Nutrition and Disease in Dairy Cattle
- Nutrition: Dairy Cattle
- Nutritional Requirements of Dairy Cattle
- Feeding and Nutritional Management of Dairy Cattle
- Feeding Young Dairy Calves
- Feeding Dairy Calves from Weaning Through Maturation
- Accelerated Dairy Calf-rearing Programs
- Feed Additives in Dairy Cattle
- Nutrition and Disease in Dairy Cattle
Nutrition has a large effect on the occurrence and severity of many diseases of dairy cattle. See table: Diseases or Clinical Signs in Dairy Cattle That May be Related to Dietary Characteristics or Nutritional Deficiencies for brief descriptions of nutritionally associated diseases, disease signs, etc.
Diseases or Clinical Signs in Dairy Cattle That May be Related to Dietary Characteristics or Nutritional Deficiencies
|
Sign |
Possible Nutrient or Dietary Involvement |
|
Abortion (see Abortion in Cattle) |
Deficiencies of trace minerals or vitamins, especially selenium, vitamin A, or vitamin E |
|
Anemia (see Anemia) |
Possible copper or cobalt deficiency in adult cattle; iron deficiency in young calves (unlikely in adult cattle) |
|
Blindness and night blindness |
May be an initial isolated sign of polioencephalomalacia; may be associated with vitamin A deficiency, with or without signs of corneal opacity |
|
Bloat (see Bloat in Ruminants) |
Consumption of legume pastures or finely ground, high-starch diets (such as are frequently fed to feedlot cattle) are predisposing; cattle not acclimated to these diets are particularly susceptible |
|
CNS signs |
Incoordination, blindness, nystagmus, thrashing, and opisthotonos may be associated with polioencephalomalacia; high-starch diets with microbial inactivation of thiamine and high-sulfur diets such as those associated with heavy feeding of distiller’s grains and solubles |
|
Congenital defects |
Deficiencies of vitamin A, manganese, or copper |
|
Convulsions |
Sign of vitamin A deficiency, particularly if they occur intermittently interspersed with periods of normal activity in growing calves; should be differentiated from nervous coccidiosis |
|
Cystic ovaries (see Cystic Ovary Disease) |
Energy insufficiency and associated subclinical ketosis in early lactation are predisposing; vitamin E and selenium deficiency speculated to contribute |
|
Diarrhea |
Numerous dietary factors, including abrupt changes in diet, especially those associated with increases in dietary nonfiber carbohydrates and dietary rumen fermentability; lush rapidly growing pasture and increased dietary protein or salt concentrations |
|
Displaced abomasum (see Left or Right Displaced Abomasum and Abomasal Volvulus) |
Both metabolic and nutritional causes; feeding should be to prevent ketosis and stimulate high dry-matter intakes; both pre- and postpartum diets are important in management |
|
Dyspnea |
Atypical interstitial pneumonia associated with movement of cattle from poor pasture to lush pasture; associated with ruminal conversion of tryptophan to 3-methyl indole |
|
Fatty liver (see Fatty Liver Disease of Cattle) |
Overfattening in late lactation or during the dry period accompanied by poor feed intake in late gestation and early lactation |
|
Hypomagnesemic tetany (see Hypomagnesemic Tetany in Cattle and Sheep) |
Functional and absolute magnesium deficiency; risk increases with consumption of lush pasture grasses, especially with high potassium concentrations |
|
Inappetence (off feed) |
Many nutritional deficiencies (protein, mineral, vitamin) eventually result in reduced feed intake |
|
Incoordination |
Blind staggers associated with chronic selenium intoxication; demyelinization associated with copper deficiency |
|
Infertility |
Energy is the most clearly associated nutrient; insufficiencies of carotene or manganese may affect ovarian function |
|
Ketosis (see Ketosis in Cattle) |
Excessive lipid mobilization and insufficient gluconeogenesis; overfattening in late gestation and insufficient feed intake in early lactation are the primary nutritional influences |
|
Laminitis (see Laminitis in Cattle) |
Chronic or acute laminitis and their sequelae are thought to result from diets with high concentrations of nonfiber carbohydrates |
|
Milk fever (parturient paresis, see Parturient Paresis in Cows) |
Caused by failure of calcium homeostasis rather than dietary calcium deficiency; control by feeding low-calcium diets or acidifying diets prepartum |
|
Pica and dirt eating |
Common causes are not well determined; sodium deficiency, potentially phosphorus deficiency, low-fiber diets implicated |
|
Polioencephalomalacia (see Polioencephalomalacia) |
Associated with either ruminal destruction of thiamine or with ruminal production of hydrogen sulfide associated with high-sulfur diets; more common in feedlot than dairy cattle |
|
Retained fetal membranes (see Retained Fetal Membranes in Large Animals) |
Deficiencies of selenium, vitamin A, or vitamin E, but adding these nutrients to adequate diets will not reduce incidence; metabolic problems associated with prepartum negative energy balance may also be predisposing |
|
Rickets and osteomalacia (see Rickets) |
Insufficient calcium, phosphorus, or vitamin D consumption |
|
Rumen acidosis, acute clinical |
Usually associated with major errors or inconsistencies in feed delivery in which high starch intake occurs in cattle unaccustomed to such diets; associated with formation of lactic acid in the rumen with severe drops in rumen pH |
|
Rumen acidosis, chronic subclinical (see Subacute Ruminal Acidosis) |
Associated with lactation diets with high nonfiber carbohydrate concentrations and low fiber concentrations; also associated with high rumen concentrations of volatile fatty acids and rumen pH values ≤5.2 |
|
Skin problems |
Problems such as dull, brittle hair coats, hypotrichia, easily depilated hair, hyperkeratosis, thin skin, and poor healing may be associated with nutritional problems; deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc, generalized protein-calorie malnutrition |
|
Sudden death |
Deficiencies of vitamins A or E, selenium, or copper |
|
Suppressed immunity |
Generalized immunosuppression, including both cellular and humoral immunity, may occur due to malnutrition; specific nutrient deficiencies include vitamin A, vitamin E, zinc, copper, and selenium; also generalized protein-calorie malnutrition |
|
Toxicities |
Many toxicities associated with feedborne toxicants; including nitrates, cyanide, many mycotoxins, toxic plants |
|
Urolithiasis (see Urolithiasis in Large Animals) |
Diets with high phosphorus and low fiber concentrations |
|
Wasting and failure to thrive |
Signs of many nutritional deficiencies, as well as of chronic diseases such as internal parasitism; cobalt deficiency is a well-documented cause of ill thrift in cattle; protein-calorie malnutrition should always be evaluated |
|
White muscle disease (see Nutritional Myodegeneration) |
Dietary deficiency of selenium or vitamin E |
- Nutrition: Dairy Cattle
- Nutritional Requirements of Dairy Cattle
- Feeding and Nutritional Management of Dairy Cattle
- Feeding Young Dairy Calves
- Feeding Dairy Calves from Weaning Through Maturation
- Accelerated Dairy Calf-rearing Programs
- Feed Additives in Dairy Cattle
- Nutrition and Disease in Dairy Cattle
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