Metritis in Dairy Cows: Welfare Management

Key Welfare Considerations

• Metritis involves bacterial contamination and infection of the uterus following calving.
• Clinical metritis (grade 3) presents with systemic illness — fever, reduced feed intake, and welfare depression.
• Watery, foul-smelling red-brown uterine discharge is the hallmark welfare clinical sign.
• Retained placenta (failure to expel within 24 hours) significantly increases metritis welfare risk.
• Hypocalcaemia, ketosis, and dystocia are welfare predisposing factors for metritis development.
• Welfare assessment includes rectal temperature, demeanour, and milk yield monitoring post-calving.
• Prostaglandin F2α therapy promotes uterine clearance and welfare recovery from metritis.
• Intrauterine antibiotic infusion provides direct welfare therapy for bacterial contamination.
• Systemic antibiotic therapy with oxytetracycline or ceftiofur treats severe welfare systemic metritis.
• Anti-inflammatory NSAID therapy reduces fever welfare burden and improves clinical recovery.
• Supportive care including IV fluids and dextrose welfare support improves recovery in severe cases.
• Manual removal of retained placenta is now discouraged — it causes additional trauma welfare.
• Endometritis (subclinical uterine inflammation) causing welfare fertility impairment requires separate management.
• Prostaglandin treatment at 21 and 35 days post-calving addresses subclinical endometritis welfare.
• Prevention through transition welfare management — nutrition, body condition, calving hygiene — is most effective.