Cows are coming in for winter housing and grazing 2024 is finishing up, which means the next job on the list is drying off the cows in time to ensure they have a successful, smooth calving.
Blanket dry cow therapy is a thing of the past, as farmers are now very aware of the risk that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses to the herd, along with it no longer being permitted by law.
Many farmers are still sceptical about using selective dry cow therapy (SDCT), as the fear is that the cows are not going to have the protection to fight off infection that might enter the teat end.
SDCT does not mean you are going to stop using dry cow antibiotics on your whole herd, as many cows in the herd are going to require an antibiotic.
Drying off
SDCTs success can be mainly attributed to the effectiveness of your milk recordings throughout the year, as the records you have from these will be key to picking which cow need antibiotics.
Milk recording should be done at least six times a year, so that the farmer has as much information as possible, including records of clinical cases.
A milk recording should be done at least one month before drying off, as a farmer will then have the most up-to-date information on the infection status of each cow.
A suitable somatic cell count (SCC) threshold must be discussed with your vet to identify which cows in the herd will need a dry cow antibiotic.
Udder hairs and tails should be clipped to make the drying off process more hygienic and to stop bacteria from building in those areas during housing.
Milk yields should be managed, as you ideally want to be drying off cows when they are giving less than 15L/day.
Cows should be dried off in batches and for cows that are getting just sealers, it is probably best to do them first when the head is still fresh as those cows can’t afford any slip ups.
Preparation
All of your equipment should be ready to go at this stage, and the likes of a head torch to help with seeing where you are putting your tube can make it a lot smoother.
It is important that a farmer sticks to the process that they have put in place for teat preparation, and ensure that teats are cleaned and sterilised using cotton wool soaked in surgical spirits or the alcohol wipes that come with the tubes.
A small number of cows should be done at once as most of the problems occur where too many cows are done at once and there is not enough attention to detail in sterilizing the teat and the parlour is harder to keep clean as cows are standing and unsettled.
If the weather allows, it is ideal to leave cows in a dry paddock after drying off, as it easier to keep them clean but they should be closely monitored.
If the weather is poor, you will have no choice but to put them into the cubicles; make sure cubicles and mats are in good condition and there are enough cubicles for the number of cows.
Make sure all the scrapers are working properly before cows are housed, so that any last minute repairs are made simple.
The dry cow house should be limed once/day at least and maybe even twice/day when cows are dried off initially as keeping cubicles clean and bacteria at a minimum has to be a priority.
