Herd Health & Disease
Guides on preventive health, common diseases, lameness and biosecurity & emerging diseases.
Preventive Health
Common Diseases
- Digital Dermatitis in Holsteins: Why Susceptibility Runs High and How to Manage ItHeel warts are the most common claw lesion in many herds, and genetics is only part of the story.
- Milk Fever Prevention: The Peripartum Mineral Strategy That WorksMost of the damage from low blood calcium is subclinical, which is why prevention starts in the close-up diet.
Lameness
- Foot Trimming Frequency: Why Twice a Year Is the BaselineA preventive trim schedule beats waiting for the limp, and most Holstein herds need more than the minimum.
- Hoof Health Screening: A Practical Protocol for Early DetectionA repeatable routine for scoring, checking and recording feet so problems get caught while they are still cheap.
- Lameness as a Major Economic Issue: Lost Milk, Lower Intake, Poorer FertilityA lame Holstein costs a herd in three places at once, and the milk check shows only one of them.
- Subacute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA) and Claw Health in First-Lactation Holsteins: The Hidden LinkA 24-heifer trial found more lameness with severe SARA, but claw lesions were harder to pin down.
- The Lameness Audit: How to Find What Is Driving Lame Cows in Your HerdA practical audit covering scoring, flooring, stalls, standing time, trimming, footbaths and nutrition.
Biosecurity & Emerging Diseases
Guides in this section are being added.