Milk fever, also known as postparturient hypocalcemia or parturient paresis, is a metabolic disorder that primarily affects dairy cattle but can also be seen in beef cattle and other domesticated animals. It is characterized by reduced blood calcium levels, which can lead to a range of negative consequences for the animals health and productivity.

The clinical signs of milk fever can be divided into three stages:

• Stage 1: Cows are mobile but show signs of hypersensitivity and excitability such as restlessness, tremors, ear twitching, head bobbing, and mild ataxia.
• Stage 2: Cows become recumbent and are unable to stand. They may also experience muscle tremors, cold extremities, and decreased heart rate and respiratory rate.
• Stage 3: Cows are comatose and may experience seizures, respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest.

Milk fever generally occurs within the first 24 hours post-calving, but can still occur two to three days post-calving. There are two types of milk fever: clinical and subclinical. Clinical milk fever is characterized by the development of clinical signs, while subclinical milk fever has no clinical signs, making it much harder to detect.

Prevention of milk fever is extremely important for animal health and the profitability of dairy farms. Effective nutritional management during the dry period and early lactation has decreased clinical cases of milk fever to rates lower than 1 percent. However, subclinical cases have been reported to affect as many as 73 percent of animals of third and greater lactation. Factors that influence milk fever include nutritional and management factors, as well as others outside of the farmers control, such as the weather.

In conclusion, milk fever is a metabolic disorder that primarily affects dairy cattle and is characterized by reduced blood calcium levels. It can lead to a range of negative consequences for the animals health and productivity. Prevention of milk fever is extremely important for animal health and the profitability of dairy farms.