Nutritional diseases in dairy animals result from imbalances or deficiencies in their diet, affecting their overall health, productivity, and sometimes leading to severe health issues. Proper nutrition is crucial for dairy animals to produce milk efficiently and maintain good health. Here are some common nutritional diseases that can affect dairy animals:
Acidosis
- When the animals eat too little fibrous feeds (fodder) and too much feeds rich in soluble carbohydrates (like grain, maize and maize-bran, brewers grain) the acidity in the rumen becomes too high and the pH drops
- After 8-12 hours the animals show the following signs:
- loose appetite
- show signs of indigestion and irritability
- little rumen movement
- produce loose and watery faeces (dung) with an offensive smell
- reduced milk production
- the body temperature remains
Ketosis
- A metabolic disease of lactating cows that occurs within a few days after
- It might be found when the animal has received a ration which was too rich in energy during the period she was
- You may recognize the disease from a very specific smell in the
- A decreased milk production is the
Milk fever
- Milk fever occurs mostly in high-yielding dairy cows soon after calving, usually within 72
- The cow shows signs of paralysis. She is unable to get up and rise to her feet and lies with her head turned back on the
- Contrary to the name, the cow has no She looses all appetite.
- The disease occurs when the feed has been deficient in Ca during pregnancy. In that case the cow uses her body reserves for the development of the When she starts to produce colostrum, which is also rich in Ca, a calcium deficiency occurs in her body.
- Treatment is simple with an injection of calcium borogluconate I/V in her The cow will respond immediately and will stand.
- To prevent further problems DCP (Di-Calcium Phosphate) should be introduced in the ration.
Rickets/osteomalacia/night blindness
- Rickets is found mostly in young growing
- The development of the skeleton is hampered and bones might be
- Rickets occurs due to Ca deficiency, what might have been caused by feeding a calf too little mothers milk.
- Osteomalacia is the corresponding disease in adult
- Night blindness can be found due to Vitamin A deficiency in
Bloat/tympanitis
- Bloat is an excessive accumulation of gas in the rumen of the The reason is that the animal is unable to belch and to release the produced gas.
- It is usually caused by an excessive intake of a single type of green, fresh leguminous fodders, like lucerne, lablab, cowpea, velvet
- It is recognized by a swollen rumen and a drum like sound when patting on it. The animal has difficulty in breathing, has pain and is generally
- To treat bloat drench a vegetable oil immediately or make a trocard puncture in the rumen so that the gas can Use probing and try to massage the rumen.
- Feeding of legumes should stop
- To prevent problems, allow the legumes to wilt some time after cutting and before Never let the animal graze on a pure legume stand and balance the ration with other roughages.
Constipation
- The animal produces solid dry faeces, which is brittle and covered with mucus
- The animal has pain and is straining during defecation
- No feed intake
- The reasons for constipation are:
- Eating of very dry feed together with insufficient drinking of water
- Eating moldy hay & insufficient exercise
- Intestine and liver diseases
- To treat constipation:
- Give an enema with soap water
- Provide green, succulent, laxative diet and plenty of water
Urea poisoning
- This poisoning is an acute and fatal disease caused by a too high or accidental consumption of urea
- The toxicity appears sudden and is due to a high ammonia production in the rumen
- Symptoms of the poisoning are: severe abdominal pain, nervous symptoms, twitching, weakness, breathing difficulty, excessive salivation and bloat
- Treatment can be done by administering vinegar