
· First priority is with any sick or lighter conditioned cows. Cover
and treat as a SAD (Sick And Depressed) cow.
o Ketol 300mls TAD or calving drenches 1 litre daily
o B12 injections 10mls every 2-3 days
o Milk only as required no more than once a day and only if
cow is eating well
o Cover and shelter
o Check for and treat any other disease e.g. Mastitis
· Colostrum cows
o Milk once a day as a routine now and for the rest of
calving
o Extra lime flour 200-300g/cow/day
o Take feed to them in the paddock to free up pad space
for milkers.
o PKE or ration in a trailer with extra Lime flour
o Watch for SAD cows. Treat as above
.
· Milkers
o Once a day milking during stress periods reduces energy
demand, frees up staff time to feed cows and deal with
problems. It also reduces walking and gateway damage.
o Last September the farmers who responded quickly and
went to OAD, even with herds producing 2.3 kg MS/day,
lost less condition and returned to 2.4 kg MS/day once
back onto TAD milking. Mating and total season’s
performance was not compromised.
o Lime four 100-300g
They need more over stress periods, especially if
cold and wet.
o Magnesium Oxide
20-40g in feed
50-100g on pasture
50g MagC or MagS in-line but in wet conditions
water intakes will vary.
o Time to eat a ration on the pad will need to be increased
if more pad ration is fed.
L:\Flood & Storm\Storm Notes for Cows Aug 2011.docx
o Keep them full
Extra energy – By-pass fats 200-500g
Use forage feeds if available
Watch for acidosis if meal or cereals are increased
too quickly.
Molasses type feeds help with energy intakes
· Calving Cows
o Pick up calves immediately/quickly and feed 2 litres of
warmed first milk colostrum. Place in a dry drafted free
environment. Use covers if available.
o Get cows to the shed and milk out quickly
Calving drench or calcium drench ASAP
Onto feed as soon as you can, the colostrum
ration.
Check for mastitis and metritis. Treat aggressively
· Immune systems will be compromised.
· Calves
o Make sure they get adequate milk (10% of LWT)
Minimum of 4 litres preferably more 5-6 litres in
split feeds, in first 12 hours.
o Warmed milk is important especially in the first ten days
and the weather is cold. Calves can die of hypothermia
while warming up cold milk if conditions are severe.
o Feed twice a day while conditions are severe even if they
were on once a day.
o Shelter is a priority for young calves
· Dry/Springer cows
o Use forages hay straw to keep full and settled, and
generate heat.
o Consider shed feeding if available to provide energy
feeds.
o Magnesium is a priority here, see above
o Consider molasses type feeds as an energy source.
· Metabolic Problems
o Likely to increase over weather bombs
Downer cows
· Calcium I/V or S/C
· Dextrose I/V slowly to all downer cows
o They will be low in glucose
· Follow up with calcium/calving drenches
once swallowing
· Cover and treat as a SAD cow; See above.
Ketosis
· Acute more likely in better conditioned
higher producing cows and can be sudden

Calcium in the Dairy Cow

 

The most serious problem involving calcium in the dairy cow is LOW levels of calcium. Milk fever, parturient paresis and hypocalcaemia are all terms that relate to low levels of calcium.
Hypocalcaemia simply means low calcium concentrations in the blood ('Hypo' = Low and 'calcaemia' means calcium in the blood).
Hypocalcaemia and Milk Fever: Very low levels of blood calcium cause obvious signs of milk fever in dairy cows...
Hypocalcaemia without signs of Milk Fever: Not all cases of hypocalcaemia result in milk fever. The term sub-clinical hypocalcaemia means that blood levels of calcium are low, but not low enough to cause obvious signs of milk fever.
Sub-clinical hypocalcaemia may cause problems including:
    * Poor appetite and low feed intakes
    * Sub-optimal milksolids production
    * Reproductive problems including metritis (a 'dirty' uterus) and poor conception rates
The outcome of hypocalcaemia (milk fever, or sub-clinical milk fever) depends on the age and physiological state of the animal. For an older cow that is about to calve or is lactating, clinical milk fever is a likely outcome. In young calves that haven't yet been bred and aren't lactating, calcium deficiency may contribute to rickets. Rickets from low levels of calcium is rare and more commonly result from a deficiency of phosphorus and / or vitamin D. Rickets is rarely seen in New Zealand cattle.
Milk Fever is the common name for the veterinary term parturient paresis. Milk fever is seen most commonly in cows that have just calved or are about to calve. Sometimes milk fever is seen in cows that have been milking for 8 to 10 weeks or more. Milk fever signs include weakness, the cow 'goes down' and is unable to get up again. Clinical signs of milk fever... If not treated, the animal goes into shock and will die.

There are three stages of clinical milk fever:

Stage 1:
    * Poor appetite / off feed and may be off her milk
    * Still on feet
    * Fine muscle tremor including slight head shake
    * Grinding teeth
    * Stiff legs, falls over easily
    * Dung output is reduced
Stage 2:
    * The cow has gone down, and is still sitting up on her sternum
    * The cow may appear drowsy, often with an 'S' bend or kink in her neck OR the head is turned back against her flank
    * The cow may extend her neck and drool with her tongue out
    * Her nose will be dry and her ears, tail and feet feel cool
    * Her eyes may appear dry and 'staring', looking vague
    * She may be constipated with few or no rumen contractions visible through the flank
    * Sometimes the cow is bloated
    * The heart rate is faster than normal and difficult to hear through a stethoscope or to palpate through the rib cage
    * Occasionally, the uterus may prolapse (turn inside out and hang out of the cow) if the cow has just calved
Stage 3:
    * The cow is down, but is lying stretched out on her side, she can't sit up on her sternum on her own. Rumen contents may be regurgitated out of her nose
    * Her limbs and head / neck are flaccid, and wobble when moved around
    * The cow is almost comatosed
    * The cow will die of shock within hours if not treated