Farm Animals

Getting Ready for Breeding   If you are going to start AI on May 1 then April is the month for preparation.   In simple terms: Pregnancy rate is Submission rate x Conception rate.   In Irish terms submission rate is the amount of cows that are available for service (calved >42 days) that have

Milk fever and subclinical milk fever are the most important macromineral disorders that affect transition dairy cows. The occurrence of milk fever or subclinical hypocalcaemia is related to increased incidence rates of several other transition cow problems. The cows with low blood level of calcium have a higher likelihood of having immunosupression, an assisted calving

As herd sizes increase, the incidence of lame cows is also increasing. Increased walking distances and increased standing times have a detrimental effect on cow hoof health. Lameness is not only a problem for the cow; it can lead to significant financial losses for the farm business. Considering the fact that every case of a

There are multiple clinical signs of salmonellosis. The most common are diarrhoea and abortion, predominantly caused by Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella dublin respectively. Once infected cattle can acquire immunity and recover or remain carriers. These carriers can shed the bacteria constantly, intermittently or become latent carriers. Economic implications are not only restricted to treatment costs

Our colleague Kevin Meaney MVB Cert DHH, Southview Veterinary Hospital and XL Vets member, gives a very good insight into how to interpret and act on milk quality reports. Mastitis and high somatic cell counts (SCC) can be one of the most expensive health problems on a dairy farm. Teagasc research has shown an increase