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WORKING
ToGEThER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
11
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
POST- CALV ING CARE
Monitoring transition cows
has reduced LDAs and
improved herd fertility
Veterinary surgeon
Hannah Batty
XLVets practice
Lambert,
Leonard & May
Duncan Blood has expanded the herd from
250 milking cows in 2009, up to 450 today
and now employs a herdsman Phil Baddiley.
The herd receives weekly fertility visits by LLM
vets, either Hannah Batty or Charlie Lambert.
Hannah explains:
‘There was an issue with fat
dry cows on the farm: these were becoming
ketotic post-calving, and were at risk of LDAs.
Duncan had also commented that there were
a lot of metritis cases occurring in the week
following calvings. And at our weekly routines
we had been finding a lot of cows with
“whites”.‘
The team at Hankins Heys were not only keen
to reduce the LDA incidence but also to get the
cows cycling and ready for service again. So
a year ago Duncan signed up to a monthly
transition reporting service provided by LLM
which would put a focus on the herd’s health,
flagging up potential problems and enabling
the effects of any changes to be seen and
monitored. It includes a variety of checks made
on the dry cows by LLM Vet Techs, and on the
fresh calvers by himself and his herdsman.
Dry cow monitoring
The dry cow shed is split into two with the left
hand side reserved for cows close to calving
(Figure one)
. Duncan explains: ‘We’ve
chosen this particular shed because there’s a
lot of people flow past it, and so observations
are good…and I can also see the close-up
cows from my bedroom window!’
Dry cows, in the last three weeks pre-calving,
are assessed by one of LLM’s Vet Techs.
Measurements of body condition score and
rumen fill are recorded
(Figure two)
.
In addition, measurements of the lying areas,
and space at the water and feed troughs each
side of the shed have been taken to calculate
a maximum stocking density. The herd calves
all year round, with a slight peak in the
autumn. So for some of the year, to avoid
overcrowding, Duncan will keep the far-off
cows out of the transition yard, and only bring
them across three weeks prior to calving.
The transition diet has also been changed
in a bid to prevent cows becoming
over-conditioned. Duncan adds: ‘We have
more straw in the diet these days – nearly
4 kg/cow/day. We’ve recently changed
from wheat to barley straw, and I’ve noticed
that intakes have gone up. From the Transition
Check report, I can also see that rumen fills
have improved - from 3s and 4s, to lots
more 4s.’
Hannah adds:
‘With the monthly recordings of
BCS, the most at-risk animals can be identified
and monitored accordingly. Any extremely fat
cows are now receiving a pre-calving bolus to
help reduce the risk of post-calving ketosis and
the associated metabolic diseases.’
Hannah Batty BVM BVS MRCVS,
Lambert, Leonard & May
Left displaced abomasum (LDA) used to be a regular occurrence in the Blood
family’s dairy herd at Hankins Heys Farm near Whitchurch, in Shropshire. But
now, they are rare. This is due not only to changes in diet and management, but
to the instigation of pre- and post-calving checks, and a monthly report compiled
by the farm’s veterinary practice, Lambert, Leonard & May (LLM).
Figure one. Close-up dry cows are located down
one side of the shed where they are easy to observe
Figure two. Dry cows are assessed for BCS and
rumen fill in the last three weeks prior to calving