Milk Fever

What is milk fever? Milk fever is post parturient hypocalcemia or parturient paresis, usually of diary cows, charactirized by reduced blood calcium levels. It is most common in the first few days, when demand for calcium for milk production exceeds the body's ability to mobilize calcium reserves. The body temperature during the disease is usually below normal. Low blood calcium levels interfere with muscle function throughout the body, causing general weakness, loss of appetite, and eventually heart failure. Hypocalcemia, like milk fever, occurs occasionally at any time during the lactation of pregnancy and in many mammalian species.

The symptom of animals who get milk fever:

In mild cases, the animal seems quite normal, but has difficult standing. If the cow succeeds in rising, and will very soon fall. Body temperature are from 37 to 38.5 ^oC. In typically form of hypocalcemia, with the cow's head in self auscultation position. The heart can be slow or arrhythmic. In advance cases, the cow is lying on its side, seeming dead. The body temperature can go as low as 32^oC, and further third degree, with calcemia as low as 20 mg/l.