- Dairy and beef cattle
- Heat stress
- Ruminants
Dry cows and immunity
The dry period is a critical phase for a cow. It is a transition period during which her immunity is weakened. The cow is therefore more vulnerable to challenges. The key issue is to stimulate this immunity, which will be decisive for the animal’s performance.
In this article, find out why it is important to pay attention to peripartum immunity and the three key points to keep in mind.
Why talk about immunity around calving?
Because the cow is poorly equipped to defend herself during this period
Immunity refers to all the defence mechanisms the body puts in place to fight off challenges. These challenges may be external or internal, viral or bacterial in origin, or may occur as a result of stress.
During the peripartum period, which runs from around three weeks before calving to three weeks after calving, the cow is particularly exposed to these challenges. This transition period is considered “high-risk”: more than 75% of health problems in adult cows occur around calving.
The main diseases around calving
- Milk fever
- Retained placenta
- Displaced abomasum
- Metritis
- Subclinical ketosis
- Persistent subclinical hypocalcaemia
Physiological, metabolic and hormonal changes are aggravating factors that promote the onset of these conditions. The key is therefore to reduce disease as much as possible by strengthening the cow’s immunity during the transition period, helping her to cope as well as possible with this crucial stage.
Please note: immunity should not be confused with inflammation. Inflammation is one of the first stages of immunity, acting as an initial response. It may be local, such as following an injury, or systemic, meaning widespread throughout the body, with fever being one possible sign.
“What farmers see in the field — retained placentas, difficult calvings or milk fever — often serves as an indicator of good or poor preparation for calving, but this is often only the tip of the iceberg. There may be hidden issues, with subclinical metabolic diseases such as ketosis or hypocalcaemia. We tend to underestimate the impact of these problems on milk production or reproduction.”
Beware of stress!
Peripartum diseases can sometimes be difficult to identify. Although they differ from one another, they may nevertheless have a common origin: the accumulation of stress associated with calving. In mammals, this stress alters the intestinal barrier, allowing toxins to pass into the bloodstream. Inflammation levels then increase and become systemic.
The consequences of the stress experienced by the animal around calving must not be overlooked: any form of stress represents a challenge to the body. Examples include:
- Nutritional stress
Example: a cow moving from a calving-preparation ration to an early-lactation ration experiences digestive stress. - Social stress
Example: suddenly moving the animal to a different group and therefore changing her companions. - Oxidative stress, of cellular origin. This corresponds to the production within cells of aggressive substances for tissues and is significant around calving.
- Heat stress
Example: poor management of excessive temperatures can have serious consequences not only for the dry cow, but also for her calf.
These stresses create situations of high inflammation, leading to reduced intake and increased use of certain very important nutrients, such as glucose or calcium. The impact is then negative on the animal’s immune system and, as a result, on her performance.
The success of this transition stage can be assessed by analysing the incidence rates of health problems before and after calving, as well as indicators such as milk produced during the first weeks of lactation or good fertility results.
The 3 keys to good immunity
Reduce stress and inflammation in order to avoid intake problems and keep cows in good condition, as reduced intake is the starting point for many problems. It is important to remain vigilant about all the details that are not really details, including feed bunk space, lying comfort and adapting rations to the specific needs of dry cows.
Reduce hypocalcaemia, as calcium deficiency generally occurs in the days following calving. Calcium plays an essential role, particularly in muscle contractions, bone mineralisation and blood clotting, and it also acts as a cellular messenger. Calcium deficiencies often cause difficult calvings, retained placentas and milk fever.
Reduce the energy deficit around calving. The cow mobilises her body reserves to compensate for reduced intake, leading to an energy deficit. This often results in reduced glucose availability, which can lead to ketosis or affect uterine health. Immune cells need glucose, and a deficit can cause delayed uterine involution, prolonged uterine inflammation or impaired embryonic development.
"At VITALAC, we offer farmers a Dry Cow Programme. Of course, we recommend effective products that are particularly suited to this physiological stage of the cow, but this is only the final step in our support. Before that, together with the farmer, we review many control points relating to animal comfort, rations and possible stress factors, and we carry out various analyses to identify the causes of problems. If necessary, we then implement a set of practices that are adapted and feasible on their farms. Improving immunity around calving involves all of these steps."
What about products?
As part of its Dry Cow Programme, VITALAC offers products specially adapted to the physiological phase of the dry period.
- Anionic salts with GLYCANION, a unique and effective solution for easier and safer calvings.
- Glucose precursors with GLYCOLINE, our highly concentrated formula that helps maintain an optimal glucose level.
- A preservative, VITASAFE RTM, to keep rations stable for 2 to 3 days.
- Complete feeds specially formulated to support good immunity at calving, such as VITACARTE BIOCELL TARIE, TARIPRO 3000 and TARIFORCE.
To go further
Avoid the most common mistakes in dry cow management and find all our advice in our article:
