Herd Health and Fertility

The UCD Farm Animal Team offers a unique array of expertise in the investigation and control of complex disease and fertility problems in both dairy and beef suckler herds. The team brings state-of-the art knowledge and expertise to bear on common herd level problems, including calf health, infectious disease, mastitis control, the nutritionally-focused production diseases of the transition cow and lameness in the dairy herd, all of which are also current areas of research.

Supported by the judicious use of clinical laboratory diagnostics, the team uses a robust epidemiological approach to herd level problem-solving.  The initial focus on performance evaluation is closely aligned to ‘the key abnormality of function’ diagnostic approach used in the individual animal as the ultimate outcomes are highly reliable in the face of herd-level complexities. Optimal investigations depend on the availability of reliable systems of recording relating to health events and production performance (e.g. ICBF data-base) and the team offers expert ability in terms of population data analysis, including relevant economic cost-benefit calculations.