Calving down and heifer mastitis, or in some scenarios, having a blind quarter, can be a massive issue on farms.
Heifers should be at the correct weight for mating, scanning and ready to calve down in the early spring.
Although a lot of the work is done, farmers should not take their eye off the ball, as hygiene around housing, parlour training and getting the heifers used to their environment is crucial in preventing mastitis.
Studies have shown that when heifers develop mastitis in the first 30 days after calving, they produce less milk and are likely to be less profitable over their lifetime.
Heifer mastitis
Given the costs associated with rearing heifers and the welfare issue it causes, it is crucial that farmers prevent the heifer from getting mastitis in the first lactation.
Although it is uncommon, teat sealing heifers has become somewhat more popular in recent years, as it gives the heifers that extra bit of protection for the winter.
Teat sealing heifers should be done in a rollover crate and the same hygiene protocol for drying off cows should be done for heifers.
Implementing an effective fly control system is crucial, as flies can have a role in the development of summer mastitis even in non-lactating animals.
Farmers should address any issues that cause teat skin lesions and if warts are problem, a long-term control strategy should be pursued.
Farmers need to avoid any nutritional deficiencies, particularly mineral and vitamins deficiencies, such as vitamin E and selenium to minimise negative energy balance (NEB) before and after calving.
Udder oedema incidences should be reduced through minimising the interval from calving to first milking.
Control
Some ways of reducing the risk of heifer mastitis include improving general udder health on the farm, by keeping cows and heifers in a clean and hygienic environment.
Cubicles need to limed and scraped every day with lime which increases the pH of the cubicle bed surface, killing the bacteria present.
Make sure that passageways are kept clean, ensuring that automatic scrapers are going down every couple of hours.
It is also important that there is adequate space in the shed, and a minimum of at least one cubicle/heifer should be allocated.
Farmers should consider training heifers in the milking parlour pre-calving, as if heifers are not trained, it could take them two weeks to establish a quiet, reliable response to milking.
Farmers will be able to teat spray the heifers as they come into the parlour in the last few weeks before calving, as this has been proven to reduce the number of certain strains of Streptococcus uberis bacteria at the teat ends.
Stress around calving, taking away calves, moving the heifer or pushing her through the parlour should all be kept to a minimum.
When heifers calve down, make sure that all quarters are fully drawn out and ensure that each heifer has a milk let-down response at each milking after calving.
The let-down hormone, oxytocin, may be recommended for individual heifers that are slow to establish a good let-down response.
