The transition period spanning from 21 days before calving to 21 days after calving is a critical phase in a dairy cow’s lactation cycle. Proper management during this time is essential for achieving peak milk production, reproductive success, and overall health. Dairy producers can maximize their cows' productivity and profitability by focusing on specific nutritional needs. Here are three strategies to enhance transition cow performance.

1. Ensuring adequate calcium levels. Dairy cows are prone to calcium deficits post-calving, leading to milk fever, which impacts yield and health. Implementing a negative dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) diet before calving with full anion supplementation and feeding low-potassium forages helps maintain normal blood calcium levels after calving and reduces the risk of subclinical and clinical milk fever.¹ Monitoring prepartum urine pH within a range of 5.5 to 6.0 ensures effective diet management and adequate blood calcium status during early lactation.
2. Meeting metabolizable protein (MP) and amino acid (AA) needs. Over 70% of a cow’s MP is directed toward fetal growth in the final month of gestation. Cows often face a protein and essential AA deficit post-calving due to decreased feed intake and increased milk production demands. Adequate MP and essential AA support milk production, milk and colostrum components, health, and metabolic functions. Instead of solely focusing on crude protein, farmers should consider the cow’s specific MP and AA needs. Understanding ruminal degradation and intestinal digestion of protein sources and the bioavailability of AA helps predict the MP and AA available for milk production and other vital processes.
3. Balancing energy intake. During early lactation, cows typically reduce dry matter intake while energy requirements increase for milk production, leading to a negative energy balance. This imbalance can affect milk yield and reproductive performance. Effective nutrition management is vital for keeping an adequate body condition score (BCS) in dairy cattle. Assessing neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility and indigestible NDF helps determine fiber value and energy contribution. Maintaining adequate rumen-available starch prevents excessive weight loss and supports optimal milk production by meeting glucose demands. Sources of balanced fatty acids can maintain BCS in a normal range and minimize body weight loss during early lactation, which can support optimum reproductive performance on dairy farms.

How do producers address transition health challenges?

Achieving optimal peak milk production requires the cow’s body to function efficiently. Many health issues during the transition period are linked to compromised rumen health, weakened immune strength, and oxidative stress from excess free radicals.

Nutritionists can include feed technologies such as Purina^® NutriTek^® Technology or Amulet™, designed to optimize gut health and support the cow’s immune system through the transition period. NutriTek is a postbiotic with antioxidant capabilities and immune support. Amulet provides a combination of probiotics and prebiotics to support ruminal and intestinal health.

Effective dairy cow nutrition management during the transition period maximizes performance and contributes to more sustainable milk production and farm profitability over time.

Consult with your Purina representative or visit purinamills.com to optimize transition cow health and dairy performance.

References

¹ Purina Animal Nutrition. 2004. Commercial Feeding Study.

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NutriTek is a registered trademark of Diamond V. Results not typical due to variables present in all farm operations. Because of factors outside of Purina Animal Nutrition LLC’s control, individual results to be obtained, including but not limited to: financial performance, animal condition, health or performance cannot be predicted or guaranteed by Purina Animal Nutrition LLC.

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