Animal Health and Welfare [DA.AHW]

How to Assess and Improve Cow Cleanliness

Keeping cows clean when housed can often be a challenge but is an important part of ensuring good udder health and prevention of environmental mastitis. If the udder and legs…

Calf Milk Replacer Guide – What to Use and Why

There are many benefits of feeding a calf milk replacer (CMR) over whole milk, including: Reduced risk of disease transfer (particularly Johne’s) High bacterial load Antibiotic residues Consistency However, there…

Is Subclinical Ketosis Draining Your Profits?

Clinical ketosis is easily identifiable, with affected cows showing rapid condition loss, a significant drop in milk yield and reduced appetite. These cows will also have an acetone odour in…

Be on the Lookout for Summer Mastitis

With the exceptional weather so far this spring and early summer, we need to be vigilant for cases of summer mastitis. This disease is normally seen in the warmer summer…

Uterine Prolapse in Dairy Cattle

Uterine prolapses are more serious than vaginal or rectal prolapses, and almost always occur within 24 hours of calving. They are easily distinguished from vaginal prolapses, which tend to occur…

MMN November 2024 – Waterbeds – the Ultimate in Cow Comfort?

Ensuring good cow comfort is critical to welfare and productivity and a new type of lying surface is gaining momentum – waterbeds! First developed in Europe over 15 years ago,…

MMN November 2024 – A Recap on Winter Lameness Management: Prevention is Better than Cure

The estimated average cost of a case of lameness in dairy cows is £180. Whilst we are all aware of the risks and costs of cattle lameness, it can sometimes…

MMN July 2024 – Contagious Mastitis: Tackling High SCC’s

Being above the standard litre target for somatic cell count (SCC) can have a significant impact on your milk cheque. High levels of contagious mastitis within a herd often result…

Managing Johne’s Disease Within Your Herd

Johne’s disease is a chronic, contagious bacterial disease of the intestinal tract mainly seen in ruminant species, particularly dairy cattle. It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies Paratuberculosis…

MMN May 2024 – Reducing White Line Disease in Dairy Cows

White line disease (WLD) is the second most common cause of claw disease in dairy cows, with an average of 5.5 cases per 100 cows per year (Barker et al.,…

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