Cattle

The importance of progesterone in pregnancy establishment in cattle

High P4 concentrations during the growth of the ovulatory follicle are associated with improved oocyte quality and pregnancy outcomes (Pursley and Martins, 2012; Wiltbank et al, 2014; Bisinotto et al,...

Parasite control in cattle is evolving

The first step is to understand what the current worming strategy is and how long it has been in place..

Bull semen evaluation: avoiding artefacts

Regardless of the tools used for bull semen evaluation, accurate collection techniques are essential. This article shares advice to reduce the chance of artefacts occurring and increase trust in...

What's new in ketosis in dairy cows?

Hypoglycaemia, elevated FFA, and hyperketonaemia do not always occur together. A large survey in the UK found that 24.8% of lactating cows (all stages) had hyperketonaemia, a further 14.9% had...

Revisiting bovine respiratory disease

Accurate and early diagnosis of BRD is a critical facet of any management programme. All too frequently there are delays in identifying animals requiring treatment or an acceptance of a low level of...

Cattle Review: September–October

Although control measures to tackle bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle have been successful in many parts of Europe, this disease has not been eradicated in areas where Mycobacterium bovis circulates...

Q fever and coxiellosis: implications for livestock and human health in the UK

Approximately 40% of people infected with C. burnetii will develop symptoms of acute Q fever, of which the majority will present as a non-specific, self-limiting illness (Raoult et al, 2005). In more...

Allowing cows a choice

This week I found myself staring at an empty field. I was somewhat surprised by this as – as far as I could tell as a human – it was a beautiful day to be outside: sunny, a pleasant 19°C and the...

A survey of colostrum management practices on UK dairy farms

Dairy farmers were invited to participate on the social media platform of a large pharmaceutical company (MSD Animal Health). Data were collected under University of Glasgow ethics licence (number:...

Automated detection of lameness in cattle: an update

Several automated methods of lameness detection are available for use in cattle, typically using one (or a combination) of three methodologies (Table 1)..

Cattle Review: July–August

A review paper on heat stress was published by Lemal et al (2023) (10.3168/jds.2022-22727). Heat stress implies unfavourable effects on primary and functional traits in dairy cattle and, in...

Cattle foot health: best foot forward

October 2022 saw the launch of the new Lantra-approved Cattle Foot Health courses to help vets and foot trimmers teach best foot trimming practice to farmers. The author reflects on what she hopes to...