The transition period from three weeks before to three weeks after calving is the most critical and welfare-challenging phase of the dairy cow production cycle. Effective management during this period prevents the cascade of metabolic diseases that cause significant suffering.
The transition period concentrates the highest welfare risk of the dairy production cycle into a six-week window. The simultaneous physiological demands of late pregnancy, calving, and lactation initiation exceed the capacity of many animals to cope without illness. Transition disease is not inevitable - farms with excellent transition management achieve clinical disease rates below 5%. The gap between achievable and average transition health represents an enormous preventable welfare burden across the dairy sector.