Factsheet 1

Metabolic disorders
Metabolic disorders can invariably
be prevented by ensuring the
best possible dietary balance and
particularly careful management of
cows at drying off, during the dry
period and in early lactation.

Do not force cows to clear up poor quality or

spoiled forage
Encourage maximum saliva production with salt
or salt licks and adequate water.

Sodium bicarbonate (150-200g/cow/

day) can help overcome acidosis but
needs to be fed with care, particularly
on introduction.

Addressing acidosis
Incorrect diets or feeding can lead to overly-rapid
fermentation in the rumen, reducing the pH below the
level at which the microbes are most active (Section
2).
This slows down forage digestion and reduces both
feed intake and cud chewing which makes the
problem worse by limiting the buffering effect of
salivation.
Low milk fat percentages are a common symptom of
acidosis which, in severe cases, causes cows to go
off their feed completely and milk yields to plummet.
Acidosis can be effectively prevented by good diet
formulation and feeding practice.
To help prevent acidosis:
Spread balanced forage and concentrate feeds
over the day
Provide starchy feeds little and often
Limit parlour concentrate feeds to 4-4.5kg/
milking
Ensure separately-fed forage is of a good quality
and available ad-lib

Addressing displaced abomasums

Abomasums can become displaced on either side
the rumen, kinking the gut, causing gas and fluid
distension and slowing the passage of digesta.
High yielding and older cows are more usually
affected, with most displacements occurring within
1-3 months of calving.
Cows with displaced abomasums are typically dull,
show a marked drop in feed intake (especially of
concentrates) and reduction in milk yield and have
scanty faeces.
The loss of around 50kg of calf and associated fluids
from the body at calving leaves a lot of space for
displacement.
To help prevent displaced abomasums (DAs):
Ensure gut fill reaches a maximum within 10
days of calving
Avoid short-chopped forages
Step-up parlour concentrate feeding levels
gradually to minimise acidosis
Minimise stress by keeping cows in established
groups and parlour and cubicle training heifers
before calving.

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Rule of thumb
Increase parlour concentrates by 0.5kg/day
from 3kg/day at calving to reach a maximum
of 8kg/day by 10 days post-calving.

As a high proportion of DAs are secondary

something else stopped the cow eating first good
stockmanship is a key preventative measure and
those managing freshly calved cows should keep a
careful eye out for problems.

The acceptable level of displaced

abomasums is nil.

Addressing hypocalcaemia
The huge demand for calcium produced by the onset
of milk production can cause blood calcium levels to
drop sharply, precipitating milk fever either before or
at calving.
Even though cows can mobilize skeletal calcium, the
process is slow and made worse by the demands of
high yielding stock.
Older cows are more susceptible to milk fever, with
heifers and young cows not generally affected.
A genetic pre-disposition has also been identified,
with some animals more prone to the problem than
others.
Herds that have increased milk output rapidly often
encounter difficulties unless preventative steps are
taken ahead of calving particularly to stimulate
more efficient calcium mobilisation.

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To help prevent milk fever as part of good dry cow

management (Section 9):
Aim to have cows fit but not fat at both dryingoff and calving (Body Condition Score 2.5-3)
Keep pre-calvers on a diet with adequate
energy, but low in calcium and high in
magnesium
Supplement the diet with extra Vitamin D
immediately prior to calving
Acidify the blood with a negative Dietary
Cation-Anion Balance (DCAB)
Ensure cows have adequate water and
immediate access to the early lactation diet on
calving.
Milk fever can be treated with injections of calcium
borogluconate with or without magnesium.
Where cows do not respond to calcium treatment,
additional phosphorus may have to be given orally to
overcome low blood phosphorus levels.

Some herds have only 1% milk fever.

Where the incidence is over 5%
particular attention should be given to
dry cow feeding.

Addressing hypomagnesaemia
As cows have limited body reserves of magnesium
and can only absorb a small proportion of the
mineral in their diets, grass staggers is easily
precipitated by a fall in dietary magnesium.
The risk is highest early in the grazing season given
the lushness and low mineral content of spring grass,
especially if it is rich in nitrogen and potash. Similar
conditions can also occur in autumn grass.

Improvement through feeding

The risk of magnesium deficiency is increased by

stress including oestrus, high milk yield, excitement
or adverse weather.
Initial signs of grass staggers may include
nervousness as well as the characteristic staggering
gait, although its onset is often so quick that sudden
death is the first symptom seen.
To help prevent grass staggers:
Avoid potash applications in the spring
Introduce cows to spring grass gradually and
maintain some long forage in the diet
Avoid sudden reductions in supplementary
feeding
Minimise stress at turn-out and keep cows
housed in very wet or cold weather
Ensure cows receive adequate supplies of
available magnesium at critical times.

Adding 60g/cow/day of calcined

magnesite to the ration is the most
reliable way of ensuring all cows
receive adequate supplementation.

Other methods of magnesium supplementation

include:
Bullets but they must be correctly administered
to avoid regurgitation
Water trough dosing but intakes can vary
greatly and are highly weather dependant
Free access minerals but they may not be
consumed sufficiently by all stock
Pasture dressing but this can be very variable,
wasteful and expensive.

Addressing ketosis
Often characterised by the smell of pear drops on
the breath, ketosis (or acetonaemia) commonly results
from a severe early lactation energy gap.
The mobilisation of large amounts of body fat in the
liver in an attempt to bridge this shortfall can lead
to toxic levels of ketones accumulating in the blood,
milk and urine. This results in loss of appetite and a
marked fall in milk yield.
Over-fat cows with reduced appetites are more prone
to ketosis than fit animals.
Ketosis is often associated with fatty liver and
displaced abomasums.
The main cause of ketosis is the under-feeding of
energy; poor quality forage or a shortage of silage in
the winter being major underlying factors.
Serious energy deficits can also arise when cows are
expected to support themselves on large amounts of
wet, unpalatable or low digestibility grass without
adequate supplementation.
To help prevent ketosis:
Aim to have cows fit but not fat at both dryingoff and calving (Body Condition Score 2.5-3)
Introduce the main production forage during the
dry period
Introduce other ingredients of the production
ration three weeks ahead of calving
Formulate production rations carefully to meet
balanced energy and protein needs
Ensure sugar and starch levels do not exceed
recommended levels
Avoid acidosis by limiting individual concentrate
feeds to no more than 4kg at a time
Monitor forage quality and ensure good access
to forage at all times
Avoid sudden and major changes in the diet.

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When a group of cows is considered to be at

particular risk, individuals may be drenched with 0.5
litres of propylene glycol at calving to provide an
immediate sugar source that reduces fat mobilisation
in the liver.
Feeding 0.5 litres/head/day of propylene glycol to
dry cows in the 10 days prior to calving and as far
into lactation as practical up to 6 weeks may also
be valuable.
Feeding 1kg/day of ground maize can have a
similar effect since it resists rumen breakdown and is
absorbed directly as glucose.

Closely associated with ketosis, fatty

liver is best prevented by the same
feeding and management approach.

Keeping a careful eye on cows with a long dry

period is also advisable.

Addressing laminitis

Crimped maize grain can be used but as the grains

are not fully ripe at harvest the effect is less certain.

Lameness caused by laminitis also has a clear

nutritional connection, with blood toxins resulting
from digestive upsets or imbalances implicated in
the inflammation and bleeding of the laminae of the
hoof.

The acceptable incidence of ketosis is

nil.

Conditions leading to acidosis, ketosis, fatty liver or

excess protein, may predispose cows to laminitis.
To help prevent laminitis:

Addressing fatty liver

Fatty liver syndrome occurs when excessive
breakdown of body fat in the liver to meet a critical
energy gap leads to the laying down of liver fat as a
protection against ketone toxicity.
This reduces the normal function of the liver and
upsets many body functions, increasing the risk
of retained foetal membranes (RFM), metritis
and mastitis and reducing fertility as well as milk
production.

Accustom cows to the lactation diet before

calving
Ensure an acceptable balance of dietary fibre
with sugar and starch
Avoid excessive protein levels
Ensure high quality forage makes up at least
50% of the dietary DM.

Fat cows have depressed appetites and are more

likely to suffer from fatty liver in early lactation if
dietary energy is inadequate.

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Improvement through feeding

Addressing retained foetal

membranes (RFM)
Energy intake is almost certainly the key
consideration in minimising the incidence of retained
foetal membranes (or retained placenta/cleansings)
which has been linked to fatty liver problems affecting
hormone clearance rates and thus the hormonal
signals essential for placental release after calving.

Ignoring twin births, the acceptable

level of RFM for unassisted calvings is
2%.
Veterinary advice should be sought if
incidence exceeds 5%.

There is a very high incidence of RFM in cows

bearing twins presumably as a result of their
increased risk of energy deficit in the latter stages of
pregnancy in very much the same way as ewes with
twin lambs.
Sub-clinical milk fever has also been linked with
retained cleansings and scientific studies have shown
a clear response to selenium supplementation in
many cases.
To help prevent retained foetal membranes:
Aim to have all cows fit but not fat at both
drying-off and calving (Body Condition Score
2.5-3)
Provide cows carrying twins with around 20%
more energy in the diet than those with singles
Ensure dry cow rations supply sufficient
magnesium and fat soluble vitamins in
particular.
While RFM in maiden heifers can be corrected over
a few weeks with selenium injections, feed should
only be supplemented if animals are known to be
selenium deficient since over-supplementation can
also precipitate problems.
Around 40% of RFM cases require no treatment.

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