The transition period — the three weeks before and after calving — is the most metabolically demanding and welfare-critical time in a dairy cow's life. Metabolic diseases including milk fever, ketosis, displaced abomasum, and retained placenta cause significant suffering during this period.
Transition disease causes significant acute suffering: a cow with milk fever lying unable to rise experiences muscle weakness, rumen bloat, and cold extremities. Ketosis causes appetite suppression, weight loss, and neurological signs in severe cases. Cows with displaced abomasum require surgical correction and suffer until treated. The welfare-economic linkage is clear: preventing transition disease through nutrition management, dry cow anionic salts, and prepartum monitoring is cost-effective. Welfare assessment in the transition period should include locomotion scoring, body condition scoring, and ketone monitoring as routine herd health protocols.