The Transition Period - Fitting in with your farm

The transition period is the time from about 2-3 weeks prior to calving to the first week after calving. This is a tumultuous time for the cow's metabolism and the most critical period in her lactation cycle. Traditionally this period has been approached by limiting pasture intake, providing ad lib hay and the use of vitamin D3 injections if required. These measures will help in the control of metabolic diseases.

A lot of producers are now targeting higher levels of per cow production. In this case the traditional transition management is not appropriate. Further measures can be taken which will fit in with the goals of the farm.

Information regarding the best way to manage the cow through the period from late pregnancy to early lactation has been widely available. So much information is now available that it makes it difficult to decide on the management strategy that will best suit your operation.

There is an ideal way to manage the transition cow and this would be recommended to ensure the highest level of production and minimise animal health problems related to this period. For most farms the transition cow is managed using a compromise of the ideal situation. With this in mind we should look at the aims of good transition management and the best ways to make decisions on its management.

Maintain Dry Matter Intake (DMI)
In the average Friesian cow the last 7 days of pregnancy means a decrease in DMI from 12 kg per day to 6 kg per day. Ensuring access to a concentrated energy source with a reasonably high level of protein can stimulate the appetite and help to prevent this drop. Energy can be provided with a lead feed concentrate using a cereal grain such as wheat or barley at 2-3 kg per cow per day.
Prevent Metabolic Disease
The use of anionic salts to improve the cow's ability to mobilise calcium from her bones has been well publicised. Every farm has the ability to utilise this information.
Simple measures are:
  1. 100 grams of Epsom salts in the water supply of springer cows.
    This should be topped up each day.

     

  2. 100 grams of epsom salts and 100 grams of gypsum in the lead feed.
    These products are unpalatable. To improve palatability add sugar or salt to the lead feed.

     

  3. Use of proprietary lead feed mixes.
    Most of these have been formulated to provide anionic salts with other components to improve palatability.

     

  4. Addition of Biochlor.
    This is a protein rich by-product with anionic properties.
    The high protein and anionic component make this product very useful.
    The other major advantage is palatability. This stimulates greater acceptance by a large proportion of cows. Some cows will still reject Biochlor but acceptance can be 100% with the addition of molasses or sugar.

     

Dietary Anion Cation Balance (DCAB) is a measure of the positive and negative ions in feed. This gives a good indication of the likelihood that a feed will cause metabolic problems if fed to a springer. Hay can be tested through the Timboon Veterinary Group for less than $50 per sample.

 

Adaptation of the Rumen
The transition from late dry cow ration to the milker's ration can play havoc on the rumen microbes. It takes two weeks for these bacteria and protozoa to adapt to a new diet. A transition ration designed to address this can reduce the time adaption takes to occur.
A concentrated lead feed will be a start. The use of additives to address rumen acidosis will also help.

Buffers such as bicarb are not advised due to the effect of the sodium in the bicarb. Sodium is a cation which acts in the opposite way to anions causing a reduction in the ability of the cow to mobilise calcium.

Rumen modifiers such as Eskalin will reduce the population of acid producing bacteria and enable a smooth transition to a high concentrate diet. The degree of adaptation required will depend on the amount of grain being fed during early lactation.

It should be remembered that the pasture the cows are consuming at this time has the potential to stimulate acid production in the rumen. The introduction of pasture may be the most disruptive aspect of the transition period. With a well formulated transition diet it would even be possible to graze springers on a significant amount of pasture to help the rumen to adapt.

 

The level of importance of these points will depend on the planned level of feeding in early lactation and the expected peak production levels. There is no point in having a high power transition diet if the early lactation diet is poor. If high peak production levels are the aim a well formulated transition diet will result in higher production, increases feed conversion efficiency and reduced animal health problems. Some of the products mentioned are quite expensive but the have to be weighed up with the results produced from their use.

 

Results that are commonly seen include:
  • Peak production levels 4 litres greater than with out the use of a transition ration.
  • The elimination of metabolic diseases such as milk fever and acetonaemia.
  • The elimination of abomasal disorders
  • Significantly reduced incidence of retained afterbirth.
  • Improved fertility.


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