5 Nov 2024
Study carried out by CVS Farm suggests there is more scope for vets to discuss treatment and prevention with farming clients.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Image: Christoffer Borg Mattisson via Pixabay
Research with farmers on bovine dystocia has revealed the need for more education on its treatment and prevention.
It is hoped the findings from the study by CVS Farm will help to reduce the common farm animal welfare issue’s economic cost to the dairy and beef sectors.
An abnormal or difficult birth at any stage of labour, bovine dystocia can cause prolonged hypoxia, significant acidosis and increased stillborn rates in calves, and trauma, paresis, metritis and endometritis in dams.
The CVS Farm research aimed to understand UK farming’s views on the management, prevention and consequences of dystocia and assessed prevalence, knowledge about signs of calving and labour stages and standing operating procedures.
A cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed across multiple channels to dairy and suckler beef farms in England, Scotland and Wales between July 2023 and February 2024, with 305 respondents taking part.
The research found the median prevalence of dystocia was above the target across cows and heifers, for both dairy and beef farms. The prevalence varied significantly between farms, with some very high levels reported.
On average, dairy farms stood at 8.5% (heifers) and 6.1% (cows), with the corresponding figure for beef farms at 16.7% (heifers) and 6.7% (cows).
The findings also revealed 23% of dairy farms had complete instructions of calving management in their herd health plans, more than 20% did not use expected breeding values for calving ease as a preventive measure of dystocia and 40% provided extra care to every cow – with meloxicam the most common.
Most farmers said they could improve their knowledge on stages of labour and 65% felt they would benefit from more vet advice.
Jorge Silva, veterinary surgeon at Castle Vets, who is leading the dystocia study, said: “Overall, these findings suggest there is considerably more scope for veterinarians to discuss and emphasise the importance of dystocia treatment and prevention with their clients.
“We think opportunities exist in the form of ensuring the inclusion of standard operating procedures on calving management in the farm herd health plan, as this is a fundamental document to help decrease and monitor the dystocia rates on the farm.”
