Calcium Action

Rated by our customers

 Calcium Action is complementary feeding stuff specifically formulated to help prevent and manage Hypocalcaemia (milk fever) in cattle and sheep.

AVAILABLE SIZES :

1L

Usage Rates

Product Description

  • Calcium Action maintains optimal calcium levels in cattle and sheep, promoting overall health and well-being during critical periods.
  • Provides essential energy sources for livestock with dextrose and propylene glycol, supporting their energy needs during demanding times.
  • Contributes to maintaining normal muscle tone and contraction, reducing the risk of conditions such as mastitis, retained placenta, and metritis.
  • Aids in maintaining proper uterine muscle function, helping to prevent reproductive issues such as delayed return to heat, retained fetal membranes, and metritis.
  • Supplies crucial calcium and magnesium during high-stress periods, supporting livestock’s ability to better cope with stress-related events and ensuring a smoother, healthier transition.

Technical Information

Hypocalcaemia in Cattle

  • Hypocalcaemia is a severe condition in dairy cows that can be fatal if left untreated.
  • Clinical Hypocalcaemia affects 6-12% of dairy cows and can be easily identified by clear signs of severe calcium deficiency.
  • Subclinical Hypocalcaemia is a milder form that goes unnoticed but affects 25-58% of dairy cows.
  • A Cow’s ability to absorb calcium from her diet is relatively low in the dry period. However, once the cow calves, her calcium requirements increase dramatically. This dramatic increase in calcium required can result in short-term calcium deficiency and milk fever. 
  • Calcium levels in cattle are at their lowest six to twelve hours pre-calving and eighteen to twenty-four hours post-calving. 
  • Sub-clinically affected cows can function normally but will perform less efficiently and be more susceptible to many other diseases due to the underlying calcium deficiency.
  • The economic losses associated with subclinical Hypocalcaemia can be nearly four times greater than those related to clinical Hypocalcaemia, primarily because its incidence rate is much higher.

Dairy farmers should take preventive measures, such as supplementing their diet with calcium and monitoring at-risk cows, to minimise the risks of Hypocalcaemia on their farms.

Effects

The main effects of Hypocalcaemia are divided into two categories:

  • Milk Fever is the primary postpartum metabolic disorder and can result in Downer cow syndrome, death, and other severe consequences.
  • Effects on Smooth Muscle: Calcium is essential for muscle contraction, and a lack of calcium can lead to mastitis, retained placenta, metritis, delay to first heat, infertility, ketosis, and abomasal displacement. These conditions can be severe and significantly impact the productivity and profitability of dairy farms.

Hypocalcaemia in Cattle

 

Milk Fever

 

  • During lactation, there is a significant increase in the demand for calcium in dairy cows, which stresses the calcium balance. Any disruption to this balance can result in milk fever, reduced milk production and other health disorders. 
  • While most cows experience subclinical Hypocalcaemia after calving, some cows are at greater risk of developing clinical milk fever, a severe condition. Clinical milk fever can be life-threatening if left untreated.

 

Effects of Milk Fever

 

The main effects of Hypocalcaemia are divided into two categories:

  • Milk Fever is the primary postpartum metabolic disorder and can result in Downer cow syndrome, death, and other severe consequences.
  • Effects on Smooth Muscle: Calcium is essential for muscle contraction, and a lack of calcium can lead to mastitis, retained placenta, metritis, delay to first heat, infertility, ketosis, and abomasal displacement. These conditions can be severe and significantly impact the productivity and profitability of dairy farms.

 

Effects on the gut: 

 

  • Calcium is crucial in maintaining normal smooth muscle tone in the gut and rumen. Therefore, cows with extended periods of Hypocalcaemia may have poorly functioning rumens, leading to other metabolic problems, such as ketosis, displaced abomasums, laminitis, retained placentas, metritis, and mastitis. 

 

Mastitis

 

  • Cows with Hypocalcaemia are up to eight times more susceptible to developing subsequent mastitis. Calcium is essential in maintaining the normal muscle tone of the teat sphincter and postpartum uterus. Low calcium levels relax the muscle fibres, leading to the opening of the teat sphincter, allowing infection to enter and the development of mastitis. Hypocalcaemia can also impede the mammary gland’s inflammatory and immune defensive functions.

 

Reproduction:

 

  • Hypocalcaemia can relax the uterine muscle (myometrium) and prevent the regular uterine contractions required to expel the placenta and foetal membranes after birth. Freshly calved cows with Hypocalcaemia commonly experience retained placenta and metritis, leading to severe infection and delayed return to the first heat. Low calcium is associated with infertility, delayed return to heat, foetal membranes, metritis, and mastitis due to the absence of muscle tone and contractions, in which calcium plays a pivotal role.

Hypocalcaemia in sheep

Causes

 

  • A complex interaction between stress factors and the functioning of vitamin D, calcium absorption, and calcium mobilisation causes Hypocalcaemia in sheep. It can occur in late pregnancy or early lactation, with older ewes and those carrying multiple foetuses at higher risk. Stressful events, dietary shortages of calcium, or the presence of oxalate-containing plants can also trigger Hypocalcaemia. Preventive measures include providing high-quality forage, supplementing the diet with necessary calcium, avoiding stressful events, and regularly monitoring and treating at-risk ewes with products such as Calcium Action.
  • Calcium is an essential mineral for normal bodily function and is particularly important for the health of sheep during pregnancy and lactation. Calcium plays a crucial role in the growth and development of foetal bones and is also necessary for producing colostrum and milk in the ewe. Therefore, Hypocalcaemia, or low blood calcium levels, can have severe consequences for sheep, including slow labour, poor appetite, poor thrive, and even paresis and death if left untreated.

 

Risk for ewes

 

  • Hypocalcaemia in ewes is more likely to occur before lambing, with twin or triplet lambs increasing the risk. Ewes that are too fat or thin, lame, older, or have a difficult previous lambing are also at higher risk. In addition, anything that disrupts the supply or absorption of calcium from the feed, such as a vitamin D shortage or oxalates, can put ewes at risk. Stressful events like mustering, transport, sudden temperature drops, and sudden changes in diet can also trigger Hypocalcaemia. “Outbreaks” of Hypocalcaemia can result from errors in formulating rations, incorrect mineral supplementation, and stress-related events.

Additional Information

Product Spotlight

Contact your Regional
Account Manager

Eoin Ryan

Managing Director

Andrew McInerney

Technical Director

Jack Ryan

Director

Jim Murphy

Key Account Manager - East

Kevin Hartigan

Key Account Manager - West

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Quality tested and approved

Our products have been approved according to Department of Agriculture standards in UK and Ireland, as well as EU regulations.

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