Milk fever is a calcium deficiency affecting dairy cows around calving, causing collapse and death if untreated. Its high prevalence in intensive dairy systems reveals welfare consequences of high-production breeding.
Milk fever causes progressive, severe welfare harm from muscle weakness through collapse to coma and death if untreated. The acute neurological signs of calcium deficiency including muscle tremors, inability to stand, and loss of consciousness represent significant suffering. Cows that go undetected in fields or large cubicle housing may remain collapsed for extended periods without intervention. The high-production genetics driving milk fever susceptibility creates an inherent tension between productivity goals and metabolic health. Subclinical hypocalcaemia affecting a large additional proportion of cows causes more subtle but widespread immune suppression and metabolic disruption. Prevention through dry cow nutrition management and prophylactic calcium supplementation is effective and represents a high-impact welfare intervention.