Management of clinical milk fever in autumn calving herds

FOR many farmers a case of milk fever involves a ‘downer cow’, when a lack of available calcium results in a loss of appetite, low body temperature, muscle weakness causing her to go down and a slowing of her heart rate.

Milk fever or hypocalcaemia occurs when the cow is unable to mobilise her own calcium reserves quickly enough to match the increased demand created by the production of colostrum and the onset of lactation.

“Prompt veterinary treatment with intravenous calcium, such as Calciject, is a lifesaving treatment delivering high levels of calcium very quickly and getting the cow back on her feet,” explains Maura Langan (pictured), Norbrook Vet-erinary Advisor.

“In the past, IV calcium in-fusion was often followed with a subcutaneous injection, however

a cow already down with clin-ical milk fever may have poor absorption of calcium delivered in this way. These days we recom-

mend that it is more effective to follow-up with an oral supplement like Calcitrace D3 bolus or Cal-citrace P liquid. This will ensure she has a continued, high levels of easily absorbed calcium that will not interfere with the cows’ natural metabolic processes.”

All freshly calved cows are challenged to maintain normal calcium levels within the first 72 hours of calving, so farmers should try to understand the risk of milk fever within the herd. Some cows will struggle to adapt to the increased need for calcium more than others.

“Farmers should identify ‘at risk’ cows and consider using Calcitrace D3 bolus or Calcitrace P liquid at the time of calving. This will provide additional cal-

cium to give the cow a little extra time to start the process of mobilising her own supply and meeting her needs naturally. This should help to reduce the number of clinical cases of milk fever needing veterinary intervention,” concludes Maura.