Biosecurity and Health Checklists
Download: Texas Dairy Cattle Health and Disease Prevention Manual
A health manual is only useful if it fits your herd. This page shows how to build a prevention plan with your veterinarian, and points to official sources. We do not host a manual and do not give treatment advice.
What does a prevention plan cover?
A plan covers vaccination, biosecurity, nutrition, calf care, fresh cow management, hoof health, milk quality and records. It also says who does what and when to call the vet.
Work with your herd veterinarian, because they know your herd's history. For animal health rules in the state, check the Texas Animal Health Commission, and for federal information, USDA APHIS.
No manual replaces a vet who walks your barns. They see the herd, the housing and the routines, and they can tailor advice. Schedule regular herd health visits and treat them as an investment.
How do you build the vaccination and testing calendar?
Ask your vet to help you write a calendar by age and production group. Include what to give, when and who records it. Do not copy a neighbor's program; herds differ in risk.
Include testing and screening that your vet recommends, and keep results in one place. Records are your memory.
Document everything: vaccinations, treatments, deaths, culls and test results. Records let you spot patterns, such as a rise in mastitis in summer or lameness after a feed change, and they help your vet make better decisions.
- Calves: colostrum, vaccines, housing
- Heifers: breeding and growth checkpoints
- Dry and fresh cows: transition care
- Lactating cows: mastitis and lameness checks
How do you protect calves and fresh cows?
Calves are the most vulnerable. Clean housing, timely colostrum and consistent feeding are the basics, and your vet can give you targets. Fresh cows face stress and metabolic risk, so watch intake, rumen fill and temperature as your vet advises.
The dairy herd care guide and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension dairy resources provide practical background.
Pay attention to colostrum quality and timing, since it shapes a calf's health for months. Ask your vet how to test it and what targets to use, and keep feeding equipment clean between calves.
What about heat, flies and local conditions?
Texas heat is a health issue. Shade, airflow, water and cooling affect comfort, intake and fertility. Fly control matters too. Ask your vet and extension agent about options suited to the Panhandle, Cross Timbers or wherever your farm sits.
Watch weather alerts from the National Weather Service so you can prepare cooling during heat waves.
Hoof and leg health affect milk and fertility. Regular trimming, comfortable surfaces and early treatment of lameness help, and a good footbath routine may be part of the plan if your vet agrees.
How do biosecurity and drug use fit in?
Biosecurity keeps new problems out: control visitors, isolate new animals and clean equipment. Drug use must follow labels and your vet's directions, with withdrawal times recorded. The FDA regulates animal drugs and residue rules.
Never improvise with medications in a dairy. Residue problems can ruin a milk shipment and a reputation.
Mastitis control rests on milking hygiene, equipment maintenance and prompt action. Have your vet or milk quality specialist review the parlor routine, and track somatic cell counts as a warning sign. Dairy MAX and Hoard's Dairyman publish practical milk quality material.
How do you keep the plan alive?
Review it with your vet at least once a year and after any outbreak or near miss. Update protocols, retrain staff and remove steps that do not work.
Over at farm.FM they are kind to cows and to farmers, and you can find a farm.FM story on cow health alongside the dairy section and farming stories. For safety around animals, see the farm safety guide, and for worker injuries consult OSHA resources.
Share what you learn with the wider community. Neighbors who compare notes on heat stress or fly pressure often catch problems early, and a quick conversation at the feed store can be as useful as a seminar. Keep your own records private as needed, but share the lessons.
When should you call the vet right away?
Call quickly when you see sudden drops in milk, off feed cows, labored breathing, unusual discharge or several animals showing similar signs. Early calls are cheap compared with a spreading problem.
Keep the vet's number and an after hours contact posted where every employee can see it. If something looks like a reportable disease, your vet will know whom to notify, and the rules are set by the state and federal agencies named above.
Sources and further reading
- Texas Animal Health Commission: animal disease rules
- USDA APHIS: animal and plant health
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Texas extension service
- National Weather Service: forecasts and warnings
- FDA: food and drug safety
- OSHA: workplace safety
Ask locally: Your herd veterinarian is the best person to build and review a health and vaccination plan.