Having a quality milking routine is critically important for the early stages of a cow’s lactation, with infectious pressures very high once cows start calving down.
While there may not be a lot of cow milking at this time of year, there is plenty happening in the parlour, such as stripping cows, treating cows, carrying out California milk tests (CMT), and sending milk to dump lines and dump buckets.
Regardless of the number of cows in the parlour, there is a lot going on, and amidst all this chaos, hygiene can often be forgotten when it should be at its best.
When cows first calve down and they are secreting a small bit of colostrum even before entering the parlour, the teat canal is open and it is more susceptible for bacteria to enter the udder, which can lead to inflated somatic cell count (SCC) and mastitis.
Similarly, when cows are being stripped and CMTs are being carried out, the teat canal is open, which means that care and hygiene needs to be at the forefront.
SCC
We are now in the thick of calving which means things like SCC can easily get overlooked as other jobs begin to get prioritised.
The SCC levels of your herd will have to be maintained before the first milk recording is completed on the farm.
Until the first milk recording is completed, farmers will have to go off their bulk tank SCC to have an understanding of what the cell count status of the herd is before they get individual data from a milk recording.
The periods when there is the greatest risk of infection developing are at drying off; two to three weeks post-dry off; two to three weeks pre-calving; and the first month post-calving.
Ideally, a freshly calved group should be formed to allow fresh cows to be milked together. This will aid the farmer, as it will allow them to concentrate on this group, spending more time with them and making sure everything is right.
Milking routine
A good milking routine is the most effective way of keeping SCC at a minimum this calving season as simple measures such as wearing nitrile gloves and keeping them clean and disinfected throughout milking can make a simple difference in the bulk tank.
The inspection of foremilk and and the treatment of mastitis cows are urgent matters. Based on whether they have clinical or subclinical mastitis, they should be separated from the herd, or their cluster must be thoroughly disinfected post-milking.
A CMT should be carried out on the freshly-calved cows at the last milking before joining the main herd.
By carrying out a CMT, you will be able to identify any mastitis infections and reduce the risk of it spreading to other cows in the herd.
For cows that have been monitored since calving and are not improving, farmers should send a sample from the infected quarter(s) to a laboratory to identify the pathogen that is causing the elevated SCC.
A sensitivity test will identify the offending pathogen and also identify the correct antibiotic to use as a treatment.
If pre-spraying is carried out on the farm, it is essential that the contact time is 30 seconds. The spray then needs to dried off with a paper towel before cluster attachment.
Clusters need to be put onto clean, dry teat and ensure that automatic cluster removers (ACRs) are calibrated to avoid over milking resulting in teat end damage. If no ACRs are in place, remove cluster when a single stream of milk is visible.
Once the cow is milked, farmers should be using the correct post-milking teat disinfectant of roughly 15ml/cow/milking, ensuring full teat coverage.
