Milk fever, or hypocalcaemia, is one of the most common and painful metabolic disorders of dairy cattle, occurring around calving when calcium demand for milk production exceeds the cow's ability to mobilise it.
A cow with milk fever is unable to rise, lying flat with its head turned into its flank — a position that impairs breathing and causes rapid secondary complications. Even before becoming recumbent, affected cows show muscle trembling, cold extremities, and profound weakness. The condition progresses over hours from early staggering to complete collapse and coma if untreated. The suffering of a recumbent cow — unable to reach food or water, with accumulating bloat and pressure sores from lying on hard surfaces — is severe. However, IV calcium treatment produces such rapid reversal that early identification and treatment is profoundly welfare-positive. Prevention through transition cow management is even better.