Ketosis in cows: causes, symptoms and home treatment regimens

Ketosis, which cows can suffer from, is a severe metabolic disease. It develops in dry cows due to insufficient energy balance in their body. Often occurs secretly and is difficult to diagnose. Consider the causes and symptoms of ketosis in cows, the forms of the disease, how it can be identified and how to cure, what to do to prevent its development in livestock.

Description of the disease

The disease got its name from ketone bodies. These are breakdown products of fatty acids and individual amino acids. If there are no violations, they are oxidized without problems in the body of cattle.But if metabolism is disturbed, their content in tissues rises sharply, and they enter the bloodstream. This condition is called ketonemia. As a result of ketonemia, ketonuria and ketonolactia develop, that is, the ingress of ketone bodies into urine and milk.

Highly productive individuals 4-7 years old get sick in the final phase of pregnancy and within a month and a half after birth. Ketosis develops in animals in winter and spring, shortly after calving. At this time, their body is actively processing fat. Glucose is required for processing in the liver, but if there is not enough substance in the body, the processes for processing fat are disrupted and ketosis develops.

Ketosis is a disease of cattle and other animals, which is characterized by malfunctions in the course of fat metabolism, carbohydrate and protein metabolism. The condition is accompanied by a sharp and stable accumulation of ketone bodies - products of fat processing.

Ketosis in cows leads to a sharp decrease in milk production, a reduction in the beneficial use of cows, weight loss, impaired reproduction. Pregnant calves can have abortions, dead calves are born, live ones are born weak and painful.

Causes of ketosis in cows

As established by veterinary medicine, ketosis is caused not by one, but by several reasons at once. In dairy cows with high milk yields, this is feeding with feeds that are high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Such feeds change the rumen bacterial composition, which leads to inhibition of the breakdown of cellulose, which is the main source of energy for ruminants.

Feeding silage, sour beet pulp, rotten root vegetables, high fat concentrates also leads to ketosis. Some role in the development of ketosis and its consequences is played by disruption of the endocrine organs, namely, insufficient production of corticosteroids, thyroid and adrenocorticotropic hormones. The cause may be diseases of the proventriculus, genital organs. The lack of exercise and active movement, when cows are most of the time in stalls or in a cramped paddock, also contributes to ketosis.

Main symptoms

The disease can develop in 3 forms - acute, subacute and chronic. The clinical manifestations of the disease depend on the level of metabolic disorders, the volume of ketone bodies concentrated in the blood, its alkaline reserve and a decrease in glucose levels.

Sharp shape

Signs of acute ketosis: CNS disorders in the form of an increased reaction to adverse external stimuli. Animals can be frightened, gnash their teeth, tremble, lick their lips, moo. Salivation is noted. The stage of excitation is followed by a stage characterized by depression, apathy, weakening of response to stimuli.

In animals, digestion is disturbed, appetite is perverted, they refuse good feed.In the stage of acetonemia in cows, intestinal motility is weakened, defecation is reduced. Exhaled air, urine and freshly milked milk smell like acetone. The skin of a sick individual becomes less elastic, the coat is ruffled, icteric mucous membranes, light areas of the skin and conjunctiva of the eyes. The liver is enlarged and painful on palpation.

Subacute ketosis

This stage in cows is accompanied by a change in taste preferences. They can, instead of hay, eat dirty bedding on which there are feces and urine. Milk yields are reduced, milk flow may completely stop. Pathological and anatomical changes are expressed in dystrophy of organs and their loss of tone. Violations affect the heart, kidneys, liver, ovaries. They are enlarged, flabby.

Chronic form

In the chronic form, cows have low fatness due to decreased appetite and hypotension of the proventriculus, lethargy.Degeneration of the liver, heart, disorders of the reproductive organs are noted. Blood, urine and milked milk contain a large number of ketone bodies, thyroid function and sexual function are reduced.

How the disease is diagnosed

Diagnosis is based on laboratory tests. Research makes it possible to identify pathology in cattle before clinical symptoms appear.

For ketosis testing, blood, milk and urine are taken. They should contain ketone bodies. The diagnosis of "clinical ketosis" can be made when the amount of beta-hydroxybutyric acid in 1 liter of blood is more than 1.4 mmol. In urine and milk, the level will be about the same. Analyzes in freshly calved cows are carried out 2-3 times a week during the first 3 weeks of milking.

You can visually determine the disease by milk, its taste changes, it becomes less fat, bitter, during milking it has less foam. Animals eat poorly, lose weight, are depressed or, conversely, excited.

How to cure a cow from ketosis

The disease is treated with the use of drugs and folk remedies. It is recommended to apply them in a complex, to enhance the effect of each method. During the treatment period, the sick individual should be placed in a separate stall and provided with comfortable conditions, allowed to rest more. Feed food with a minimum protein content and a high content of carbohydrates. Do not feed with silage, sour feed.

Medication use

The goal of treatment is to restore glucose and glycogen in the body of cattle, normalize acids and alkaline elements. Establishing the functions of the gastrointestinal tract, heart function, restoring the level of mineral components and vitamins.

There are different veterinary regimens. For example, ketosis can be treated with the introduction of novocaine and glucose, drugs "Glucal", "Cholenol", "Ketazal". Normalize the glucose content by injection of sodium lactate (5-9 days). Every day you need to enter 400-500 g of the substance. Another regimen includes the administration of insulin and glucose. To maintain internal organs, enter:

1. Thyroid - once subcutaneously anterior pituitary hormone, intramuscularly cortisol.
2. Hearts - caffeine.
3. Liver - injection "Karsulen" (for cows who gave birth on days 3.5 and 7 after calving).

Propylene glycol is added to grain food for cattle 2 times a day. First give 230-400 g, then reduce the dose. Treatment should be carried out promptly, especially in the acute stage, since the degree of recovery of animals and further productivity depend on this.

Folk remedies

At home, you can reduce ketosis by introducing beets, turnips, carrots into the diet - root crops with a high sugar content. For 1 animal you need 5-7 kg per day. In addition to sweet vegetables, cows are fed good hay, chopped oats and barley. Too well-fed cattle reduce the diet and feed 1 kg of needles per day.

Approximate treatment regimen for ketosis in cattle at home:

1. Dissolve 0.4 kg of sugar in water, drink to the cow. When 1 hour has passed, give an injection of insulin.
2. Do enemas with a solution of baking soda twice a day, give the animal to drink such solutions.
3. If the course of the disease is severe, the cow is injected with insulin 2 times a day.
4. They feed 2 kg of molasses per day per head.

However, it is better not to self-medicate such a serious condition, but to show the sick animal to the veterinarian. Only a specialist will be able to make a correct diagnosis, choose the right treatment.

Consequences for cows

In acute ketosis, cows reduce the amount of feed they eat, milk yield decreases. In chronic - there is a disorder of the reproductive cycle, a decrease in the ability to reproduce. In individuals who have given birth, delays in the placenta may occur, ovarian cysts, hidden hunting, endometritis, cystitis, and mastitis are found. The body's immune functions deteriorate. This leads not only to a deterioration in the he alth of the animal itself, but also to a decrease in the level of reproduction.

Cows in ketosis have an increased risk of abomasum displacement, fatty liver disease, and more infectious diseases. The formation of follicles slows down, the manifestations of hunting are delayed.After calving, the uterus recovers slowly, there are delays in the placenta, and colostrum is poorly produced. Childbirth can be difficult.

Sex-aged cows are declining in conception rates and need to be treated with artificial insemination and treatment to restore function.

Prevention measures

To prevent the development of ketosis, you need to adjust the diet. It should become complete in terms of basic nutrients, diverse in products. It is important to design it so that the cows do not lose or gain too much weight. It is advisable to graze cows on a pasture, and not just walk on a walking area. Animals should walk daily, move more so that the muscles can freely process ketone bodies. Animals must walk 2-3 km every day.

It is also important to keep the water clean. Cows should only drink clean, fresh water as much as they want.

Clean the barn and inventory, create conditions for the cows in which they will feel comfortable, avoid stress. Pregnant cows at the last stage of pregnancy and before calving need to be provided with good nutrition, increase the feed rate by almost 2 times, so that the animal receives a sufficient amount of energy. If, on the contrary, the animal is fed, you need to reduce the diet by 1/5 part.

It is important to formulate food in such a way that it can meet the energy needs of animals. This is necessary so that the accumulated fat and protein are used sparingly. You need to balance the diet and mineral components, the water should be neutral in acid-base balance.

Ketosis in cattle is a dangerous condition for animal he alth and performance. You can't underestimate him. You can diagnose the disease at home by characteristic signs. If the disease manifests itself in a mild form, the cow's condition can be restored by adjusting the diet, if the condition is neglected, medications will help.

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