Prevention is better than cure: Metabolic disorders of dairy cattle
Meet Thumar1*, Dixit Parsana2, Hardik Rokad3
1 M.V.Sc. Scholar, Animal Biochemistry Division, CAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana.
meetthumarvet@gmail.com
2 Ph.D. Scholar, Veterinary Microbiology, CoVS&AH, Kamdhenu University, Navsari, Gujarat.
3 M.V.Sc. Scholar, Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, CoVS&AH, Kamdhenu University, Junagadh, Gujarat.
Abstract
The dairy industry is taking a leap and bounds, and it is one of the fastest developing sectors in agriculture and allied sectors. Many attributes are responsible for the optimum production of dairy cattle. One among them is health management. This article specifically focuses on the occurrence of metabolic disorders in dairy cattle and their prevention by nutritional management.
Keywords
Metabolic disorders, Ketosis, Milk fever, Hypophosphatemia
The most critical stage in the production cycle of dairy cattle is the transition phase. During it, the animal undergoes various stressful physiological events, such as calving, lactation initiation and peak, maintaining reproductive health, etc. The metabolic changes as well as a higher energy demand during this phase make the animal susceptible to metabolic disorders. The managemental attributes during the late dry period and early lactation majorly affect the animal’s health and well-being.
- Ketosis during the transition period
Ketosis is one of the frequently occurring metabolic diseases in high-yielder cows, which occurs during the peak of lactation. The reason behind the occurrence of it is negative energy balance. As the animal is under the stress of high milk production and if they do not receive adequate energy from the feed, then there will be a negative energy balance in the animal’s body, leading to ketosis. The prominent signs of ketosis include reduced appetite, in which initially the animal shows reluctance towards concentrate and then roughage; a decline in milk production; a sudden decrease in body weight; and a sweetish smell from urine, breath, and milk. Treatment includes raising glucose levels in the blood by giving the pure form of glucose in the diet and providing dextrose intravenously.
A few things should be kept in mind while managing the animal to prevent ketosis. A cow should not be allowed to get fat during the pregnancy period. Also, after calving, the cattle must be brought under lactation ration and the feed provided to them must include highly glucogenic matter such as jaggery and maize.
- Postpartum milk fever
Milk fever is a metabolic disorder that occurs immediately after calving. As during the dry period, there was a complete stoppage of milking, calcium metabolism in the animal’s body goes down to a minimal level. But after calving, there is a necessity for a higher level of colostrum and milk production, and all the calcium from the animal’s body gets drained into it. On the other hand, calcium metabolism is at a low level. As a result, there is a calcium deficiency in the cow’s body, leading to milk fever. The major signs of milk fever are a decrease in the body temperature, lying down and not being able to get up, and a paralysis-like condition in long-untreated cases. Providing intravenous calcium and magnesium gives a rapid positive result, and the animal rises within 15 minutes of treatment, which is indicative of a positive response to treatment.
The prevention of milk fever is very necessary for dairy cattle, as the occurrence of milk fever might lead to many complications. To prevent it, the calcium supplementation in the feed should be reduced to below 20gm per day per animal, 7-10 days prior to lactation, in order to activate the calcium metabolism in the animal’s body. Oral calcium gel can be given to animals post-partum but not frequently.
- Postpartum hemoglobinuria
It is a metabolic disorder of high-producing dairy cows, and it generally occurs after 2-4 weeks of calving. After calving, there is a sudden increase in milk production and milk drains a large amount of body phosphorous, resulting in the disturbance of the body’s metabolism of phosphorous. The signs of postparturient hemoglobinuria are red-coloured urine, which is because of the occurrence of haemoglobin from the lysed red blood cells, anaemia, and anorexia. Treatment of it includes intravenous administration of phosphorous and also supplementing phosphorous in the diet.
Prevention of hemoglobinuria includes dietary management, wherein the diet should contain an abundant amount of phosphorous, which makes the animal less susceptible to phosphorous deficiency.
