The transition period — three weeks before to three weeks after calving — is the highest-risk phase in a dairy cow's productive life. Poor management causes metabolic disease, pain, and dramatically reduced welfare.
Transition cow welfare is often underrecognised because metabolic disease is viewed as a production problem rather than a welfare one. Yet ketosis, hypocalcaemia, and metritis are painful, debilitating conditions that cause significant suffering. Cows that develop these conditions are at high risk of early culling, compounding welfare losses. The welfare of the transition cow requires proactive nutritional management, close monitoring using validated disease detection methods, and prompt pain relief when disease occurs. Pain assessment and analgesia protocols specific to the periparturient period are increasingly recognised as essential components of good dairy herd management.