Skip to main content
  • Published:

Prevention of Milk Fever (Hypocalcemic Paresis Puerperalis) by Dietary Salt Supplements

Forebyggelse av melkefeber ved tilskudd av salter til fôret

Abstract

Twelve cows of 14 given a basic diet supplemented with Na2GO3 and NaHCO3 during four weeks pre partum and one week past partum were attacked by milk fever (hypocalcemic paresis puerperalis), while 12 cows of 13 receiving the same basic diet supplemented with sulfates and chlorides remained healthy. A mixture of CaCl2, Al2(SO4)3 and MgSO4 was found to be a convenient prophyllactic supplement.

It was found possible to induce and prevent milk fever at successive parturitions in the same cow by altering the dietary conditions.

The data give further support to the hypothesis that the alkali alkalinity of the diet is the major factor in induction or prevention of milk fever.

Sammendrag

Tolv av fjorten kuer som fikk grunnfôr (Tabell 1) med tilskudd av Na2CO3 og NaHCO3 til alkali alkalitet > + 3000 meq./dag fra 3–4 uker før til 7 dager etter partus, ble angrepet av melkefeber (hypokalsemisk paresis puerperalis) (Tabell 3), mens tolv av tretten kuer som fikk samme fôr med tilskudd av sulfater og klorider til alkali alkalitet <g−250 meq. hadde friske kalvinger (Tabell 5). Flere tilskudd ble prøvet, men blanding av GaCl2, A12(SO4)3 og MgSO4 løst i vann og tilsatt stråfôret hver for seg er funnet å være dot beste profylaktiske tilskudd. Melkefeberinduserende för (Dishington 1974) ble gitt i 2 måneder før fôromlegning og salttilskudd.

Det er vist at samme ku vekselvis kan påføres og beskyttes mot melkefeber ved flere på hverandre følgende kalvinger ved at fôrets alkali alkalitet forandres (Tabell 6).

References

  • Boda, J. M. & H. H. Cole: The influence of dietary calcium and phosphorus on the incidence of milk fever in dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 1954, 37, 360–372.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brochart, M.: La prévention de l’hypercalcemic vitulaire. (Prevention of milk fever). Ann. Zootech. 1964, 13, 63–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dishington, I. W.: The role of age on the induction of hypocalcemic paresis puerperalis in dairy cows. Nord. Vet.-Med. 1974, 26, 205–210.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ender, F. & I. W. Dishington: Comparative studies on calcium balance levels in parturient cows fed diets inducing and preventing milk fever. 18th World Vet. Congr., Paris 1967, Papers and Short Comm., 557.

  • Ender, F. & I. W. Dishington: Etiology and prevention of paresis puerperalis in dairy cows. In Parturient Hypocalcemia, ed. by J. J. B. Anderson, Acad. Press, New York and London 1970, 71–79.

  • Ender, F., I. W. Dishington & A. Helgebostad: Parturient paresis and related forms of hypocalcemie disorders induced experimentally in dairy cows. Preliminary report. Nord. Vet.-Med. 1956, 8, 507–513.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ender, F., I. W. Dishington & A. Helgebostad: Parturient paresis and related forms of hypocalcemie disorders induced experimentally in dairy cows. Part II. Acta vet. scand. 1962, 3, Suppl. 1, 1–52.

  • Ender, F., I. W. Dishington & A. Helgebostad: Calcium balance studies in dairy cows under experimemtal induction and prevention of hypocalcemic paresis puerperalis. Z. Tierphysiol., Tierernähr., Futtermittelk. 1971, 28, 233–256.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, C. H. & Y. Subbarow: The colorimetric determination of phosphorus. J. biol. Chem. 1925, 66, 375–400.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kendall, K. A., K. E. Harshbarger, R. L. Hayes & E. E. Ormiston: Preventing parturient paresis in the paretic suspect through grain feeding. J. Dairy Sci. 1966, 49, 720.

  • Nurmio, P.: On plasma calcium regulation in paresis puerperalis hypocalcemia in cattle. Acta vet. scand. 1968, Suppl. 26.

  • Osinga, A.: Diet and the clinical picture of milk fever. T. Diergeneesk. 1963, 88, 147–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne, J. M.: Some recent work on the pathogenesis and prevention of milk fever. In Parturient Hypocalcemia, ed. by J. J. B. Anderson, Acad. Press, New York and London 1970, 1–13.

  • Ringarp, N., C. Rydberg, O. Bamberg & B. Boström: Versuch einer vorbeugenden Behandlung der Puerperalparesis bei Kühen mittels peroraler Zufuhr von Kalziumchlorid-Gel. (Oral calcium chloride-gel in the prophylactic treatment of parturient paresis in dairy cows). Zbl. Vet.-Med. A, 1967, 14, 242–251.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stott, G. H.: Parturient paresis related to dietary phosphorus. J. Dairy Sci. 1965, 48, 1485–1489.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Westerhuis, J. H.: Parturient hypocalcaemia prevention in parturient cows prone to milk fever by dietary measures. Thesis, Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wageningen 1974.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dishington, I.W. Prevention of Milk Fever (Hypocalcemic Paresis Puerperalis) by Dietary Salt Supplements. Acta Vet Scand 16, 503–512 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03546643

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03546643

Keywords