Transition from dry pregnant stage to freshening and onset of lactation causes tremendous stress in dairy cows. Cows need significantly more calcium while lactating as compared to the last stages of gestation. Colostrum and milk are loaded with calcium, and fresh cows must be able to adjust to this sudden calcium drain to maintain health and productivity. This is particularly critical for a cow’s second lactation and greater. Low blood calcium can lead to milk fever.

All ketosis cases are not created equal, but diagnosing cows with Type 1 or Type 2 may make all the difference in treatment success. Heather White, Ph.D., at the University of Wisconsin – Madison Department of Dairy Science, has been studying ketosis in its two distinct and different forms: Type 1 (later-onset, typically clinical) and Type 2 (earlier-onset, typically subclinical).

The death of an adult cow on a dairy is a bad event. For a cow to die on a dairy, something went terribly wrong for that individual animal. In addition, from a financial point of view, this is the worst way for a cow to be removed from production. There is no question: Every dairy producer would agree adult cow death losses should occur as infrequently as possible.