Precision Dairy Monitoring of Fresh Cows

Dairy cow health is multifactorial and complex. High producing dairy cows have been described as “metabolic athletes,” but 30 to 50% of cows are affected by a metabolic or infectious disease around calving (LeBlanc, 2010). Cows are highly susceptible to metabolic and infectious disease during the transition period, or the period from 3 weeks before to 3 weeks after calving (Huzzey et al., 2007, Mulligan and Doherty, 2008). The transition period is marked by a series of adaptations to the demands of lactation. These adaptations are described as homeorhetic, or long term physiological adaptations to changes in state (i.e. the transition from dry to lactating) (DeGaris and Lean, 2009). Transition dairy cows are immunosuppressed and often have to deal with sudden dietary changes that cause metabolic problems. This fragile group of cows is also likely to experience environmental stressors, like routine group changes that are associated with dairy farm management of dry and lactating cows. These effects combined with the stress of parturition lead to a period of great risk for production diseases right after parturition. Dairy cow diseases signify a cow’s inability to cope with the metabolic demands of high production. Unfortunately, these diseases cause economic losses to the dairy industry and are an animal welfare concern (Mulligan and Doherty, 2008).