The transition period - three weeks before to three weeks after calving - is the highest-risk time for dairy cow health and welfare. Metabolic diseases during this period cause immense suffering and are largely preventable with good management.
The transition period represents a concentrated period of welfare risk for dairy cows. Metabolic diseases cause significant pain and distress - milk fever results in paralysis and complete inability to rise without treatment; ketosis causes weakness, reduced appetite, and altered mental state. The high incidence of subclinical disease means that many cows experience physiological suffering that is invisible without systematic monitoring. High-yielding modern dairy breeds push metabolic systems to the edge of their physiological capacity, meaning that transition disease is not an aberration but a predictable consequence of selection for extreme milk production. Reducing disease incidence requires both management improvement and willingness to temper production demands on individual cows.