milk fever

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I have a Jersey Cow that developed milk fever after she freshened. I never saw or heard of this before and I thought I was going to lose her. Fortunately with the help of some good neighbors she survived and is back to normal. Does anyone know the long term effects of this? Will she be more prone to develop this again or will her life-time productivity be decreased?

-- Marlene Leiby (mleiby@caprock-spur.com), March 15, 2001

Answers

Marlene, milk fever is a metabolic disease. Caused by nutrition. Though I do not know any cattle links, their are lots of links on the importance of diet, and the calcium/energy link with hypocalcemia, ketosis and milk fever. If nobody puts up any cattle links for nutrition than get back with us goat folks! Mimicing the feed mangement of someone in your area who is successfully raising the same or similar stock to you, is usually your best bet. It is pretty difficult to follow someone else's feeding program if you can't readily get the same ingredients. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 15, 2001.

From what I've heard and read, it's actually the highest producers that get milk fever. My understanding has been that you can prevent it to a degree with a careful diet if you know the animal is prone to it, but the really great milkers are still a lot more susceptible to it. So no, I don't think she'll be less productive, she could get it again, but there is a shot you can give her if you see it coming on again, that will stop it early. I think it is injectable calcium. They are most likely to come down with it just before or after freshening.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 16, 2001.

It is my understanding also that it is the higher producing cows that get milk fever. I'm sure that you already know this but for others that may be watching...you have to give the cow an IV pretty quickly when they go down with milk fever(I'm not sure what the medication in the IV is called). I helped a friend on a dairy with a cow once that went down with not only milk fever but a prolapse too....talk about an interesting day! I believe milk fever is also linked to either too much protein or calcium in the feed prior to calving. Doesn't make much sense does it....you'd think that high calcium in the feed would be a preventative. Her productivity shouldn't be effected much and it is anyone's guess if she will have this again. Odds are she won't. I'd ask my vet about what to feed her prior to her next calving.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), March 16, 2001.

My reference says if a cow gets it once, it will get it the next time, and that is my personal experience with a Jersey. Before she freshens next time talk to your Vet about getting a Cal/Mag solution which is squirted into her mouth if she goes down after calving. It will hold her over until the vet can get than for an intervenous IV of calcium.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), March 16, 2001.

As I understand it, the animal needs to be able to release the calcium in her bones to meet the needs of milking. If you feed high- calcium feed (alfalfa hay) while she is dry, her system is not geared to use her own calcium. Then when she starts milking, the sudden calcium drain, coupled with her inability to use the calcium stored in her bones, drops her blood calcium level and she gets milk fever. The solution is supposed to be feeding low calcium feed (grass hay) during the later part of pregnancy.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@seedlaw.com), March 16, 2001.


Our first Jersey cow (milked her for 17 years) came down with milk fever when she had her 8th calf. Gave us a real scare. It was easy to save her. The vet came promptly and put the remedy in her with an IV.

He told us how to prevent it the next time. We got the tubes (like caulking tubes) to put down her throat. One when she started to calve. One when the calf was born, and one a few hours later. We assumed we would have to do this for the rest of her life.

We did this for several years and never had the milk fever. Then one year,- we weren't watching the calandar like we should have been, and she sneaked up on us and calved out on grass. We found her and the calf and everything was fine. Never had the milk fever after that, although she had several calves after that. It makes us think that having her on grain right up until calving, contributed to the nutritional problem that brings on the milk fever. (We always have feeding grade limestone {calcium}, magnesium and selenium mixed in every batch of feed.) When she calved out on grass that one time, she was getting no grain.

It certainly proved wrong the assumption that "once they have it, they will always get it".

-- homestead2 (homestead@localnetplus.com), March 16, 2001.


Thank you everyone for the information on milk fever. I will be on the look out for it next year and will at least know what the symptoms are and maybe a bit on preventing it with diet management. Marlene

-- Marlene Leiby (mleiby@caprock-spur.com), March 17, 2001.

My Grandfather, and I both had milk cows that got milk fever, and we were able to save them and get them over it, but we also found out that if you feed a milk cow brown sugar for about 2 months before she is due to calf, she is not prone to get milk fever, as we also found out that when a cow gets milk fever it is due to the fact that she is lacking some sort of sugar in her diet, try this and see what happens, the veterrain told us to do this. It worked for us. Hope that you do not have anymore problems with milk fever.

-- Paul Allen Funk (arrticfox@yahoo.com), March 19, 2001.

those calcium tubes are good to use and will often prevent an attack. Milk fever is not a fever, the animal is cold to the touch. I will always feel a fresh cows ears and if they are cold, then give her a tube of calcium twice a day and watch her real good. If she goes down and wont get up then call the vet fast! Dont trust the tube to save her. Her stomache cannot digest it fast enough and often the throat becomes paralysed. Jersey's are more prone to milk fever and we have had cows get it all year round, but more often in the winter. We have never had a cow get it that had just grass hay(no alfalfa or clover in it) Milk fever happens so fast and I know it's scary, but if you pay cose attention to her the danger of her getting it will pass about a week after freshening.

-- jeni (jeni@dwave.net), March 22, 2001.

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