Dairy Cow Milk Fever Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

Milk fever, or hypocalcaemia, is a common metabolic disease at calving in dairy cows causing rapid onset weakness and collapse with significant welfare implications.

Key Facts

Milk fever results from calcium deficiency as cows mobilise calcium for milk production at calving
Clinical signs include weakness, staggering, and eventual recumbency with loss of the ability to rise
The condition is most common in high-yielding cows in their third or later lactations
Treatment with intravenous calcium borogluconate is rapidly effective when administered early
Prevention includes transition cow nutrition management with controlled dietary cation-anion balance
Recumbent cows that do not respond to calcium treatment rapidly deteriorate and face prolonged welfare harm

Welfare Considerations

Milk fever causes acute welfare harm through rapid-onset incapacitation that renders affected cows unable to maintain normal posture. Recumbent cows experience distress from inability to rise, exposure to environmental hazards, and the physiological effects of hypocalcaemia. Early treatment with calcium rapidly restores normal calcium levels and enables recovery in most uncomplicated cases. Delays in treatment allow deterioration including complications from prolonged recumbency that worsen prognosis and prolong suffering. Prevention through careful transition period nutrition management is more welfare-effective than repeated treatment of affected individuals.

What You Can Do

Ensure twice-daily cow monitoring during the transition period and immediately post-calving to detect milk fever early
Train staff to recognise early milk fever signs and initiate treatment promptly
Work with your vet nutritionist to optimise transition cow diet DCAD and calcium management
Provide appropriate bedding and cushioning for recumbent cows requiring extended treatment
Support dairy welfare certification that includes transition cow management standards