Managing a dairy herd in the face of unusually wet conditions is one of the most challenging situations dairy farm managers can find themselves in.
The work is dirty, exhausting, depressing and often a substantial cost in time and money lies ahead in the recovery phase. Added to this are the many additional problems in managing the health and welfare of the animals in wet environmental conditions.
But looking ahead the land will recover, and doing your best to lessen the impact on your livestock will make this process quicker and so get your business back on track.
What are the Main Risks to Welfare?
- Downer cows
- Un-milked cows
- Unfed livestock
- Lame cows
- Mastitis
- Cold, wet young stock
- Skinny / underfed cows
Setting Priorities
With so many issues to attend to and demands on your time, it is often difficult to prioritise what do first.
However, from a welfare perspective this is pretty easy. The animals to attend to first are the ones that are in distress or are the most vulnerable.
Decisions need to be made quickly. Set some guidelines on which animals are to receive special care and which ones are best destroyed. Be realistic about what can be achieved with the available equipment and labour resources and act early.
Managing Welfare
1. Attending to Downer Cows
Often the options are limited for these animals, especially if they cannot be moved to a dry area to recover.
Budget half to one hour per day each to provide them with care, as they require shelter (a coat), feed, water and rolling daily. Cows unable to stand within 24-48 hours have a poor chance of survival in wet conditions and even if they survive, usually face a long (and unproductive) road to recovery. If you are not in a position to provide the additional care, then destroy them humanely as soon as practicable.
2. Un-Milked Cows
Cows can cope with not being milked for 24 hours or so. After this the pressure in the udder builds up and the milk secretory capabilities of the udder gradually decline over the next 7 days. Depending on the stage of lactation, milk production will recover if milking resumes at least once daily within 3-4 days of milking ceasing. It is obviously a high priority to get the herd milked again, even if the milk is not saleable in the short term.
3. Feeding Unfed Stock
Heavily pregnant cows (last trimester) are more vulnerable to environmental stresses and feed deprivation than the milkers. Cows close to calving need daily feeding of energy dense feed as the volume they can hold within their rumen is limited. Magnesium supplementation can reduce the incidence of metabolic problems at calving. Young stock are particularly at risk from underfeeding and exposure during wet conditions
The young stock are also vulnerable to environmental stresses, particularly if in poor body condition or if they have heavy parasite burdens. Feeding every second day is a viable option for young stock with special care being made to reduce feed wastage (see related sheet ‘Managing feeding in wet conditions’) and to supplement growing stock with magnesium to eliminate grass tetany. Milking cows generally have enough condition to withstand short periods of feed deprivation (2-3 days).
However, if body condition score (BCS) is less than 3.5 (out of 8), or feed has been short for a few weeks, every effort should be made to provide the cows with at least their maintenance energy requirements daily.
Special feeding is also required for fat cows (greater than BCS 6) that are suddenly deprived of feed. Milking once daily for short periods and/or standing cows off pasture for periods in the day can limit energy losses in the short term.
Energy required for daily maintence
Additional energy required for pregnancy
Additional energy required for activity
Additional energy required for milk production averages 5.5 MJ per litre of milk, but ranges from 7.1 MJ per litre of high test milk (6% fat, 4.4% protein) to 4.5 MJ per litre of low test milk (3% fat, 2.6% protein).
4. Managing Animal Health Issues
Wet weather brings lameness and mastitis with it. Both are painful conditions and affected cows need to be promptly identified, separated for examination and treated if production losses are to be minimised. There are also a number of strategies that can be used in wet conditions to minimise the impact of these diseases (see related sheets ‘Managing lameness in wet conditions’ and ‘Managing milking in wet conditions’).
5. Wet and Cold Young Stock
Cows are generally well acclimatised to cold conditions but cows in poor condition and young stock can still suffer from exposure. Some shelter from the wind can greatly improve their outlook when it is wet and muddy in the paddocks.
6. Skinny Cows
Whilst skinny livestock are not necessarily a welfare issue, any animal below a BCS of 3.5 is at risk of succumbing to problems relating to feed deprivation and cold. These animals are best segregated from their herd mates as they will not compete well. They will improve if their energy demands are reduced (better shelter, less walking, less milking, parasite control etc) in relation to their energy intake. Trucking them off the farm can reduce damage to the paddocks and take some pressure off the farm staff.
Humane Destruction
Humane destruction should be considered if there is little chance of the animal being salvaged. Labour resources are often stretched during wet conditions and it can be impossible to move cows out of bogged areas with heavy machinery. Make a decision early about cows whose welfare is compromised and act promptly.
Summary
- Acting to protect the welfare of cows makes sense from a recovery perspective too.
- Be realistic on what can be achieved with the available resources and concentrate on the highest priorities first.
For Advice on Treatment
If you require any professional advice on the treatment of livestock please contact your veterinarian. Additional information on protecting the welfare of dairy cattle can be found in the references below:
Assessing Body Condition Score:
InCalf tool - The Condition Magician.
Welfare and humane destruction:
Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals (Cattle) 2nd Ed. (2004). Primary Industries Standing Committee.
