Clinical ketosis in dairy cows is only the tip of the iceberg
Two weeks before calving, the strong decrease in dry matter intake can already result in a negative energy balance (NEB)34. Dairy cows in NEB have an increased risk to develop subclinical or clinical ketosis. Clinical ketosis in dairy cows is highly visible, but is only the tip of the iceberg.
Subclinical ketosis in cattle is much more common than clinical ketosis is. Signs suggestive of subclinical ketosis in dairy cows are51,52:
The mobilisation of body fat reserves results in a release of non esterified fatty acids (NEFA’s). When this mobilization is adequate and well regulated, these NEFA’s can be fully metabolized to cover the energy needs of dairy cattle for milk production. If this adaptation fails, metabolic stress occurs37. This increases the risk to develop a number of metabolic disorders of dairy cows such as subclinical or clinical ketosis and milk fever.
Managing the negative energy balance of a dairy herd correctly will therefore greatly improve dairy farm profitability.
How to measure the Body Condition Score of a dairy cow?
Joep Driessen from the CowSignals training group explains how the body condition score (BCS) of dairy cows should be measured. This can’t be done on the basis of visual inspection only, it is important to feel how much fat is under the skin of the cow. The ideal BCS for a dairy cow is 3.0.
The ideal Body Condition Score of a dairy cow is 3.0. If the BCS is 2.0 or below, there is something wrong with the cow, she is suffering from disease. If the milk production starts dropping at the end of lactation and there is no possibility to adapt the diet, the BCS of a late lactation cow will increase to 4.0 or higher. This will result in problems around calving and an increased risk of involuntary culling during the next lactation.
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Manage the Body Condition Score and the Negative Energy Balance correctly
To better monitor the Body Condition Score we have created a poster with visuals of cows with Body condition scores between 1 and 5. This can help you to ensure cows have a BCS between 3 and 3.5 at calving.
Our HealthyLife Protocol on managing the negative energy balance of dairy cows provides practical tips on how to reduce the impact of NEB.
The HealthyLife technical brochure "Managing the negative energy balance in cows" reviews all the latest scientific insights on NEB.
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Making sustainable dairy farming profitable
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