VIDEO 40 Transition management in the dairy cow
I describe the transition period in the cow a bit like preseason training, with the start of lactation the all-important start of the season.
A good preseason and starting on the right foot will make for a productive and healthy lactation in the dairy cow. The transition period is the 21 days before calving and the 30-40 days after calving. Good management here will impact on her staying in the herd and going back in calf.
Cows are akin to metabolic athletes in ways. From pretty much a standing start she must fire up the cylinders and go.
How we manage cows during this period is so critical to health and production. It is not surprising we see most of our sickness and metabolic issues in the dairy cow in the first 30 days of lactation.
An example of this is clinical mastitis. Where we would expect up to a quarter of our issues during this period.
That is why I set targets for clinical mastitis of
8 cases per 100 cows in the first 30 days
25 cases per 100 cows over the full lactation
This period is important because it marks a significant nutritional and immune stress on the cow. This is a natural phenomenon which we must manage very carefully. When we talk about infectious disease it is always a balance between immunity and infection pressure. With lowered immunity around calving time, it is a natural risk period.
She begins brewing colostrum a week or more out from calving, then begins producing milk which produces a huge strain on metabolism. These outputs (milk) must be matched with inputs in the form of energy and protein (DMI dry matter intake).
There is a natural negative energy balance in every cow for a period of 40-60 days depending on her production. This means the cow will be milking off her back for this period. Mobilizing body fat to meet this energy gap. These fats are broken down in the liver to mobilize glucose and triglycerides.
If this is very severe where you have the rapid or prolonged mobilization of these fat reserves or if cows are in poor body condition (little reserves). We can get the development of ketosis. This can vary in the extreme to clinical ketosis but mostly will be subclinical (silent).
We can monitor this in our cows using blood samples looking at BHBs and NEFAs. I used a human ketometer to great effect to do this on-farm, but we can also send bloods for monitoring to the lab.
This is why we focus so much on getting BCS right at calving (3.25-3.50). With thin cows being more at risk at this time, also fat cows, when they calve down, will have poorer appetites and mobilize body fat too quickly. Meaning your fat and thin cows need to be minimized at herd level and those at risk need special attention.
You would probably add cows with twins also to this category at calving time. This is where I have found the monensin bolus given in advance of the risk to these cows works well. They also respond well to plenty of TLC when they calve with things like electrolyte drinks and daily dosing with products like Ketogold containing propylene glycol.
A glucogenic energy source for reduction of the risk of ketosis.
This metabolic stress (ketosis) has a significant impact on immunity, health, and production.
So we must be mindful to minimize this by carefully managing this period. Doing this we improve health, production, and reduce the risk of disease.
Some key aspects of this are
Maximize dry matter intakes DMIs after calving. Remember the cow before she calves (24 hours) will reduce her intakes. When she calves down we must work very hard to get her eating.
The first 24 hours is really important because we want to minimize pain and optimize her natural biology. Get the simple things right here for your freshly calved cows. Plenty of fresh available water, a comfortable bed, and space. Have fresh feed to match her intakes with both energy and proteins. Managing calcium and trace element deficiencies.
The dairy cow at calving time is also going through huge oxidative stress simply from the inflammatory processes that occur at calving time. She is also more at risk of diseases like lameness which can, in turn, impact DMIs.
Dry matter intake
Remember the freshly calved cow will only be able to manage a certain amount of DMI and this will increase over the next 4-6 weeks.
A figure I use for a 550-600kg cow is about 12kg DM intake going up to 18kg DM after a month or more.
A freshly calved cow at grass will be able to take in about 12kg/dm while it will take her 4-6 weeks to build up her intakes to 18kg/DM. this is why concentrate feeding is so important to the freshly calved cow, it will have smaller volume making intakes easier with greater energy.
How we manage cows in this first 30-45 days is so important.
Indoors we need to maximize space and comfort for cows. Aim for a cubicle per cow and a feedspace per cow for your dry cows and freshly calved cows. Cows in groups will typically feed together so where feedspace is compromised this becomes very challenging.
After energy calcium is the next big issue for the cow around calving. I have covered this topic before click here to watch https://youtu.be/-Bn36f-l3EQ
In grass-based systems, the management of calcium is really important with factors like high potassium complicating matters in silages.
Remember calcium plays a key role in immunity and muscle function.
The next big part of transition management after energy, protein, calcium is minerals. I have covered these topics before so I want to focus really on maximizing DMIs and minimizing ketosis in cows.
In the video above I talk about some key stages in a dairy cow’s transition.
The dry cow should be in a positive energy balance before calving. As she approaches calving her feed intakes drop for 24 hours. So when she does calve all focus should be on helping intakes. Set up your calving pens for comfort and feeding.
We must remember also that rumen health is really important around transition time. Getting the dry cow on a rising plane of nutrition and protein as she approaches calving in my experience can work well. We also must pay close attention to fiber in her diet ensuring good rumen fill around calving time. It takes the rumen bugs 10-14 days to adjust to any dietary changes so we must make all transition as smooth as possible.
In simple forage-based systems, this can be adding an extra energy/protein source in the close-up period of 14-7 days.
This can also help her adjust to higher levels of concentrates at calving time. Every farm is different with some farms managing well with forages alone to the dry cow. With large levels of concentrate seeing at calving there must be some transition though.
While transition management is vast and detailed there can be some key indicators around calving time from a health point of view. These may indicate issues we need to work harder on.
Increase in LDAs >2%
Metritis (dirty wombs) >8%
Retained placentas > 4%
Mastitis cases >8 cases per 100 cows
Milk fever >2% (subclinical milk fever is now the big issue on most farms)
Clinical ketosis >1%
Again these disease and metabolic conditions can be indicators of cows that have been challenged during the transition period. I like to check the medicines book and look around calving time at what has been treated. These diseases are leaving clues for us on what might need to be improved.
While I’m not going into the detail of the diets for the freshly calved cow we must look at demands versus intakes and balance it as best we can for our cows and systems.
If we are transitioning indoors (most farms) we must really focus on simple things like space, comfort, and water. Freely available water for the freshly calved cow, a nice comfortable bed and space to feed and lie down.
This is a great time to observe cows feeding and pay particular attention to your heifers. The animals under most stress to the adjustments at this time will be heifers. While on large farms they can be managed in a separate group. Most farms will have them mixed with cows and need to be mindful of space for heifers particularly feeding space. The quieter shy heifers will always be the last in to feed indoors if space is at a premium.
Transition management is vast and can be very farm specific.
We do need to focus on key things
- Maximize DMI is freshly calved cows with the right feed inputs and plenty of space to allow them to feed
- Manage calcium playing particular attention to subclinical hypocalcemia
- Mange essential minerals and trace elements.
- Measure and monitor metabolic conditions and disease in the first 30 days
- Get cow comfort right with a comfortable bed per cow indoors
These are just some quick thoughts on this critical period. I will come back again in detail in the future and in training sessions on how you can practically monitor and improve this period on the dairy farm.
A palatable supplement for the freshly calved cow to provide energy, calcium, and electrolytes
Thought for the day
I will leave you with a quote I love today.
Jack Nicklaus the golfer said, “The more I practice the luckier I get”.
Cow health and management takes time to improve and get better at.
Huge thanks to Nettex for their support in putting #50in50 together for more information click the link here https://www.net-tex.co.uk/products/cattle-calves/cattle-calf-nutrition-range/keto-gold
Happy safe farming