During the dry period of dairy cows, we must be careful to check for diseases and infections that the cows can develop. Three important things to check would be mastitis prevention, vitamin supplements, and body condition of cows.
Mastitis is one of the main concerns of livestock owners. Mastitis is an inflammation of the udder, which is caused by the infection. This is especially annoying because it threatens the cow's milk production and lactation. You can get more information about mastitis in cows at https://www.lic.co.nz/products-and-services/automation/protrack-scc/.
To stop mastitis we begin by doing the intramammary antibiotic treatment. This is to prevent udder infections during the early dry period and some other infections from the previous lactation.
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Check with your veterinarian for the right antibiotic product as well as the antibiotic sensitivity patterns for the mastitis agents in the cows. Vitamin supplements are also important as cows in late pregnancy requires a large number of vitamins, especially vitamin A, D, E, and selenium.
Pregnancy and lactation, reproduction, and milk production taking a huge toll on the cows. They also have a reduced dry matter intake during the first two months of breastfeeding. This is why the cows must be stored body fat as a source of reserve energy, especially during this period.
Lactating cows usually use about 1 kilogram of stored fat each day to produce 7 kilograms of milk. If cows use more than one kilogram, especially in the first 14 days of lactation, ketosis may occur because of the fat that accumulates in the liver. Conception interval will be longer than usual in this case.
