Giving dry cows the attention they deserve

JUNEAU, Wis. — Comfort is a focus beyond the lactating cow barn at Nehls Bros. Farms, with dry cows receiving special treatment, too. As they rest in preparation for delivering their next calf, cows lie on deep, sand-bedded free stalls and receive adequate ventilation and heat abatement.

“We try to keep our dry cows as comfortable as we can,” said Jim Van Patter, dairy manager at Nehls Bros. Farms. “We want to make sure those cows have every chance they can to succeed.”

Nehls Bros. is owned by brothers Greg and Royce Nehls. About 2,300 cows are milked on the farm three times a day in a double-36 parallel parlor.

Quality dry cow care helps ensure cows are ready for a successful lactation and equipped to avoid calving problems, retained placentas, ketosis, displaced abomasums and more. While Van Patter admits a portion of success seen in the transition phase is attributed to what is done in the fresh pen, much of that success begins in the pre-fresh pen and even the far-off dry pen.

“Giving that cow a nice rest and stress-free time while dry helps her be a productive member of the herd when she calves in again,” Van Patter said.

Jen Roberts, DVM, Boehringer Ingelheim, said there are a lot of things to think about regarding dry cows.

“All those things we think about for the cow that’s at peak lactation, we need to think about for the dry cow as well because she’s carrying the next generation for the farm,” Roberts said. “If you keep cows comfortable, they’re going to have less stress and do better in the next lactation.”

First-lactation animals at Nehls Bros. are dried at 228 days carrying calf while second lactation and greater are dried at 235 days. If an animal is pregnant with twins, she is dried up a couple weeks earlier. Feet are trimmed the week before dry off. Cows are dried off twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, with 40-45 cows dried weekly.

To reduce udder pressure and milk leakage and further enhance dry cow comfort, cows giving 60 pounds of milk or more receive a Bovikalc Dry bolus the day before dry-off and again at dry-off following dry treatment. The bolus helps to taper off milk production.

“We’re drying up some cows that are milking 90 pounds or more, and it cuts their production by 40%-50%,” Van Patter said.

About 65% of the herd currently receives the bolus.

“They’re not protesting or bellering,” Van Patter said. “They just go to the dry cow barn and chill out, which is what you want them to do. You don’t want them to feel uncomfortable.”

At dry-off, each quarter is treated with Spectramast DC. Next, an internal teat sealant, Orbeseal, is administered into the teat canal to provide a physical barrier that prevents bacteria from entering the udder. Upon freshening, the sealant is stripped out before the first milking.

Following the internal sealant, an external sealant is applied. Vaccinations are also given at dry-off and include a J-5 vaccine and ScourGuard 4KC.

Roberts said producers should be mindful of protocol drift.

“It’s important to review those dry cow protocols and make sure you have the right products and the right people in place and that they are doing the dry-off procedure correctly,” she said.

At least once a week, Van Patter monitors dry cow treatments in the parlor to ensure protocols are being faithfully followed. For example, a specific teat order is practiced when dry cow treating.

“We always sanitize the front teats first and then the back teats, but we treat back teats first,” he said. “If you do the front first, you’re contaminating the rear teats. Then we sterilize the teat end again before doing the internal seal.”

If a cow has mastitis or a high somatic cell count, getting her cleared up before dry off is the goal.

“We run an 88%-89% cure rate on anybody that had high somatic cell count at dry off,” Van Patter said.

Dry cow facilities are located across the road from the main farm. These barns house about 325 dry cows and 125 pre-fresh heifers. Heifers and cows are housed in separate pens. Barns are scraped twice a day. Stalls were converted to deep sand beds about three years ago.

“That produced a huge increase in cow comfort,” Van Patter said. “Before that, it was an all-mattress barn with only about 3 inches of sand on top. It wasn’t the most comfortable place for cows. Now, cows are much happier.”

Pay attention to logistics in stall management and make sure pens are not overcrowded, Roberts said.

“We want to make sure these late-gestation cows are comfortable,” she said. “They need larger stall space typically than fresh cows or peak-lactation cows. Ventilation is a big one and not always something people think about as being critically important for dry cows. We need to think about the effect heat can have on dry cow health, immune function and the developing fetus.”

The barn’s low roof and insulated ceiling contribute to a comfortable temperature, Van Patter said, with fans and sprinklers deployed to help alleviate heat stress.

“It has been proven that cooling cows when it’s hot has a big effect on the calf in utero,” Van Patter said. “As an industry, we’ve come a long way in how we take care of dry cows. We found out how valuable cow comfort is and how it affects her next lactation and her calf’s future lactations.”

Cows start off in the far-off dry cow group where they remain for at least four weeks. About 25 days before they are due to calve, cows are brought into the pre-fresh pen. The dry period is approximately 55 days long.

“That pen gets walked every 45 minutes as we use the just-in-time calving method,” Van Patter said. “Cows ready to freshen are moved into a calving area. Ninety-five to 97% of our cows calve by themselves.”

The farm feeds two dry cow rations: one for close-up cows and another for far-off animals. The far-off diet includes haylage, corn silage, wheat straw, dry weigh backs, oat hulls and protein mix. The pre-fresh diet contains corn silage, brown mid-rib silage, wheat straw, haylage, iLiquid Anionic, and protein mix.

Roberts said producers should make sure dry cow nutrition is dialed in. Ensuring cows do not get too heavy during the dry period while still having access to all the nutrients they need to support themselves, their health and the growing calf is critical.

“Cows that calve in with a high body condition score are the ones that have more body condition to lose,” she said. “Cows that lose body condition in early lactation are going to struggle with more health events, take a longer time to pregnancy, and not transition as well when they calve.”

Nehls Bros. Farms knows that securing success in the next lactation begins with treating dry cows as equally important members of the herd. By following strict protocols, Van Patter said they have fewer fresh cow problems.

“Fresh cow issues start in your dry pen,” he said. “If she comes in well and cleans and gets going, and gets bred back, that’s what we want.”