Clinical Milk Fever, which can occur pre or post-calving, causes paresis (down cow) which whether serious or mild can lead to death or culling. The low blood calcium affects muscle tone in both skeletal and smooth (gut and uterus) muscles and sometimes cows with Milk Fever will be lying flat, literally just moments away from death. Some of the other major problems include retained foetal membrane (RFM) bruising of limbs and mastitis. There are ongoing repercussions including metritis (toxic uterine infection) twisted stomachs and bone fractures.

The second challenge is "hidden" or sub-clinical Milk Fever, which is more of an issue than many farmers recognize. Pre-calving, the cow is still standing but can be very weak. The related incidences of uterine inertia lead to slow calving and a higher rate of dead calves. Post-calving cows have low blood calcium, but not enough to "go down." There are incidences of retained foetal membranes (RFM) but this isn't always visually apparent. The cows will be suffering from a low or reduced appetite. They're dull and lethargic and reluctant to rise and eat which can lead to rumen shut down, condition loss, ketosis, fatty liver and LDAs.

Leading livestock vet Rob Drysdale says:

"The comparatively low cost of prevention is just one more reason to handle incidences of Milk Fever before they occur. Treating full-blown Milk Fever costs on average "100 per head, compared to the cost of an effective, self-administering aid to prevention such as Bovikalc, which averages around "5 per head. As a highly developed piece of bolus technology, Bovikalc is also considerably more time-efficient than other forms of livestock health management and I regularly recommend this particular bolus to farmers."

"Milk Fever is a serious disease and I can't recommend enough that farmers take steps to aid its prevention. This bolus has been around for many years now, but it's only now that we're seeing both prevention and self-management start to become the norm rather than the unusual."
Simon Jones: Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese

Simon Jones runs a 230-strong pedigree herd of Dairy cows and is the producer of the famous Lincolnshire Poacher cheese. He's been using Agrimin boluses, including Bovikalc for over 20 years.

"We were losing on average two cows per year with toxic mastitis, in my opinion the direct result of going down with Milk Fever. If a cow goes down with Milk Fever her immunity and her ability to fight off infection goes down too. We're nipping any problems in the bud with Bovikalc and I'd certainly recommend that any producer who's having calcium problems gives these boluses a try " it's worked for my herd. Administering a bolus is quick and easy, so there are no excuses to not manage Milk Fever before it takes hold."

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