Words no producer wants to hear: Cows at the neighboring dairy have bird flu virus

Valadao Dairy felt confident in his biosecurity measures and cow management protocols for their 2,200-cow dairy, however he also knew that stopping the spread of bird flu to his herd was going to be difficult.

Valadao Dairy turned to their CowManager monitoring system for help. “Early detection of the virus is critical to minimizing its impact,” says Valadao. “CowManager’s ear sensor measures ear temperature combined with eating, rumination and activity, providing us early and accurate health alerts.”

That gut-wrenching moment

The team watched the CowManager “potential sick cow” list go from 30 to 60 to 120 within hours. That’s when they knew the virus had hit them.

“With CowManager, we were able to catch infected cows two to three days before they showed clinical signs, allowing our team to intervene and begin treatment immediately,” says Valadao. “We watched the list on an hourly basis and knew which cows were off. The app showed signs that a cow may not be feeling well. We knew something was up.”

The Valadao team was on high alert, looking for cows not eating, cows being lethargic. CowManager caught these cows before the team did. “Because of CowManager, we knew a cow was infected before she actually showed signs and before we got a positive test,” adds Valadao.

Ear temperature as a key parameter

“CowManager’s ear sensors measure the temperature of a cow’s ear, which is a unique, valuable indicator of managing herd health,” says Valadao’s breeder and herd consultant, Mike Parreria. “The change in ear temperature along with changes in behavior mean a cow, in no uncertain terms, is getting sick.”

Parreria works with other herds in California. He says herds using CowManager have bounced back from bird flu much quicker than herds without the cow monitoring system.

“On dairies without CowManager, I’m seeing an average turnaround time of 60 days to rebound from bird flu,” says Parreria. “At Valadao, they saw a 45-day recovery period. Milk production, which had dropped by 20 pounds per cow per day on average, returned to normal and there were fewer complications from other health challenges that many neighboring producers have seen amplified by bird flu. Having CowManager has also benefited the Valadao repro program post-infection, as Mike’s cows have had less reproductive challenges compared to other herds I’m breeding.”

“CowManager definitely helped reduce losses associated with the bird flu,” reports Valadao. “It started on day 1 because the team had an accurate list of cows that needed attention. I was actually able to see those cows get better via the CowManager app; I watched their data improve shortly after we treated them. Early detection was a key component to our cows bouncing back.”

Valadao Dairy is Beyond Happy with CowManager

Valadao began looking for a cow monitoring system more than a year ago. He wanted to reduce lockup times and improve cow welfare. With the help of Parreria and Brandon Thesing, Director of Corporate Accounts at Select Sires Member Cooperative, Valadao turned to CowManager. “Not only has it helped us through the bird flu and reduced lockup times, but it’s also improved our herd health and heat detection. The Health and Fertility modules have been a big blessing,” says Valadao. “Plus, it’s super user friendly and it has boosted morale. My team loves showing up to the dairy with a plan. There is no more guessing as to which cows to breed or which cows to treat, and it makes their day easier.”

Parreria concurs. “CowManager has been a game changer for Valadao Dairy. Cows don’t spend as much time in lockups, and they are seeing more milk, better cow welfare and higher conception rates.”