Jan Hulsen grew up on a pig and dairy farm. He studied veterinary Dry period, special needs cows and treatments brings together all the
thoroughly enjoying working as an agricultural vet for three years, I
practical information about the most important period in the cow’s lactation
started to focus on knowledge transfer and consulting.” This led to a
cycle, the group of cows that require most attention and the jobs that have
move into journalism, marketing and communication and business
the greatest impact on the health, welfare, production and job satisfaction of
management.
cow and farmer.
With his company, Vetvice, Jan created the Cow Signals® concept and wrote the successful Cow Signals series. Vetvice operates in
Eighty per cent of the time a farmer spends directly
30 countries, giving lectures and training courses on Cow Signals,
on his cows goes on twenty per cent of his herd.
Hooves, Fertility, Calves, the Dry Period and Transition, and Building
This twenty per cent consists of special needs cows
for the Cow.
- dry cows, new heifers, newly calved cows, lame
Vetvice focuses on the management aspects of the dairy farm. Besides
cows, weak cows and sick cows. Targeting this work
good animal husbandry, it pays particular attention to the wellbeing
efficiently saves a lot of time and makes the farmer’s
of the people working with the animals and productivity. Vetvice
work much more enjoyable. Dry period, special
advises and trains livestock farmers in shed-building, organising
needs cows and treatments discusses how to go
labour and disease-resistant animal management.
about all these aspects in practice. Written in a practical way, Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
medicine, with a short foray into agricultural education. “After
explains how to guide the cows through a healthy and problem-free dry period, calving, and start of lactation. The outcome: more milk and far fewer problems, because seventy-five per cent of health problems occur in the first month after calving.
organise and implement actions and treatments. So that your cows and Vetvice’s advisors and trainers, whose knowledge, insights and creativity have contributed in no small part to this book.
Jan Hulsen
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments also explains how to
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
From left to right: Back row: Joep Driessen, Bertjan Westerlaan, Bert van Niejenhuis, Marcel Drint, Dr. Tom Vanholder. Front row: Nico Vreeburg, Wiebe Veenstra, Arjan van Genugten, Jan Hulsen, MSM.
www.drycowmanagement.com
The right tools for the job
• Enough knowledge and skill • Pleasant and safe working conditions • Having the right materials to hand
• • • •
safely and get plenty of job satisfaction every day.
www.vetvice.com
• Clear tasks, responsibilities and authorities • Easy identification of the cow and the associated task • Agreed, easy to understand procedures
The time and the will
heifers stay healthy or recover fast. And so that you, the farmer, can work
www.roodbont.com
Knowing what to do with which cow
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
“A sick cow takes up as much time and resource as 40 healthy ones...”
About the author
www.cowsignals.com
Jan Hulsen
The task is scheduled in at the right times Enough time in the daily routine Everyone understands why the task and the work have to be done The results of the work are visible
Credits
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
For books and custom editions:
Author Jan Hulsen, Vetvice® Photography Jan Hulsen (unless otherwise stated) Broer Hulsen: p. 40, 41, 46 Janneke Hulsen: p. 12, 25 Roel Koolen: p. 65 Jack Rodenburg: p. 51 Illustrations Herman Roozen, Dick Rietveld
Roodbont Publishers B.V. Postbus 4103 7200 BC Zutphen The Netherlands T + 31 (0)575 54 56 88 F + 31 (0)575 54 69 90 info@roodbont.com www.roodbont.com
For farming and shed construction advice: Design
Translation Agrolingua
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
Erik de Bruin, Varwig Design
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Content editors
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4614 PC Bergen op Zoom The Netherlands T + 31 (0)165 30 43 05 info@vetvice.com
www.vetvice.com
With the collaboration of
Joep Driessen, Dick de Lange, Nico Vreeburg and Bertjan Westerlaan.
Vetvice provides dairy farmers and their advisors and suppliers with practical and reliable
Special thanks to
information on cattle farm-
The very many welcoming, open and critical cattle farmers (!) and everybody who contributed in their own way. Herman and Mark Bens, Dirk de Boer, Adri van Boxtel, the Brosens Brothers, Anton Delissen, Sietse Draaijer, Marcel Drint, Arjan van Genugten, Coen van Gestel, Frank Glorie, Anneke Hallebeek, Marloes ten Have, Caroline Huetink, Paul Hulsen, Kloosterman Dairy, Roel Koolen, Bert van Niejenhuis, Frank van Overveld, Pieter Stalenhoef, Jilles de Theije, Anton IJsseldijk, Tom Vanholder and Matt Walker.
ing that has been acquired
© Jan Hulsen, 2013
For training and education:
through scientific research
and practice. By doing so we
are endeavouring to achieve a high standard of welfare and health for animal and man in an economical and sustain-
able production system that
delivers top quality foodstuffs.
No part of this publication may be duplicated, photocopied, reprinted or reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information contained in this book. However, we assume no liability for damage of any kind resulting from actions and/or decisions based on the content of this publication. Dry period, special needs cows and treatments is part of the Cow Signals® series.
CowSignals® Training Company Hoekgraaf 17A 6617 AX Bergharen The Netherlands T + 31 (0)6 54 26 73 53 info@cowsignals.com www.cowsignals.com
Cow Signals® is a registered trademark of Vetvice. ISBN: 978-90-8740-073-6
2
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
Contents
Introduction 4
4 Newly-calved cows, special needs groups,
care area
34
What special needs cows need
4
Special needs groups
35
What people caring for special needs cows need
5
Monitoring newly-calved cows
36
Nipping problems in the bud
37
1 Preparation, drying off and treatment
6
The most serious conditions in newly-calved cows 38
Facilities
7
Care plan
39
Drying off
8
Cows that can no longer stand up
40
Drying off and health
9
Procedures and treatment plan
42
Drying off and mastitis
10
How to insert intramammary preparations
11
Preparing to introduce heifers
12
Daily schedule
45
Arrival of heifers
13
Weekly schedule
46
Writing protocols
14
Peak periods
47
Standard procedures and protocols
48
16
Automatic separation
50
17
Treating safely and effectively
51
Nutrition during the dry period
18
Rule no. 1 for effective treatment
52
Feeding and feed intake
19
Gates and driving
53
Housing for dry cows
20
No stress
21
The big picture
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
2 The dry period
5 Planning and organisation
6 Action and treatment
44
54
Housing for calving
22
See and do
55
Stress-free cow driving
24
Treatment plan
56
Monitoring and control
25
Pain and inflammation signals
57
Giving an injection
58
26
Injecting veterinary medicines: procedure
60
When to intervene
27
Points to remember when giving injections
61
Calving signals
3 Calving
28
Intravenous injections and infusions (in the blood)
62
Improving all the time
29
Handling cows
63
Calving Assistance
30
Organisation the use of veterinary medicines
64
Problems during calving
31
The farm pharmacy
65
Caring for a new-born calf
32
Condition Scoring
66
The cow has calved
33
Rumen Fill Score Card
67
Careful use of veterinary medicines
68
Index
Contents
70
3
Preparation, drying off and treatment
CHAPTER 1
Preparation, drying off and treatm
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
A healthy dry period starts off with managing the cow’s condition score during lactation. The most important criteria for this are: no disease problems, the cow’s ability to get in calf easily, and feeding based on condition score and milk production. The cow should give as little milk as possible on the drying-off day. If necessary, put her in a drying-off group on meagre rations or reduce her concentrate to 0 kg about 5 to 7 days beforehand. Finally, the dry cow should be as healthy and vital as possible during calving. During the dry period, focus on health and nutrition every day. Make sure the animal is comfortable and has plenty of room to move around and no stress. Managing the introduction of new heifers
Think about all the things the heifers have to get used to before calving and help them by organising everything. Give them 4 to 6 weeks before calving as an adjustment period. This allows time for them to become exposed to the germs in the shed and build up more antibodies in their colostrum. During this time give the animals comfort, rest and space. They will udder up during the last two weeks. They are going through this for the first time, they are inquisitive but they are exposed to a lot of stress. Stress makes them stand for long periods, eat quickly and often too little, and lowers their resistance. In the last two weeks before calving the calf and udder need so much energy that the heifer cannot really cope with any more stress.
An ultrasound pregnancy scan at 40 to 55 days can detect twins. Make a note of this. If the cow has a low condition score at the end of lactation, dry her off one to two weeks earlier. The gestation period for twins is 6 to 10 days less.
6
Having drying-off cows, dry cows and newly-calved cows next to each other saves a lot of work for the farmer and reduces a lot of stress for the cows.
Feed according to condition score
From the third lactation month, score the condition of each cow once a month and use feeding measures to aim for a condition score of 3 by the time she is dried off. Concentrate feeding: BCS good: give concentrate according to advice; BCS too high: 0.5 kg less; BCS too low: 0.5 kg more. TMR: BCS > 3.0 and production below the formulation target: move cow to group with lower basic ration.
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
Facilities
Working with groups
ent
You can organize the dry period and transition by dividing this period into four different stages and managing the cows in these stage as separate groups: 1 drying-off group 2 far-off group of dry cows 3 close-up group of dry cows 4 newly-calved cows
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
In a small herd it may not be practical to have 4 actual groups, but it is still important to recognize that cows in each stage have different needs. If drying off cows are left in the milking group, can you reduce their feed intake, milk them less frequently and watch them closely within the group? If far off and close up dry cows are housed together can you adjust the ration for the close up cows? Fewer group changes leads to less stress but the grouping system still has to meet the needs of the cow.
What drying off does
Drying off allows the udder tissue to regenerate so that the next lactation is as productive as possible. This takes 5 to 6 weeks. The dry period is also idea for long term treatment of cows with a high cell count, using long acting antibiotics to cure chronic infections. A dry period of at least 4 but usually 6-8 weeks is needed for this. The dry period is not a suitable time to boost condition. It is usually first-lactation heifers that have a low condition score at the end of lactation because they are still giving a lot of milk (high persistency). Feed these heifers better in the second half of lactation and dry them off 8 weeks before their due date. Ideally the condition score will not rise in the dry period, or, if it does, then by no more than half a point. The high energy intake and weight gain increase the risk of health problems during calving and in the two weeks thereafter. But weight loss, or a reduction in the condition score, causes far more problems around calving and shortly thereafter. So nutrition and feed intake require a very delicate touch during the entire dry period, including during the far-off period.
Stress-free calving line Feeding alley
Separation
Treatment area
Driving alley
Far-off
Close-up
Newly-calved and weak Straw
Parlour or milking robot
Hard floor Feeding alley
The stress-free calving line system is based on moving dry cows and new heifers as little as possible and keeping changes in feed and housing to a minimum. They are kept in straw pens and move through to the straw pen next door.
Chapter 1: Preparation, drying off and treatment
In practice there are various ways of organising the dry period that work well, as long as the overall system is right and a few basic principles are observed. The ration should be right, every cow should feed and drink well every day, and every cow should be stress-free and healthy.
7
Drying off
Drying-off group
On the drying-off day you aim for a milk production to be below 15 kg/day. This will be the case with some cows and you can dry them off straight away. Other cows will be giving more milk - some may still have a lot more to give. You can encourage them to dry off by feeding them lower quality feed.
Remove the cows you want to dry off from the herd 4 to 7 days beforehand and put them in a separate group where they will be fed the same feed as the far-off group. They need to be able to drink as much as they want. Keep milking them twice a day. If a cow being dried off has clinical mastitis, treat her first and only dry her off when she has recovered.
Condition scoring
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
Score each cow 2 to 4 weeks before drying off. Feel for fat in the hollows either side of the tail head and look at the covering of the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae and the ribs. This is also the best time to check whether she is still pregnant.
BCS 2 or less: dry off two weeks earlier, because she may be carrying twins. Move her earlier from the far off to the close up group.
BCS 2.5-3.5: excellent. Give the cow a normal dry period. The cow in the picture is at the upper limit: BCS 3.5.
BCS 4 or more: - do not dry off the cow. - dry her off and allow her to move around a lot - outside, for example. Ensure that she takes in enough energy.
See page 66 for more information on the body condition score.
On farms where the milk production of cows being dried off is dropping sufficiently because they are not being given concentrate, the drying-off group only exists on the computer.
8
Give the cows being dried off the far-off ration, because this contains minerals and makes the feed transition easier. For example, a ration that only contains straw causes a lot of stress and the risk of metabolic diseases like milk fever and acetonaemia. Check cows being dried off at least three times a day.
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
Drying off and health
Cows to be dried off
It is best to dry off the cows on a set day of the week. That will also be the day you introduce heifers and perhaps move cows between groups: for example, from the far-off to the close-up group, and high producing cows whose condition score is increasing to the low producing group. This is something that goes on all the time, even if it only involves one animal. On this day you can also put the cows you will be drying off next week in the drying-off group. But you may also decide to keep cows in the drying off group for 4 to 5 days, so that you do not have any cows in it on the weekend, for example, or so that you can use the pen for other things during the week such as separating cows for the hoof trimmer or fertility checks.
Health and hoof health
Because the dry period is such an important time, your cows need to be healthy and taking in the right amount of feed and water every day. So they need to be in good condition with healthy hooves when you start drying them off, or the hooves should fully recover during the first two weeks. And the cow and her hooves need to stay healthy throughout the rest of the dry period.
Actions for cows being dried off
Write a protocol for all the actions you perform on each cow being dried off. Make sure you always carry them out, even if you are only dealing with one cow.
1
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
Combine the actions into one drying off procedure
If you have not yet done so, check whether the cow is still pregnant. If she turns out not to be pregnant, she can go straight to slaughter. If you check for pregnancy before dry off you can continue milking a non pregnant cow as long as her production is profitable.
3
2
Check the hooves of every cow being dried off and trim and treat as necessary. If heel horn erosion or digital dermatitis is widespread, trim and treat the cows twice. You can do this when they go to the drying off group and when you dry them off, or when you dry them off and one week later.
Other actions include vaccinations, tail and udder clipping, giving a mineral bolus, inserting anti-fly ear tags, and so on. Sometimes this is also the right time to treat them for parasites such as liver fluke or intestinal worms.
Chapter 1: Preparation, drying off and treatment
9
Drying off and mastitis
Preventing mastitis after drying off
The accumulation of milk after drying off creates a risk of mastitis. The milk pressure starts to drop on the fourth day after drying off. After a week the teat canals of half the cows will be closed. The teat canals of about 20% of cows never close completely. Success factors for preventing udder infections after drying off: healthy teats with no calluses, low milk production, cows with maximum resistance, no milk leaks and good hygiene in the surroundings, including fly control. This can be combined with the application of long-acting antibiotics and closing off the teat openings with teat sealants.
Milk leaks
The pressure of the milk in the udder, the closure of the teat orifice and the stimuli that the cow associates with milking determine whether she leaks milk after drying off. Her milk production on the drying-off day is a key factor in determining the milk pressure. The closure of the teat opening depends on the anatomical structure and functioning of the muscles and elastic fibres. Breeding has a great impact on this, particularly the milking rate. If a cow has leaked a lot of milk, milk her completely dry after three days and treat her again.
Without antibiotics?
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
Drying off without antibiotics is risky, but using teat sealants dramatically reduces the risk of infections caused by ambient bacteria. Ask your vet for a good decision plan and protocol. This plan describes the careful selection of cows based on their cell count and mastitis history. Or - the most reliable method - based on bacteriological analysis of milk samples. Do not use homeopathic intramammary tubes.
Dry period targets:
< 1 in 20 (< 5%) develops high cell count (> 250,000 c/ml) > 8 in 10 (â&#x2030;Ľ 75%) go from high to low cell count
Newly dried-off cows will tend to expel milk if they hear sounds or see activities that they associate with the milking process. Take them far away from the parlour or milking robot.
Target after calving:
< 1 in 12 (< 8%) gets mastitis within 30 days
Different jobs, different actions
1
2
Do not insert the nozzle deeper into the teat canal than necessary. Hold the teat end firmly when inserting a tube containing antibiotics (1). Squeeze the teat shut at the base when using teat sealant (2).
10
Make sure you do not touch the tips of other teats. To reduce the risk of this happening, when dipping and disinfecting always treat the teats furthest away first and then those closest to you, and vice versa when inserting tubes.
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
How to insert intramammary preparations
How to insert drying-off tubes 1
Mark the cow and enter her in the computer under â&#x20AC;&#x153;dry - do not milkâ&#x20AC;?
3
Disinfect each teat end
4
Insert the tip of the nozzle into the teat opening and press the plunger until empty
5
Dip the teats
6
Clean up and lay everything out again
Lay everything out in order of use
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
2
Insert the tubes when the udder is empty, i.e. immediately after milking.
Chapter 1: Preparation, drying off and treatment
11
Preparing to introduce heifers
Introducing new heifers
Introduce a new heifer into the pen where she will be calving no later than four, and preferably six, weeks before the calving date. The best place is next to the milking herd. During the first two to four weeks she needs to get used to the other cows in the herd, noises, cubicles, feeding barrier, floor, feed and farmer. In the last two weeks before calving, she should not experience any more stress and she should be at her ease. The close-up group ration generally matches the feed requirement of heifers best. So put her in this group so that she doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put on too much weight and not too much oedema develops in the udder. A separate heifer group works very well after calving, but not beforehand.
Combine all the actions and checks for every heifer into one fixed procedure.
What to watch out for to prevent calving problems Preventing calving problems
Selection and breeding
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
Apart from all the work it generates, every difficult birth is an assault on the health and vitality of the mother. The long birth process tires out the cow and she does not eat or drink for quite a while. Damage and swellings in the birth canal cause pain and inflammation, reducing activity, health, resistance and feed and water intake after calving. You should aim to help less than 5% of your calving heifers give birth (1 in 20). A smooth birth also has a beneficial effect on the health of the calf. Half of all calf deaths in the first three weeks are the result of difficult births. Calves born with difficulty, have more health problems, grow less and produce less milk in their first lactation.
Select sires that offer maternal calving ease in your overall breeding program and use bulls that offer direct calving ease on heifer matings. Do not use offspring of heifers and cows that have had difficulty giving birth.
Rearing calves
Follow the development of the calves and make sure they are ready to breed at 13 to 15 months, and ready to calve at 22 to 24 months. At calving heifers should weigh at least 75% of their mature weight, with a BCS of 3.0.
12
Supervising calving
Allow the heifer to move about a lot and make sure she can walk around and lie comfortably, e.g. in a pasture or a sand or straw pen. Do not change any aspect of the housing during the last two weeks before calving or during calving itself. Give her time to calve by herself.
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
Arrival of heifers
Arrival: heifer check
When the heifer arrives in the dairy shed, you will want to know whether she is ready to calve with no problems and is in the best possible health to start her first lactation. You therefore need to run a few checks on her. Depending on the information you obtain from the checks, you may have to perform some interventions on the heifer, such as de-worming, administering minerals and trimming. You can also use this information for monitoring purposes and to improve your calf breeding.
The new heifer will also need to have a few things done, like getting a collar and having her udder and tail shaved, for example. Shaving the udder and belly reduces the risk of udder eczema. To enable you to work efficiently and to make sure you don’t forget anything, you can combine all this into one standard procedure that gives the new heifer a “major service”: the heifer check.
Name and number of heifer: Condition score and weight
Condition: … Weight: … Pregnant: Yes/No
The condition score should be between 3.0 and 3.5 and the heifer should weigh about 580 kg (chest circumference 193 cm, for a Holstein).
2
Hooves: condition and health
Trimmed: Yes/No Symptoms: Leg position:
At the time of calving, the hooves should be as healthy and in as good shape as possible, with no active digital dermatitis.
3
Resistance and vaccinations
Intestinal worms: Lungworm: Leptospirosis: BVD: IBR: Calf scours: ……………:
Cattle going to pasture need to be resistant to intestinal worms and lung worms.
4
Udder quality
Shaved/flamed: Yes/No Quarters or teats with abnormalities: Yes/No Treatment: .....
Treat according to treatment plan. Discuss abnormalities with the vet.
5
Skin
Hygiene score: Scab: Lice: Shaving: tail/udder+belly/back/full
Avoid contact with other cattle if you find scab or lice, treat and draw up a prevention plan.
6
General health
Gen. impression: Magnet in rumen: Yes/No Lungworms: Liver fluke: Neospora: ……………:
Draw up a control and prevention plan with the vet.
7
Mineral status
Blood test: Yes/No Bolus given:... Injection of ................. given
Make a plan with the vet to monitor and ascertain the mineral status.
8
Familiarity with the cow accommodation
Feed: Feed barrier/ trough: Cubicles: Floor: Cows:
A heifer needs 2 to 3 weeks to get used to the parlour. Acclimatisation to concrete floors and cubicles before calving gives less lameness during lactation.
9
Identification and
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
1
Ear tags present: Collar: Activity meter: Other identification:
Chapter 1: Preparation, drying off and treatment
13
Writing protocols
Working with targets
In order to make your work and the farm manageable, you should set targets. Work out the farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s targets in the form of targets for different parts of the farm and different processes, such as the number of calves without diarrhoea this month and the number of newly-calved cows that remain fever-free. All your procedures, your planning and all your operating resources are geared towards achieving the targets. So to find out whether you are on track, you will need to continually check that what is being done is being done properly. Check that everybody is following the standard procedures, processes are running smoothly and your targets are being met.
You can make or break involvement
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
Creating standard procedures for protocols.
Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ask somebody elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s protocols. Design your own procedures, as a team. 1
Everyone on the farm agrees to draw up standard procedures and follow them. One person is given responsibility for turning the procedures into protocols.
3
The designated person develops the procedures into protocols. He looks round, consults, asks for advice and checks things out. Hire an (external) expert for this job.
14
2
Make a list of tasks for which you want to write standard procedures. Discuss the best way to do this with everyone there and then.
4
Group discussion with all workers on the first versions of the protocols. Everybody can suggest improvements and explain the pros and cons of certain actions to the others.
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
Writing protocols
5
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
Involvement is not a personal characteristic but a feature of how a person relates to their work. If a worker does not see the results of their work, they will not feel involved. The same holds true if they are not able or allowed to do the right things when they see that something has gone wrong, or if they are made responsible for things over which they have little control. So you need to enable everybody to do their work and meet their targets. Do that by making sure everybody always knows how things are going and keep a constant eye on whether you are meeting the targets. Celebrate together when you meet them. And draw up an improvement plan if things need to improve. Speak directly to a worker who has not kept to arrangements and is not performing well. Agree on an improvement strategy which defines what the worker needs to do and what the employer will do to help them. If this does not work out, they are probably not in the right job.
The protocols should be short and succinct and should if possible contain pictures of your farm. All protocols should be put together in a book.
8
Measure and discuss the execution of the procedures and the results: - Is everybody working to the protocol? - Are you getting good results?
6
You can hang up some protocols on the wall so you can check things while you work.
7
Make sure that the facilities and materials are geared towards your procedures.
9
Annual evaluation of the procedures: can anything be improved, made more efficient, simpler, safer, cheaper, more pleasant, easier?
Chapter 1: Preparation, drying off and treatment
15
“A sick cow takes up as much time and resource as 40 healthy ones...”
About the author Jan Hulsen grew up on a pig and dairy farm. He studied veterinary
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments brings together all the
thoroughly enjoying working as an agricultural vet for three years, I
practical information about the most important period in the cow’s lactation
started to focus on knowledge transfer and consulting.” This led to a
cycle, the group of cows that require most attention and the jobs that have
move into journalism, marketing and communication and business
the greatest impact on the health, welfare, production and job satisfaction of
management.
cow and farmer.
With his company, Vetvice, Jan created the Cow Signals® concept Eighty per cent of the time a farmer spends directly
30 countries, giving lectures and training courses on Cow Signals,
on his cows goes on twenty per cent of his herd.
Hooves, Fertility, Calves, the Dry Period and Transition, and Building
This twenty per cent consists of special needs cows
co pr py ot rig ec h te t d
and wrote the successful Cow Signals series. Vetvice operates in
- dry cows, new heifers, newly calved cows, lame
for the Cow. Vetvice focuses on the management aspects of the dairy farm. Besides good animal husbandry, it pays particular attention to the wellbeing of the people working with the animals and productivity. Vetvice advises and trains livestock farmers in shed-building, organising labour and disease-resistant animal management.
cows, weak cows and sick cows. Targeting this work efficiently saves a lot of time and makes the farmer’s work much more enjoyable. Dry period, special
needs cows and treatments discusses how to go about all these aspects in practice.
Written in a practical way, Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
medicine, with a short foray into agricultural education. “After
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments
Knowing what to do with which cow
• Clear tasks, responsibilities and authorities • Easy identification of the cow and the associated task • Agreed, easy to understand procedures
The right tools for the job
• Enough knowledge and skill • Pleasant and safe working conditions • Having the right materials to hand
explains how to guide the cows through a healthy and problem-free dry
period, calving, and start of lactation. The outcome: more milk and far fewer problems, because seventy-five per cent of health problems occur in the first month after calving.
organise and implement actions and treatments. So that your cows and Vetvice’s advisors and trainers, whose knowledge, insights and creativity have contributed in no small part to this book.
Jan Hulsen
Dry period, special needs cows and treatments also explains how to
The time and the will
heifers stay healthy or recover fast. And so that you, the farmer, can work
• • • •
safely and get plenty of job satisfaction every day.
From left to right: Back row: Joep Driessen, Bertjan Westerlaan, Bert van Niejenhuis, Marcel Drint, Dr. Tom Vanholder. Front row: Nico Vreeburg, Wiebe Veenstra, Arjan van Genugten, Jan Hulsen, MSM.
www.roodbont.com
www.vetvice.com www.drycowmanagement.com
www.cowsignals.com
Jan Hulsen
The task is scheduled in at the right times Enough time in the daily routine Everyone understands why the task and the work have to be done The results of the work are visible