The Two Indicators of a Healthy Fresh Cow

Profile Picture of Post's Author Brady Goetz | Posted October 9, 2023

As producers and good stewards for our cattle, we know how important it is to make sure our cows are given the best management and care possible. Additionally, we know how critical the transition period is to overall lactation success and longevity of our cows. As a result, the last few decades’ efforts have been focused on the transition dairy cow. We have intense protocols and monitoring tools in place to identify problem cows quicker and more thoroughly. While I fully believe these advancements have been beneficial, I think we need to take a step back and ask ourselves: Are we treating the root of the problem or just a symptom, and more importantly does she even have a problem? The two indicators of a healthy fresh cow are feed intake and milk yield.

Before I go any further, I want to discuss characteristics of an immune activated cow and a high producing cow. We often see a higher incidence of infections such as mastitis, metritis and pneumonia in early lactation. This infection activates the immune system, repartitioning a substantial amount of nutrients toward fighting the infection instead of using them for milk production. In addition, a highly conserved response to infection is reduced feed intake. Consequently, an immune activated cow will mobilize body tissue to ensure she has the necessary energy to survive. Switching gears, let’s talk about the rockstar cow who came into the fresh pen milking strong, eating like crazy, and within days was outproducing every other cow in the pen. While she’s eating as much as she can handle, she still can’t get enough groceries to meet her energy requirements and mobilizes body tissue to help meet her needs. Two vastly different cows that are both mobilizing body tissue, one to provide energy to survive and the other to maximize milk production.

If our fresh cow protocol is designed to identify and treat cows that are mobilizing body tissue, won’t both cows mentioned above show up? The sick cow is immune activated from an infection, but we are treating her low feed intake which is only a symptom of the real problem. The high producing cow is doing exactly what nature intended to maximize milk production, yet we are treating it as a problem. As dairy producers, we must do whatever it takes to prevent these infections in the first place. Management strategies aimed at reducing environmental pathogens with clean bedding, reducing overcrowding, proper milking techniques, and continuing to educate employees on the importance of cleanliness are just some of the ways we can have a positive impact during the transition period. Fresh cow programs should be aimed at identifying cows with low feed intake (rumination) and low milk yield, and doing a comprehensive exam aimed at identifying the root cause of immune activation. On the other hand, if she’s eating like a champ and milking like a champ, she’s the healthiest cow in the herd. Let her do her thing!

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