Housing, Vaccinations, Parasites and Other Dry Cow Problems

Southern States

Abstract

I would like to tell you something about my practice area. In the five-county area which we cover, there are about 60 dairies, ranging in size from 100 to 10,000 cows (the average having 300 to 400 cows). We are responsible for about 10,000 of these cows. My brother, who is also a veterinarian, is in practice with me. We have an 800-cow dairy which he manages while I1'1anage the practice. This arrangement has helped us tremendously because it has convinced us and our clients that a dairy manager cannot run a dairy and keep up with the changes in veterinary medicine. We know that a veterinarian is a valuable member of the dairy management team.

The greatest cause of health problems in our area is high temperature, high humidity, and high water. When I say high water, I mean deep mud. I have seen charts that combine temperature and wind velocity to arrive at a chill factor. I wish someone would chart a heat factor from temperature and humidity. We can have 80° weather with 80-90% humidity and the cows will hunt any kind of shade, even a fence post, and stand or lie breathing heavily with tongues hanging out. Our worst months are June through September or October. Average daytime temperature is over 90° and 80% relative humidity. We have more than 70 days during these months with temperatures over 90°. At the same time we have over 63% of our annual rainfall which is over 54 inches.