Nutrition

The modern dairy cow is the equivalent of a performance athlete when it comes to meeting her energy requirements for maintenance and milk production. By monitoring cow condition, feeding space, dung consistency and the ration fed to cows we are able to work together with the farm nutritionist and farmer to ensure all animals achieve their production targets.

Most metabolic diseases such as milk fever, ketosis, fatty liver and displaced abomasums are directly linked to cow nutrition. These diseases require and in-depth understanding of individual farm management and cow feeding systems.

We often recommend the use of metabolic profiles where we blood sample cows in late pregnancy and early lactation to assess their nutritional status. The various metabolic parameters provide an indication how the cows are progressing through their production cycle. We use the results in conjunction with the farm management team to make the necessary management and nutritional changes.

Please contact the surgery if you would like to know more about nutritional management and metabolic profiles.