Diseases or Clinical Signs in Dairy Cattle That May be Related to Dietary Characteristics or Nutritional Deficiencies
Sign | Possible Nutrient or Dietary Involvement |
|---|---|
Deficiencies of trace minerals or vitamins, especially selenium, copper, zinc vitamin A, or vitamin E, have been implicated | |
Possible copper or cobalt deficiency in adult cattle; iron deficiency in young calves (unlikely in adult cattle) | |
Blindness and night blindness | May be an initial isolated sign of polioencephalomalacia; may be associated with vitamin A deficiency, with or without signs of corneal opacity |
Consumption of legume pastures or finely ground, high-starch diets (such as are frequently fed to feedlot cattle) are predisposing; cattle not acclimated to these diets are particularly susceptible to frothy bloat | |
CNS signs | Incoordination, blindness, nystagmus, thrashing, and opisthotonos may be associated with polioencephalomalacia; high-starch diets with microbial inactivation of thiamine and high-sulfur diets such as those associated with heavy feeding of distiller’s grains and solubles; nonprotein nitrogen intoxication (urea) |
Congenital defects | Deficiencies of vitamin A, manganese, or copper |
Convulsions | Sign of vitamin A deficiency, particularly if they occur intermittently interspersed with periods of normal activity in growing calves |
Energy insufficiency and associated subclinical ketosis in early lactation are predisposing; vitamin E and selenium deficiency speculated to contribute; excessive or rapid body condition loss in early lactation due to dietary energy, protein, or combination deficiencies | |
Diarrhea | Numerous dietary factors, including abrupt changes in diet, especially those associated with increases in dietary nonfiber carbohydrates and dietary rumen fermentability; lush rapidly growing pasture and increased dietary protein or salt concentrations |
Both metabolic and nutritional causes; feeding should be to prevent ketosis and stimulate high dry-matter intakes; both pre- and postpartum diets are important in management; hypocalcemia and subclinical ketosis are predisposing issues | |
Dyspnea | Atypical interstitial pneumonia associated with movement of cattle from poor pasture to lush pasture; associated with ruminal conversion of tryptophan to 3-methyl indole |
Excess body condition during late lactation or during the dry period accompanied by poor feed intake in late gestation and early lactation | |
Functional and absolute magnesium deficiency; risk increases with consumption of lush pasture grasses, especially with high potassium concentrations | |
Inappetence (off feed) | Many nutritional deficiencies (protein, mineral, and vitamin) eventually result in reduced feed intake |
Incoordination (ataxia) | Blind staggers associated with sulfur intoxication (formerly considered chronic selenium toxicosis); demyelinization associated with copper deficiency; subclinical hypocalcemia |
Infertility | Energy is the most clearly associated nutrient; insufficiencies of carotene or manganese may affect ovarian function |
Glucose deficiency from insufficient gluconeogenesis coupled with excessive lipid mobilization; excess body condition in late gestation and insufficient feed intake in early lactation are the primary nutritional influences | |
Chronic or acute laminitis and their sequelae are thought to result from diets with high concentrations of nonstructural (sugar and starches) carbohydrates; excessive hindgut fermentation of dietary nonstructural carbohydrates (bypass starch sources) | |
Milk fever (parturient paresis) | Failure of calcium homeostasis rather than dietary calcium deficiency; control by feeding low-calcium diets or acidifying diets prepartum |
Pica and dirt eating | Common causes are not well determined; sodium deficiency, potentially phosphorus deficiency, low-fiber diets implicated |
Associated with either ruminal destruction of thiamine or with ruminal production of hydrogen sulfide associated with high-sulfur diets; more common in feedlot than dairy cattle | |
A range of nutritional deficiencies resulting in compromised immune function are predisposing; prepartum negative energy/protein balance leading to metabolic issues | |
Rickets and osteomalacia | Insufficient calcium, phosphorus, or vitamin D consumption |
Rumen acidosis, acute clinical | Usually associated with major errors or inconsistencies in feed delivery in which high starch intake occurs in cattle unaccustomed to such diets; associated with formation of lactic acid in the rumen with severe drops in rumen pH |
Associated with lactation diets with high nonfiber carbohydrate concentrations and low fiber concentrations; also associated with high rumen concentrations of volatile fatty acids and rumen pH ≤5.6 for prolonged periods throughout the day | |
Skin problems | Problems such as dull, brittle coats, hypotrichia, easily depilated hair, hyperkeratosis, thin skin, and poor healing may be associated with nutritional problems; deficiencies of vitamin A, copper and zinc, generalized protein-calorie malnutrition |
Sudden death | Deficiencies of vitamins A or E, selenium, or copper; vitamin E and selenium deficiencies may be associated with cardiac nutritional myodegeneration |
Suppressed immunity | Generalized immunosuppression, including both cellular and humoral immunity, may occur due to malnutrition; specific nutrient deficiencies include vitamin A, vitamin E, zinc, copper, and selenium; also generalized protein-calorie malnutrition |
Toxicities | Many toxicities associated with feed borne toxicants; including nitrates, cyanide, many mycotoxins, toxic plants, urea |
Diets with high phosphorus and relatively low calcium and high potassium inducing alkaline urine (struvite); vitamin A deficiency may be predisposing; low fiber concentrations minimizing saliva flow may be predisposing; high intake of oxalates, silicates or calcium may predispose to other calculi types | |
Wasting and failure to thrive | Signs of many nutritional deficiencies as well as of chronic diseases such as internal parasitism; cobalt deficiency is a well-documented cause of ill thrift in cattle; protein-calorie malnutrition should always be evaluated |
White muscle disease (nutritional myodegeneration) | Dietary deficiency of selenium or vitamin E |
Nutrition has a large effect on the occurrence and severity of many diseases of dairy cattle. See table Diseases or Clinical Signs in Dairy Cattle That May be Related to Dietary Characteristics or Nutritional Deficiencies for brief descriptions of nutritionally associated diseases, disease signs, etc.
