The transition period covers pre-calving and post-calving stages, the most critical and high-risk phase in the dairy production cycle. Nutrition management in this stage impacts not only cow health, but also postpartum milk performance and reproductive results.

Dairy cows undergo dramatic physiological changes during transition. In late dry period, the fetus grows rapidly and raises maternal nutrient requirements. After calving, cows enter early lactation with further increased nutritional demand. Inadequate supply or poorly formulated diets easily lead to negative energy balance, harming health and productivity.

For transition nutrition strategies, diets for late dry and pre-transition cows should maintain proper energy levels together with sufficient protein, minerals and vitamins. After calving, highly digestible feed ingredients with good palatability are gradually introduced to boost intake and support a smooth transition to peak lactation.

Beyond diet, transition management focuses on body condition scoring, postpartum disease screening, ketosis testing and housing comfort. Ranches should build individual transition cow files to continuously record feed intake, rumination, milk output, body temperature and behavioral changes for early risk detection.