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Herd Health & Disease Management
A healthy cow milks better and lasts longer. These guides explain common health problems in dairy cattle, the early warning signs, and how to build a prevention plan with your veterinarian. Education only, never treatment instructions.
50 guides in this section.
- Common Fresh Cow Diseases and Early Warning Signs
The weeks right after calving are when most cows get sick, and the first signs are usually small. Catching a slow cow early gives you and your vet... - Mastitis Detection: A Practical Herd Checklist
Mastitis is easier and cheaper to manage when you find it early. This checklist is built for the milking parlor, the barn and the herd records. - Clinical vs. Subclinical Mastitis: What Dairy Farmers Need to Know
Clinical mastitis gets attention because you can see it. Subclinical mastitis often costs more because you cannot. Knowing the difference helps you... - Milk Fever Prevention in High-Yielding Cows
Milk fever is a drop in blood calcium around calving, and high-yielding cows feel it hardest. Prevention is mostly about what you do in the dry... - Ketosis in Dairy Cows: Prevention and Treatment Basics
Ketosis happens when a fresh cow cannot take in enough energy to keep up with milk production. It is common, it is costly, and much of it can be... - Displaced Abomasum After Calving: Risk Factors and Response
A displaced abomasum happens when the fourth stomach fills with gas and shifts out of place. It is most common in the weeks after calving, and early... - Lameness Scoring in Dairy Herds: A Step-by-Step Guide
You cannot manage lameness you do not measure. Scoring takes a short time per cow and gives you early warning and a clear picture of herd trends. - Digital Dermatitis: Control Plans for Dairy Farms
Digital dermatitis is a painful, contagious foot infection that spreads quickly through herds. Control depends on routine, detection and clean, dry... - Hairy Heel Wart Treatment and Prevention
Hairy heel wart is another name for digital dermatitis, a painful foot infection. This guide covers recognition and prevention, with care directed by... - Sole Ulcers in Dairy Cows: Causes and Prevention
Sole ulcers are deep, painful lesions on the bottom of the hoof. They develop over weeks, which means there is time to prevent them if you know the... - Cow Comfort and Lameness: What the Data Says
Lameness is one of the costliest problems on a dairy, and most of it traces back to how cows live, not just how their feet are trimmed. The best data... - Udder Health Monitoring with Somatic Cell Counts
Somatic cell count, or SCC, is the most widely used measure of udder health on dairy farms. Read well, it shows problems early. Read poorly, it gets... - Teat Condition Scoring: Why It Matters
Teats are the front door to the udder. Scoring their condition takes a few minutes and gives early warning about milking equipment, dip performance... - Milking-Time Hygiene Mistakes That Hurt Udder Health
Most new mastitis infections start around milking. Small shortcuts in teat prep, hand hygiene and unit handling add up, and fixing them is cheaper... - Dry Cow Therapy: Best Practices and Common Errors
The dry period is a high-risk and high-opportunity time for the udder. Good dry-off technique and a plan built with your vet protect cows through the... - Selective Dry Cow Therapy: A Practical Guide
Selective dry cow therapy means deciding cow by cow how to protect the udder at dry-off, rather than handling every cow the same way. It rests on... - Vaccination Schedules for Dairy Herds
A vaccination schedule is a written plan, built with your vet, that lists which animals get which vaccines and when. The right schedule depends on... - BVDV Control in Dairy Herds
Bovine viral diarrhea virus, or BVDV, can cut fertility, cause abortions and weaken calves. Control comes down to finding and removing the animals... - Johne’s Disease: Testing, Culling, and Biosecurity
Johne's disease is a slow, chronic infection of the gut that causes weight loss and falling milk in adult cows. It is spread mostly to calves, long... - Salmonella Control on Dairy Farms
Salmonella can cause severe diarrhea and death in calves and cows, and it can also infect people. Control relies on keeping the organism out,... - E. coli Mastitis: Emergency Response Checklist
E. coli mastitis can turn a cow from normal to critically ill within hours. Knowing the signs and having a plan on the wall means the right call gets... - Colostrum Management for Dairy Calves
Colostrum is the first milk after calving and the calf's main source of antibodies. What you do in the first hours of life affects health for weeks... - Calf Scours: Prevention, Hydration, and Treatment
Scours is diarrhea in young calves, and the real danger is dehydration. Prevention starts at calving, and quick, correct support while you wait for... - Bovine Respiratory Disease in Dairy Calves
Bovine respiratory disease, or BRD, is a leading cause of illness in dairy calves. It is a complex of viruses and bacteria plus stress, so prevention... - Calf Pneumonia: Early Detection Tools
Pneumonia in calves is easier to manage when it is caught early. A set routine, a scoring chart and a few simple tools help you find sick calves... - Heifer Raising: Health Milestones by Age
Heifers are the future of the milking herd, and most of their health is decided long before they ever calve. This guide walks through what to watch... - Transition Cow Management: The 60-Day Window
The weeks just before and after calving carry more risk than any other time in a cow's year. A little planning in that window pays back in healthier... - Retained Placenta: Causes and Follow-Up
A retained placenta is one of the most common fresh-cow problems, and it often opens the door to other trouble. Knowing the causes and the follow-up... - Metritis in Dairy Cows: Diagnosis and Treatment
Metritis is an infection of the uterus that shows up in the first days after calving, and it can drag down a fresh cow's milk and fertility.... - Uterine Health and Fertility After Calving
A cow's next pregnancy begins with how well her uterus recovers after calving. Clean calvings, early checks and good records give her the best start. - Hoof Trimming Schedules for Dairy Herds
Healthy feet keep cows eating, lying down and breeding. A planned trimming program, backed by records, catches problems before a cow goes lame. - Lameness and Fertility: The Hidden Link
A lame cow rarely shows heat well, eats less and loses condition, so lameness quietly lowers pregnancy rates. Many herds underestimate how many cows... - Heat Stress in Dairy Cows: Health Impacts
Dairy cows make a great deal of heat just digesting feed and making milk, so hot weather hits them hard. Spotting stress early and cooling cows well... - Cold Stress in Dairy Calves and Cows
Winter weather costs animals energy that would otherwise go to growth, health and milk. Calves are most at risk, but cows need attention too. - Fly Control on Dairy Farms
Flies bother cows, spread disease and annoy neighbors. The best control begins with removing the places they breed, and then adds other tools only as... - Parasite Control Plans for Dairy Herds
A good parasite plan is built around your farm, your pastures and your animals, not copied from a neighbor. This guide covers the pieces of a plan... - Internal Parasites and Milk Production
Worms rarely announce themselves. More often they show up as a small, steady loss in growth, condition or milk. Knowing the quiet signs helps you... - Lice and Mites in Dairy Cattle
Itching, rubbed-out hair and restless cows are common signs of external pests. This guide explains what to look for, how these pests spread and what... - Biosecurity for Small Dairy Farms
Small farms often have the fewest barriers and the most to lose from one outbreak. A few simple habits can protect your herd without costing much. - Quarantine Protocols for New Dairy Cattle
Many farms that have a disease outbreak can trace it to something that came in from outside. A simple, well-run quarantine for new animals is one of... - Common Zoonotic Diseases on Dairy Farms
Some diseases pass between cattle and people. Knowing which ones to be aware of, and a few steady habits, protects you, your family and your workers. - Antibiotic Stewardship in Dairy Herds
Stewardship means using antibiotics carefully so they keep working for animals and people. It starts long before any treatment, with prevention and... - Withdrawal Periods: Avoiding Milk Residues
A withdrawal period is the time an animal must be kept out of the food supply after treatment. Following it exactly, every time, protects consumers,... - Pain Management for Common Dairy Procedures
Many routine dairy procedures cause pain. A good plan, made with your veterinarian, helps cattle stay comfortable and recover faster. - Dehorning and Disbudding: Welfare and Best Practices
Horns can injure people and herd mates, which is why many dairies remove them. How and when this is done matters a great deal for the calf's welfare. - Cattle Handling and Low-Stress Stockmanship
Calm cattle are safer to work with, easier to move and more productive. Low-stress handling is a skill that can be learned by anyone on the crew. - Emergency Preparedness for Dairy Farms
A dairy cannot pause for an emergency. Cows still need milking, water and feed, so the time to plan is before trouble starts. - Heat Detection for Sick Cows
A sick cow often shows weak or missed heat signs, which can cause confusion about when to breed her. This guide covers how to watch, record and... - Body Condition Scoring and Health Monitoring
Body condition score is a simple, free tool for checking that cows are neither too thin nor too fat. Tracked over time, it can warn of trouble before... - Annual Herd Health Calendar for Dairy Farms
A herd health calendar turns good intentions into scheduled jobs. Built with your veterinarian, it keeps important tasks from being forgotten in a...