Practical advice on reducing losses from poor fertility at Cattle Health Initiative meeting

A daily temperature-check while newly calved cows are milking for the first 10 to 14 days post-calving can help identify the early stages of sickness and enable prompt treatment before they become seriously ill.

That's according to Pfizer livestock vet Ben Gaskell addressing dairy farmers involved in the North of England Group of the Defra-sponsored Cattle Health Initiative. He cited a 200-cow trial in which 55% of cows with raised temperatures went on to develop the reproductive tract infection, metritis[i][1].

In GB dairy herds, he said metritis was seen in up to 40 per cent of freshly calved cows [ii][2], [iii][3], with the consequences being obvious when spelled out: "A cow with metritis has an infected uterus, and an infected uterus will not get pregnant," he said. "In a uterus with metritis, the resulting inflammation delays its return to normal size and the regeneration of a healthy lining. It also impairs ovarian activity and the return of a normal oestrus cycle."

In a small number of cases, Mr Gaskell said the disease was fatal and, across the board from least to most serious, metritis had been associated with seriously raised costs: For example, veterinary and medicines up by 14 per cent; insemination costs raised by 11 per cent; and culling up 36 per cent[iv][4]. A cow with metritis could also lose eight litres of milk a day for the first 20 days post-calving, with a potentially major knock-on impact over the entire lactation[v][5].

"Normal temperature in cows is in the range 38–39°C," said Mr Gaskell. "In addition to a temperature 39.5°C or above, other early signs of metritis include reduced appetite, lower than expected milk yield, and an abnormal vaginal discharge with raised tail-head and inflamed vulva.

"But apart from metritis, a raised temperature just after calving could also indicate other diseases including mastitis or respiratory infection. So veterinary advice for a correct diagnosis is essential before deciding on the best treatment."

For infections in organs and body tissues other than the udder, the Pfizer vet said treatment with a nil milk withhold antibiotic based on ceftiofur hydrochloride could reduce financial losses by avoiding milk having to be dumped. But before using this treatment, he emphasised that mastitis must be ruled out, because the ceftiofur molecule did not penetrate milk secreting tissues in the udder.

When metritis is not spotted early, it can develop into the condition known by farmers as 'whites', characterised by pus discharged from the vagina. By this time, the infection may have become embedded in the uterine lining, making it more difficult to treat and more detrimental to the cow's fertility than when identified and treated earlier.

The meeting was organised by veterinary surgeon Andrew White and held at Mr Eddie Cowpe's Huntley Wood Farm at Salmesbury near Preston.