Over 20 years ago, the late professor J.P O’Connor, a legend of veterinary medicine, frequently reminded veterinary students at UCD of this old truth:

“Two common and sometimes related scenarios that farmers and their vets deal with at this time of year are downer cows and over conditioned cows.”

A cow down adds extra work at a time when additional work is the last thing that’s needed on the farm. Often this additional effort goes unrewarded, with many of those animals ending up in the knackery.

The relaxation of ligaments and tendons in the pelvis and surrounding tissue that occurs to make calving easier also makes a cow more prone to injury. Avoiding surfaces and situations where these cows are put at increased risk of injury is critical.

If a cow does go down, prompt attention to correct health issues, such as mineral imbalance and pain relief, is critical.

Getting the animal to sit up and eat is vital to any hope of a full recovery. If the cow starts to eat, it gives her rumen a chance to provide her with the strength she needs to stand. Having the cow on a surface where she has grip when rising is also important. Isolating her from other animals can help prevent further injury as the cow is trying to stand.

Frequently, late-calving cows have had a long dry period and have become too fat. Dry-cow minerals are also more difficult to provide, especially when the silage runs out and the animals go out to grass.

Cows with a body condition score greater than 3.25, and with inadequate magnesium in their diet, are ideal candidates for milk fever and a number of other metabolic diseases. These include retained afterbirth, mastitis, ketosis, displaced abomasum and lameness and such cows have more difficulty getting into top milk. Stopping cows getting too fat and maintaining them on an ideal dry diet, with adequate magnesium and low levels of calcium and potassium, is crucial.

However, this is not always possible. In recent years, a monensin-based bolus which aims to help cows and heifers successfully transition from dry to milking by helping her entire digestive system work more efficiently has come on the market. Talk to your vet if you have cows that could benefit.

*Jerry Crowley works at Glenbower Veterinary Group, Killeagh, Co Cork. Glenbower Veterinary Group is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices that are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For more information, see www.xlvets.ie