Dairy Herd Health Chapter 44

Objectives Outline procedures for maintaining herd health Describe the proper use of drugs for treating herd health problems Describe dairy herd health problems and treatments

Herd Health Dairy cattle are subject to most of the same diseases and parasites that affect beef cattle

Herd Health Plan An effective plan puts emphasis on prevention of problems A planned program of regular vaccination and herd testing should be implemented Keeping accurate reproduction records is extremely important

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Herd health problems are reduced by the following practices Proper feeding of the herd Good facilities that are ventilated properly Using clean, dry bedding Proper cleaning and sanitation of facilities and equipment

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Herd health problems are reduced by the following practices (cont.) Controlling disease carriers such as flies, birds, and rodents Raising the replacements needed for the herd Requiring health records for replacements Keeping replacements from herd for 30 days

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Herd health problems are reduced by the following practices (cont.) Isolating all sick animals from herd Using a veterinarian for quick, accurate diagnosis and treatment of health problems Controlling access to the dairy

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Herd health problems are reduced by the following practices (cont.) Requiring visitors to use some type of protective footwear covering Not allowing visitors unlimited access Keeping bulk tank pickup and feed delivery points away from herd

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Dairy Quality Assurance Program Designed to help farmers produce high-quality milk Emphasis is placed on Preventative health program including vaccination, housing, nutrition, and sanitation

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Use of Drugs for Treatment of Dairy Cows and Calves Read labels carefully Always give proper amount at proper site (injection, oral, etc.) Avoid double-dosing Keep accurate records of vaccines

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Mastitis Control Mastitis causes one of the largest economic losses for dairy farmers Chronic form causes more loss than the acute form

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Mastitis Control (cont.) Acute symptoms include Inflamed udder Swollen, hot, hard, tender quarter Drop in milk production Abnormal milk Cow going off feed Death

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Mastitis Control (cont.) Chronic symptoms include Abnormal milk (clots, flakes, watery) Slight swelling and hardness of udder that comes and goes Sudden decrease in milk production

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Mastitis Control (cont.) Cows with mastitis will have a high count of leukocytes and body cells (somatic) Average of no more than 150,000 to 200,000 somatic cells per milliliter Somatic cells exceeding 750,000 per milliliter may result in loss of Grade A milk permit

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Mastitis Control (cont.) An effective mastitis control program Maintains milking equipment Practices proper milking procedures Identifies bacteria causing infection Promptly treats identified cases Treats all quarters of cows at drying off time Culls cows with chronic mastitis

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Displaced Abomasum (DA) A condition in which the abomasum moves out of place in the abdominal cavity More common in dairy cattle than in beef cattle Do not overfeed cattle or increase ration too fast

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Displaced Abomasum (DA) (cont.)

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Retained Placenta Condition in which the placenta (afterbirth) is not discharged within 12 to 24 hours after calving It is normal for 10 to 12 percent of cows to have a retained placenta

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Ketosis A nutritional disorder in dairy cows Caused by not feeding enough energy feeds Occurs 6 to 8 weeks into calving Some injections treat ketosis Feeding molasses will not cure ketosis

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Metritis An infection in the uterus Usually occurs 1 to 10 days after calving Occurs in cows too fat to calve Treated with intrauterine antibiotic drugs Prevented by feeding a well-rationed diet

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Milk Fever Also called parturient paresis Caused by a shortage of calcium salts in blood More common in older high-producing cows Occurs within a few days of calving Treated by an injection

Herd Health Plan (cont.) Internal Parasites Regular program of treatment for internal parasites should be followed for dairy herd All cows should be treated for worms after each lactation External Parasites Use caution with insecticides Insecticides are illegal in milk