Cattle

Energized calf milk: is it worth investing in early life nutrition?

Historically, formulations of CMR have differed significantly from WM in their levels of energy, protein and minerals. Energy source is one of the major differences, and arguably one of the most...

Cattle Review: July–August 2021

In a meta-analysis undertaken by Santos et al (2021) (Journal of Dairy Science10.3168/jds.2018-14628) the literature was systematically reviewed, searching randomised experiments with transition cows...

Livestock cognition: stimulating the minds of farm animals to improve welfare and productivity

The cognitive ability of farm animals has been studied with increasing prevalence and it has become evident that many species have more complex abilities than previously thought (Nawroth et al, 2019).

Metabolic programming and monitoring tools in pre-weaned dairy calves

Epigenetics describes influences on and effects of differences in gene expression. DNA contains a code made out of genes which encode proteins/enzymes. Proteins are produced in the processes of...

Early detection and prompt effective treatment of lameness in dairy cattle

Despite the well documented economic and welfare impacts of lameness, one of the fundamental difficulties continues to be how the farm team define and recognise the behavioural changes associated with...

The use of fixed time artificial insemination programmes for the use of sexed semen in block calving dairy heifers

The minimum requirement for success of any synchronisation programme is (Carvalho et al, 2018):.

Cattle Review: May–June 2021

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is a causative agent of Johne's disease, which is a chronic granulomatous enteropathy in ruminants. In a study by Lim et al (2021) (Veterinary...

The veterinary surgeon and the farmer — controlling TB farm by farm

In updating our position, we recognised a number of things. First, that as a representative body for veterinary surgeons throughout the UK, we wanted to be able to consider how TB in cattle affected...

Managing BVDV at the herd level part 2

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) is a costly disease and its eradication is the focus of the English voluntary scheme, BVDFree. The process of identifying a farm as negative or not negative is...

Lameness in dairy heifers: a narrative review of control strategies

A descriptive review of the literature was conducted using the Cattle Lameness Literature database (www.cattle-lameness.org.uk), the RCVS library Discovery database, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar....

Cattle Review: March–April 2021

Animal tuberculosis is a multi-host disease caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Due to its impact on the economy, sanitary standards of the milk and meat industry, public...

Ruminant behaviour in subclinical parasitic gastroenteritis

In temperate regions, cattle and sheep graze diurnally; from late spring to early autumn between 65 and 100% of grazing typically takes place during daylight hours (Hughes and Reid, 1951; Hancock,...