As we are now in the month of December, many cows around the country are dried off at this point and mastitis risk needs to be kept at bay for the duration of the dry period.
Maintaining good hygiene during the dry period is crucial for the health and productivity of the dairy cow.
The dry period should be a time where cows get to recuperate and get their condition right for the calving season, and any sort of infection may hinder that drastically.
The biggest risk period is the first two weeks after drying off and the two weeks before calving as the cows are particularly susceptible to infections, making regular monitoring and good hygiene practices essential for preventing mastitis.
Mastitis risk
After the cows are dried off, the teat may remain open for several days before they full seal, which means the risk of new infection is high for these few days.
Cows who are ready to calve down will experience changes in their body which can weaken their immune system making it easier for infection to cause problems.
At these stages of the dry period for cows, close monitoring has to be a priority and any suspicion of mastitis has to be dealt with immediately.
Farmers must make sure that shed is clean, disinfected and well-ventilated at all times throughout the dry period as it is vital for maintaining optimal hygiene.
Cleaning cubicles twice-a-day with hydrated lime is the ideal, as it will absorb the moisture, raise the pH of the environment which will minimise bacterial growth.
Ideally, 1.1 cubicles per cow should be allocated to ensure enough space for each cow to lie down in comfort as overcrowding worsens the risk of mastitis.
Reducing the bacterial load is crucial as dairy cows excrete bacteria through their faeces which combines with warm, moist bedding, which can increase bacteria levels by more than a million-fold.
Hygiene scoring cows
Hygiene scoring is a great indicator of how clean your facilities are, how effective your hygiene management practices are and how well kept the overall cow environment is.
It is done through regularly assessing the cleanliness of key areas such as the udder, flank and legs of the cows.
Animal Health Ireland (AHI) has also developed a winter housing checklist which provides a structured way to assess hygiene.
According to AHI, studies show that if more than 20% of cows have dirty udders, they are 1.5 times more likely to develop mastitis compared to cows with clean udders.
Having tails clipped and udders hairs trimmed back will help reduce the risk of mastitis and also help with cleanliness at drying off.
Monitoring cows is one thin, but it is also crucial to assess the cleanliness and conditions of the housing and management practices.
Main passageways and walkways should be cleaned frequently or if automatic scrapers are in operation, they should be timed for every three to four hours or six times/day.
Ensure that there is enough feed space with approximately 0.6m/cow and that water troughs are cleaned and functional with a minimum of three water troughs for every 50 cows.
The management of calving pens is essential as bedding material should be stored properly and kept dry, as damp bedding can encourage bacterial growth with a recommendation of 55kg/straw/cow/week.
