10 Reasons Why Your Dairy Animals Need Calcium

Hi friends, remember we were talking about how calcium is a very intrinsic part of our diet and body requirements. We also asked you in our previous article if you ever wondered whether this nutrition is vital for our dairy animals or not? Well, the wait is over. This article will tell you all about how important a role calcium plays in animals in their everyday life. So, go on and read along.

Usually, when we have low calcium, we are first asked as to how much milk we’re having. Milk and calcium have direct connection – not just in terms of receiving the nutrition, but also for milk production. So, if you want you dairy animals to produce enough milk, you need to ensure they’re taking enough calcium. This applies to cows, goats, camels, sheep and horses.

It’s simple – without calcium, your dairy animal can neither stay in shape, nor be able to produce milk. So, if you see that your animals are not eating enough, you might have to give them calcium supplements along with their feed. That would at least ensure that they’re receiving the right amount of nutrition.

 What Does Calcium Do?

Whether humans or animals, there are certain things in common that calcium does for anybody. Coming to dairy animals specifically, here’s why you need to ensure they have sufficient calcium:

1. They need calcium for immunity.
2. It is an essential nutrient for producing milk (which is why milk is rich in calcium).
3. Low calcium in the blood can lead to womb infections, milk fever and bone diseases.

Feed providing protein, energy and fiber is essential, but it does not meet all the needs of animals. Cattle and poultry all need minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Their needs for these minerals are even greater in certain maturity periods, such as during milk production.

• Calcium plays a major role in the absorption of nutrients (modification of the cell permeability), as well as in blood clotting.
• It is a key mineral for egg-shell formation in poultry laying flocks.
• Has a buffering effect (corresponding to a need to neutralise excess acidity in the rumen, for example)
• Calcium helps cattle to grow strongly by encouraging good bone development.
• Enters into the composition of body fluids (blood)
• Enters into the composition of secretions (hormones, milk)

Calcium metabolism at calving (in cattle) is one of the most important animal health factors influencing the production, reproduction and feed conversion efficiency. As the body grows, bones are constantly formed and reformed again. To maintain the calcium levels, the calcium from bones will go into the blood when there is a low cacium level. Then the specified cells make new bone to replace the ‘lost’ bone. As the bone is mainly made up of calcium, when the body does not get enough calcium, the lost bone is not replaced. Hence, without calcium animals would have no form.

What are the Possible Diseases Your Animal Could Face Due to Low Calcium in Blood?

More than 90% of the calcium lies in the teeth and bones of the animal, which maintains the body structure. The rest is in the blood. This calcium in blood is used for movement, working of the nervous system, immunity, blood clotting and milk production. This is the reason why calcium requirement increases during pregnancy and lactation.

Following are the diseases you can prevent in your animals by providing calcium supplements during these crucial stages:

Milk Fever

This is a common disease in dairy animals go through due to lack of calcium in the body during lactation. It’s not exactly “fever” because it doesn’t involve any rise in temperature. Following are the symptoms that actually occur:

• Reduced milk production and fertility
• Restlessness and hypersensitivity
• Bobbling of the head
• Tremors
• Ear twitching
• Unable to stand
• Weak heart
• Peripheral pulses
• Muscle paralysis
• Inability to urinate
• Loss of consciousness
• Lack of response to stimuli

Depending on the severity of the disease, the animal may develop few or all of these symptoms. It may even lead to death if unable to treat. Rickets are also common (crooked limbs, enlarged joints).

Skeletal and Bone Problems

There are several other diseases like rickets and osteoporosis which are linked to deficiency of calcium in the body. This is because most of the nutrient is used to maintain the hardness of bones and teeth. If the calcium starts getting used up from here for other needs like milk production or giving birth, it can make your animal’s body really weak.

What Does All of This Information Lead Us To?

If calcium is so important to the growth and development of young animals, does that mean the more, the better?  Not necessarily. It is possible to provide too much calcium to young animals, which may result in an animal growing too rapidly. This can not only put strain on bones and joints (which can grow too quickly to fully and properly develop), but also on organs such as the kidneys, which help metabolize protein.

To Sum it Up

Your dairy animal needs adequate calcium to maintain its structure, movement, proper functioning of the body, milk production, giving birth and overall immunity. So, at any given point of time, if you realize that your animal is feeling weak, you should know she needs more calcium.

At Yorspharmaceuticals, we have made sure that your animals get the right dosage of calcium. This is why we have developed Calcium rich products in 3 different forms under the family of Caltiara namely- powder, liquid and injectable. These products help in meeting the calcium requirements of our animals as prescribed by your veteran doctor. To know more about products click here.