X-Zelit Beyond Milk Fever Prevention

Transcription

1 X-Zelit Beyond Milk Fever Prevention It s a piece of cake!

2 X-Zelit It s a piece of cake... The benefits of X-Zelit go far beyond milk fever prevention. Best of all it s simple, effective and improves profitability. X-Zelit stimulates the cow s own hormonal system to allow better control of calcium throughout the transition period - the benefits of which are detailed throughout this booklet. X-Zelit Inside this brochure we ve put together a great selection of articles, testimonials and case studies showing how X-Zelit can benefit your herd. 10% 75% Clinical milk fever is currently running around 10% in UK dairy herds. Subclinical milk fever can affect up to 75% of the herd Cost of milk fever 209 per incidence. Cost of retained fetal membrane 265 per incidence. X-Zelit is a granular feed supplement, which binds the calcium from the diet in the small intestine Displaced abomasums at 500 per incidence. Cost of metritis 132 per incidence. Source: D.Esslemont et al.

3 X-Zelit It s a piece of a cake... Feeding Requirements Reduced cases of milk fever and sub-clinical milk fever Better quality of colostrum Better calf health No hassle of calcium boluses and injections having to be used Effective, even on grass-only diets Gives protection from milk fever and sub-clinical milk fever Easy to feed No need for urine ph testing as with DCAD systems Not affected by changes to forage Cows have more energy post-calving Increases the cows appetite Calving is quicker with fewer problems Gives you more time to get on with other jobs Less metritis and retained cleansings Reduced calving interval X-Zelit Form: Granular 0.5kg. Mix in TMR or top dress with concentrate. 25kg bags. 10/20/30 bag delivery. DC X-Zel Form: 6mm nut High quality protein and energy to meet pre-calver requirements. 2.5kg. Top dress or feed in trough. 25kg bags. 25 or 50 bag delivery. Do s & Don ts Based on a herd of 250 dairy cows DISORDER Milk Fever Sub Clinical Milk Fever Retained Foetal Membrane Metritis Left Displaced Abomasum Ketosis Annual Total Cost ( ) Annual Cost of X-Zelit Treatment ( ) No. Cases Cost/Case ( ) % 40% 8% 20% 6% 11.2% 34,200 4,721 Target 1% 5% 2% 7% 1% 2% 7, ,721 DC X-Zel Complete Form: 6mm nut Fully mineralised for pre-calving animals. High quality protein and energy to meet pre-calver requirements. 3kg. Top dress or feed in trough. Do feed the full rate Do feed for 14 days Do make sure cows can access it when feeding Don t feed less than the recommended amount Don t feed for a shorter period than stated Potential Herd Margin Increase ( ) Potential Margin Increase per Cow in herd ( ) 22, kg bags. 25 or 50 bag delivery.

4 Milk Fever A Vet s Perspective Clinical milk fever incidence is currently running close to 10% in UK dairy herds. It s costing approximately 200 per cow, while subclinical milk fever can affect up to 75% of the herd, it s unrecognisable and generally remains untreated according to Advanced Nutrition s Veterinary Nutritionist, Debby Brown. Milk fever - both clinical and subclinical, occurs when a cow calves. Calving is probably the most stressful time in a cow s life;; she will be changing environment, diet and groups all at the same time, as well as undergoing a massive physical challenge. Milk fever incidents also increase with the number of lactations. That s not all. Cows suffering from milk fever are between four and nine times more likely to suffer from a miscellany of other metabolic disorders, many of which are related to each other. They each in treatment and vet costs, but also with losses from future milk and fertility delays. Treatment Intravenous calcium will give a quick response to a clinical case and often save a cow s life however, it doesn t reduce the problem;; IV calcium, may cause fatal cardiac problems ability to mobilise the calcium she requires at this critical time. Cows treated with IV calcium often suffer a hypocalcaemic relapse 12 to 18 hours later. Subcutaneous and oral calcium supplementations can be given around calving but are often not given as required and there is only a small amount of absorption. Energy drenches can be used to provide a quick response to energy both are poor for reducing subclinical hypocalcaemia. of pregnancy, most dry cow diets contain more calcium than is required, consequently the cow is only passively absorbing calcium. However, at calving there is a sudden demand for calcium for colostrum production and also for muscle contractions relating to calving and udder function, and the required level simply cannot be met by passive absorption alone. Active calcium absorption and mobilisation is required, yet it takes between 24 and 48 hours for her to change to active absorption, consequently there is always a drop in calcium levels around calving. Prevention Since both clinical and subclinical milk fever and consequential metabolic disorders are mainly related to the cow s diet, the challenge is to maintain her feed intake and rumen balance around, and shortly after calving. However, it is important to manage the cow carefully during the entire dry period to minimise fat deposition in the liver and maximise liver health. This also improves ovarian development for the next lactation and fertility cycle. 1. Maintaining cow condition is critical: Target condition score 3 at drying off and calving will prevent fat being laid down inside the cow, particularly in her liver. Otherwise it will reduce her ability to control her own mineral balances, in particular calcium. During the dry period, target feeding 9MJ/kg ME with a 12kg DM intake. 2. Achieving the correct calcium balance around calving: Various preventative measures have been tried and tested including the following two options: - A new prevention strategy featuring X-Zelit, a calcium binding additive containing synthetic zeolite - a product initially designed to reduce the build-up of limestone from hard water in washing machines. Since then, X-Zelit has been developed to bind calcium from the diet during the two weeks prior to calving. X-Zelit has at the time of calving. Cows are subsequently more energetic;; have higher feed intakes;; and are ready to go. Consequently, they are less likely to fall in to - DCAB diets work reasonably well. However, they require good management and monitoring and are not suitable for all farms. They can also reduce appetite at this critical time. 3. Paying attention to detailed feed management: Housed dry cows should be stocked at approximately 75% normal rate, ideally 10m 2 for the average Holstein cow. At least 80cm trough space should be provided per cow with food pushed up at least four times per day.

5 X-Zelit FAQs Case Study: G P Bradley Camelford, Cornwall. Average yield: 9,500 litres per year. What is it? A synthetic zeolite which is an aluminosilicate, an absorbent. How does it work? X-Zelit reduces the quantity of available calcium from the cow s feed in the small intestines. The cow then utilises her body s calcium resources which reduces the risk of calcium levels dipping at calving, a period when demand increases. None. from milk fever and other metabolic disorders, it also drives intakes and, therefore, fertility, and production. Even with a lower milk price, the cow reliably gets going better. X-Zelit should continue being fed to the cows two weeks prior to calving to ensure maintained milk and fertility post-calving. Yes, but you ll see best results with grass silage in the diet. It is a lot simpler than DCAD diets. Changes in forage do not alter the effectiveness of the X-Zelit. ph does not need to be measured in urine as we are not trying to balance anions. The X-Zelit system is much simpler and much No, DCAD works by balancing anions and can be affected by the diet. X-Zelit actually binds the calcium, causing a low calcium effect and is therefore not affected by the diets fed. It has to be fed at 500 grams per head to ensure enough calcium is bound out of the tried but have not been as successful. The product can be fed safely for longer, but this increases the cost without any extra The Bradleys manage a herd of 500 Holsteins in Camelford, Cornwall producing an average 9,500 litres. Like many producers, they have suffered cases of milk fever in the past and have been concerned about the impact on the health and productivity of their herd. Dairy farmers, Peter and Graham Bradley, heard about X-Zelit and decided to trial it for 4 months. Now the Bradleys would not be without X-Zelit. They separate the dry cows from the herd two weeks prior to calving as they had done before introducing X-Zelit. The cows are fed once per day and the X-Zelit is top-dressed on to the feed. During the 4 month trial, 150 cows received X-Zelit in the last 2 weeks before calving. After starting the supplementation the number of milk fever cases reduced from between 30-40% to just 4%. The Bradleys have experienced cases. They used to experience relapses approximately 2-3 days after calving. We have automatic scrapers and in the past we found hypocalcaemic cows caught up in the scrapers. With X-Zelit we don t experience that anymore. The Bradleys believe that X-Zelit has had a great effect on reducing the numbers of milk fever cases in their herd and also agree that the product can be 100% effective. They suggested that the 6 cases of milk fever were due cows were overweight and were not achieve the required intake of X-Zelit. We wouldn t want to run out of X-Zelit now. X-Zelit gives us more X-Zelit to other producers. It is working for us and therefore it must also work for others too. Does it work with a high straw diet? Yes, as it still helps with calcium balance from the rest of the diet. Inorganic phosphorous temporarily decreases slightly, but if other minerals and vitamins are supplemented at a normal level, we ve not found any issues. The calcium continues to be bound so it can potentially cause milk fever. Yes, because the cow is in the same hormonal state after calving as she is precalving. She s driven to want to eat straight after birth. Intakes are therefore higher, giving more energy, which helps reduce metritis. Not if you are feeding, otherwise yes. (You should give minerals to far off dry cows).

6 Case Study: Crathorne Farms Crathorne Farms, Crathorne, North Yorkshire, 400 cows autumn block calving Friesian cross Jersey. Average yield: 7,000 litres per year. Milk fever has always been a major problem despite concerted efforts towards its prevention, says herd manager, Graham Bell. Clinical milk fever incidents were running at 14% and the time and effort required to administer calcium to cows that had gone down, as well as those more prone to milk fever, was putting a real strain on the whole team. As the cows are autumn calving the majority of cows calve outside. They are held on tightly grazed pastures to keep energy density down and in the last two weeks before calving they come in to be fed the dry cow concentrate. They have also been offered dry cow buckets in the past. However, it s well documented that Jersey and Jersey crosses are more susceptible to metabolic disorders at calving. Added to this, an all grass diet and variable weather conditions and the potential for disaster is great, he explained. Clinical Milk Fever Retained Cleansings Vulval Discharge/Metritis Death /Cull From Above Conditions Total Savings Without Treatment Incidences % Incidence Cost Per Cow Herd Disease (11/13 cow incidences) , Debby Brown advised us to introduce X-Zelit, the calcium binding additive, to the dry cow diet in 2011/12. During the following 24 months, milk fever incidents reduced by 54%, retained cleansings by 62% and vulval discharge/ metritis by 58% resulted in a tighter calving pattern Cows reached peak numbers milking - one month earlier than in previous years. From the cows calved in 2013 there was a 95% submission rate a 71% conception rate which will lead to further tightening of the calving pattern. While the treatment cost us an additional 15 per cow or 6,000 for (See table below) , ,904 1, ,000 Case Study: R. Morris-Eyton & Son Beckside, Silecroft, Millom, 200 cow herd. Average yield: 9,725 litres per year. Calving issues came to a head two years ago at Beckside, Silecroft, Millom where Robert Morris-Eyton and his team, Stuart Benn and Michael Barnes manage, in one group, a 200 cow herd averaging 9,725 litres milk sold per year. Two cows per month suffered from displaced abomasums requiring veterinary intervention and a proportion of those were culled, Stuart explains. At and treated every second calver or older with IV calcium. Overall, the cows were really struggling. They didn t want to milk immediately after calving, and we had to wait three weeks to determine their potential performance. Enough was enough. In 2011, we regime and discussed measures with imbalance to be at the heart of the problems and advised us to introduce Milk fever treatments (% of herd) Calving assistance (% of herd) Days to conception Lactation period Calving interval X-Zelit to a strict dry cow diet. During summer dry cows are held on bare pasture while those near to calving are housed at night and fed straw plus a supplement to provide 110MJ ME daily. Since then, we ve abandoned routine IV calcium treatment, in fact we ve used only 12 bottles since Calving assistance has fallen from 50% to 10%, and nowadays we tend to leave them to calve themselves, unless the calf is malpresented, says Stuart. Displaced abomasums are a thing of the past, and as soon as cows calve they have more energy and appetite. Milk can be seen to be increasing from day one. Robert Morris-Eyton adds: This X-Zelit has removed the headache of calving and other issues and enabled the more straight forward cow management for the entire team. 70 % 3 % 50 % 10 % 106 days 86 days 142 days 124 days 330 days 300 days 433 days 417 days With X-Zelit

7 X-Zelit Testimonials We know that X-Zelit has benefits beyond milk fever prevention, but don t take our word for it, read what the farmers using it have to say! Intensive & Semi intensive Intensive & Semi intensive Intensive & Semi intensive Intensive & Semi intensive Steven Kellet Whitehouse Farm, Slaley, Hexham. 120 Milking Cows. Grazing / Big Bale Silage / Straw. I ve had over 200 cows calving on DC X-Zel nuts, across two years, and never had a case of milk fever. It had to work 100% for me, and it did, so I wouldn t go back to not feeding DC X-Zel. It has saved on the expense and frustration of calling in the vet and spending money on preventative treatments. Herd management is a lot easier and I have peace of mind relying on staff to feed it, as it s easy to administer - 1 bag per 10 cows. It s palatable and it s effective. David Walker Highwoodifield Farm, Crook, County Durham. Over 100 Milking Cows. High Straw. I changed to DC X-Zel over a year ago and it has dramatically improved the herd. It s very rare I have retained cleansings or bad calving. In fact, 9th calvers calve like 2nd calvers! It s improved general cow health, post calving energy is fantastic, and it just takes the hassle away. Before, I d give all 3rd calvers a bottle of calcium as a preventative measure but now I don t have to at all. It s not cheap, but at the end of the day, it outweighs the cost of preventative measures and you have the Neil & David Kidd Booth Hall, Ellel, Lancaster. 100 Milking Cows. Straw / Grass Silage. Before using DC X-Zel we had a problem with milk fever, since using it we ve not seen any signs of it. The best thing is the cows are cleaning up really well, so the vet has told us we could stop post-calving checks, all we do is PD check later on! We test our colostrum, and have found that after using DC X-Zel it s much better don t lose much condition after they calve, right through to lactation. They just calve down better. Robert Morris Eyton Beckside, Silecroft, Millom. 200 Milking Cows. Grazing / Straw. Since using X-Zelit, we ve abandoned routine IV calcium treatment. Calving assistance has fallen from 50% to 10% and nowadays we tend to leave them to calve themselves unless the calf is malpresented. X-Zelit has removed the headache of calving and other issues to enable straight forward cow management for the whole team.

8 X-Zelit Testimonials Grazing System We know that X-Zelit has benefits beyond milk fever prevention, but don t take our word for it, read what the farmers using it have to say! Grazing System Joe Dugdale Crathorne Farms, Yarm, North Yorkshire. 400 Milking Cows. Grazing. strategy we have used that is simple, saves time and appears to really work. We are no longer constantly worried about calving cows. We have hardly needed to assist any cows with it. Cows look better post calving too, their appetites are greatly increased. Grazing System Ken Jackson Ripton House, Barnard Castle. 50 Milking Cows. Grazing / Big Bale Silage. Farming on my own means I need a simple feeding system, which DC X-Zel gives. I don t have time to do feeds midday, I have other things to do. Before, I had the hassle of bottling or boluses and the last thing I wanted was to put cows in the crush on my own. Post DC X-Zel, the pressure of calving has been taken away, feeding is simple. Cows calve down quicker, they have bigger appetites and the calf gets going quicker. I ve had no cases of milk fever, no retained cleansings or twisted stomachs. It s simple and hassle free. Mark & Simon Allison Greencroft Farm, Greysouthern, Cockermouth. 430 Milking Cows. Grazing/ Grass & Straw Sileage We started feeding X-Zelit in May 2014 and within two weeks of feeding we found that it had started working. Each Monday we d check the new calved cows and after feeding X-Zelit they were a lot less dirty and had very few retained cleansings. In the summer, the far off dry cows are grazed and in the past were brought in 4 weeks prior to calving onto a dry cow ration. This year, with X-Zelit the cows were only housed for the last two weeks, which saved the cost of two weeks dry cow ration. We ve always had a few over-conditioned cows. Previously we had considered Monensin boluses, however, since using X-Zelit this has not been necessary, because the cows get going better. In the last 300 cows calved, we ve only used three bottles of calcium, whereas before we were giving a bottle to anything we were a bit unsure of. In the last 18 months, we ve expanded the herd quickly from 300 cows to 430 cows. This has added to time pressures, which could have led to transition issues, as space for these cows has not really increased. However with X-Zelit, the cows are up and out into the main milking group quicker. There are no down cows to take time and attention away from the rest of the herd. Prior to using X-Zelit we d lose 1-2 cows per month, that were no value culls, but since May, we ve only had 2 cows go this way. Overall, fertility has been maintained, cows are milking better. Fresh calved cows and heifers are transitioning well and milking better. We save on straw in the cows ability to be moved straight to the main milking group. We re really happy with the results from X-Zelit. Twins historically have held their cleansing, but 50% now cleanse themselves. They get away better and are up straight away. Cows generally are transitioning much easier.

9 Have Any Questions? If you d like to chat about X-Zelit with us, why not give us a call on , or office@arn-ltd.com today! office@arn-ltd.com