Avian Bird Flu Update – March 10, 2025
The spread of H5N1 Bird Flu continues to pose challenges for the dairy industry, with California confirming a new case in a dairy herd this month. While 373 California dairies have fully recovered and been released from quarantine, the virus is far from contained. Bi-monthly surveillance has been set in place to monitor further spread (CDFA [...]
Avian Bird Flu Severely Impacts Dairy Cows in California and Utah
The ongoing spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 is creating significant challenges for the dairy industry in both California and Utah. With 436 dairies affected in California and at least 8 cases reported in Utah, the virus is spreading rapidly and causing significant herd losses. Dairy cows in these regions are experiencing higher infection [...]
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) in Dairy Herds
April 18, 2014 This information has been compiled and quoted from USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service documents and personal communication with Keith Poulsen, DVM PhD, DACVIM, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Since late March 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state veterinary [...]
Dr. Frank W. Abrahamsen Utilizes the “RFE” Rumen Fluid Extractor
Dr Frank W. Abrahamsen utilizes DrenchMate “RFE” Rumen Fluid Extractor in his research! In a December 2021 article published in Applied Animal Science, DrenchMate is mentioned under MATERIALS and METHODS. To test the Rumen fluid of the meat goats in this study, Dr. Abrahamsen and his team extracted Rumen fluid from goats on d 60 of [...]
Preventing Subclinical Hypocalcemia Saves $$$
Bottom line, SCH results in reduced feed consumption and lowered milk production, which directly impacts your dairy’s productivity and profitability. (Brooks, 2020) According to Donna Amaral-Philips, University of Kentucky Extension Dairy Specialist, financial losses to subclinical hypocalcemia average approximately $125 per affected cow. (Amaral-Philips) SCH is much more common than most dairy producers realize. According to [...]
Ten Ways to Improve Early Lactation Performance and Peak Milk Yield
1. Start cows with a successful dry period Research shows dry period nutrition and management affects health and performance after birth. Thus, evaluate your dry cow program if you’re unhappy with milk cow performance. Key goals for dry cows include: Maintaining dry matter intake (28 to 32 pounds per day) Avoiding overfeeding energy Preventing body condition [...]
Drenching Fresh Cows
For generations, dairymen have given buckets of warm water to new fresh cows, knowing that calving was a tough job and resulted in large fluid loss. Re-hydrating the cows simply made sense.Today, the dairy industry knows more about the science behind calving, confirming the value of re-hydration. Improvements in drenching equipment and better ingredients in the drench [...]
Fresh Cow Bolus “CP”
Cal-Mate CP Fresh Cow Bolus is formulated with immediate and sustained release calcium for metabolic support during freshening. Each bolus contains 43 grams of calcium and they are easy to administer. You can start by giving one bolus prior to or immediately following calving and an additional bolus 12-24 hours later. These bolus are the most [...]
What to Do for that Scouring Calf
Make sure that your electrolyte solution has what diarrhea-drained calves actually need. by Geof Smith, D.V.M. CALF diarrhea or “scours” continues to be a major health problem. In fact, according to the last National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) dairy study, more than 60 percent of all death loss in calves less than 2 months of [...]
What to look for in an Oral Electrolyte Product
There are five major infectious causes of diarrhea in calves less than 21 days of age: E. coli K99, rotavirus, coronavirus, Cryptosporidia, and Salmonella species. Noninfectious factors such as insufficient or poor quality colostrum, poor sanitation, stress, and cold weather can also cause or contribute to neonatal calf diarrhea. Regardless of the cause, diarrhea results in increased loss of electrolytes and [...]