Prevention Through Sanitation and Management
Improving sanitation to decrease mastitis is simply keeping the udder clean and free of pathogenic bacteria that cause mastitis. Major teat contamination can be avoided by eliminating mud and preventing wading in ponds.
Bedding must be dry at all times. Straw and sand are the beddings of choice. Avoid green wood sawdust. Clean sod or new bedding is essential for all springing heifers and dry cows as well as milk cows. The grass sod in the pasture or drylot should be free of mud and objects such as sticks that damage the udder.
Special care must be exercised with heifer management. Calves should be reared in separate pens to avoid nursing. The fly population must be controlled to decrease the spread of mastitis-causing bacteria. Springing heifers should be separated from cows.
Dry Cows and Springing Heifers
Risk of intra-mammary infections is greatest during the early and late dry period when pathogens are not flushed out on a day-to-day basis. Infection rate in dry cows is directly related to the bacterial population on the teat-end. Protective sealant dips are beneficial for teat protection and should be used after treating dry cows. Extreme care must be taken to prevent contamination before sealing teats. Dry cow treatment of all quarters of all cows is recommended, but the largest danger with any intramammary infusion is recontamination. The teat-end must be cleaned and sterilized with a pre-dip before insertion of the dry-treatment tube. Insertion of the tube through a drop of pre-dip to a maximum depth of 3/8 inch reduces bacterial contamination entering the teat canal and minimizes damage to the keratin teat plug at the end of the teat.
Dry cow treatment helps eliminate and prevent new infection during the dry period. During the late dry period, be careful to guard against new infection. This springing period is a vulnerable time as dry cow therapy has dissipated and mammary tissue is in a growing phase without antibiotic protection. Colostrum is an ideal medium for growth of pathogenic bacteria.
Springing cows may be retreated if needed, but caution must be taken to prevent contamination. Monitoring dry cows for inflammation after treatment is necessary. Regenerating udder tissue must be monitored for swelling and inflammation. Prior to calving, dry cow teats may be cleaned and dipped as needed. The seal at the end of the teat should not be broken during the teat cleaning.
Lactating Cows
Monitor each cow monthly with SCC from DHI records for a mastitis prevention program. Follow proper and sanitary milking procedure with proper equipment. The procedure is:
1.
Wash teats and dry.
2.
Pre-dip for 30 seconds to kill bacteria on the
teats.
3.
Dry teats.
4.
Squirt first milk which is highest in bacterial
count.
5.
Check and record abnormal milk.
6.
Apply milking units.
7.
Remove units at completion of milking.
8.
Post-dip.
9.
Allow teats to dry in cold weather.
10.
Feed immediately after milking to keep cows standing to allow the sphincter muscle to close the opening at the end of the teat.
11.
Separate cows in heat from the herd so that udders of cows are not injured while mounting other cows.
To minimize contamination of milk with drug residue, use only legal medication. Properly mark all cows treated with any medication for milk withholding. Follow withdrawal time required. Test treated and fresh cows before allowing milk into tank. Call the milk fieldman to test milk for antibiotics if you may have accidentally put contaminated milk in the bulk tank.
Stray Voltage
Stray voltage is damaging electricity from many sources in milking parlors that can be grounded through a cow. A small voltage can cause production of epinephrine, which blocks the effect of oxytocin that is required for milk letdown. Normal mechanism of milk letdown allows most of the milk to be removed. Incomplete removal of milk causes mastitis due to rapid bacterial growth. Frequent milking has