calcium deficiency in calving cows

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen (formerly The Veterinary and Agricultural University of Copenhagen, Denmark) have spent more than 10 years developing an effective method of curing calcium deficiency in calving cows. Zeolite has proved to strengthen cows´ own defences against milk fever and provide for more stable milk production.

A water softener showed the way 

Strange to say it was originally a packet of washing powder containing a water softener which put researchers on the track of a natural method for binding calcium in cows´ gastrointestinal tracts. The new principle has proved to be far more effective than other existing methods of prevention.
 
Since the end of the 1990s, Professor Rolf Jess Jørgensen has been working on developing methods for remedying calcium deficiency. He found the properties required to prevent milk fever in water softeners which bind or trap lime scale.

The research team started to examine lists of calcium binders used in household water softeners to look for a substance which could be used in the feed product. Zeolite products proved to have the properties required to stimulate the cow´s natural hormone system prior to calving.

Simple principle

Zeolite effectively binds calcium in the feed during the last weeks prior to calving, thus preventing the cow from metabolising the calcium content of feed and therefore giving rise to calcium deficiency within these two weeks before calving. This stimulates the cow´s natural defences prior to calving, which enable it to metabolise calcium from its bones to bring blood calcium up to a natural level.

 

Efficiency and disease

Milk fever and calcium deficiency are among the serious problems which farmers have had to grapple with during more than the past 100 years where farmers have been working on optimising the yield and efficiency of livestock farming. When milk descends to the udder after parturition, the cow is drained of calcium, so to speak. The problem is often exacerbated during subsequent calving periods. The cow´s body finds it difficult to keep up and this can result in the collapse of its muscles, and in extreme cases, the death of the cow.

Some vets still use calcium solutions to cure milk fever, but the method is only effective for an extremely short period. It may also be prevented by using calcium paste or calcium tablets but some of these preparations can cause corrosive effects on the cow´s stomach.