1. Dairy Herd Health
Chapter 44

2. 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

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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