Even small management errors can trigger serious udder problems. Read here about the areas where small changes can make a big difference.
Some mistakes in dealing with udder health are easily avoidable, but are still made on many farms. Especially when the bulk milk cell count is elevated (> 150 thousand cells/ml milk) or clinical mastitis is a frequent occurrence, it is important to closely review workflows.
Cloths as dirt throwers
Many farms use washable textile cloths to clean udders before milking. This practice should be questioned, especially if there are problems with udder health. These udder cloths can be a real source of dirt, especially in herds where infectious pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus or Strepotoccus agalactiae (yellow gall) are present, but also in the presence of environmental pathogens such as Streptococcus uberis.
Wash at 90 degrees
Even if you clean each cow with a freshly washed cloth, if the cloths are not cleaned at a sufficient temperature, pathogens from the last milking can get onto the teat.
To reliably kill pathogens, you must wash the wipes at 90°C. Please note that many washing machines no longer reach the indicated temperatures, especially after a certain amount of time. Seemingly clean wipes then become a source of danger.
Disposable udder wipes, compostable versions of which are also available, can help. You can also soak the cloths in a disinfectant solution before washing. If the udders are heavily soiled, you should improve the care of the cubicles!
Cleaning dip cups
Hygiene is also important with dip cups. Even the most effective dip will no longer kill pathogens if the amount of feces in the cup increases. Therefore, you should use dip cups with a non-return valve and clean them thoroughly after each milking. While spray-on dips pose no risk of pathogen transmission, except in cases of contamination, they provide less effective teat wetting than dip-in dips.
Can milking cluster in sight
Many farms use separate milking clusters for their fresh calves. If many cows become ill immediately after calving, you should pay attention. This milking cluster is often not maintained or is only briefly rinsed with water after milking. At the same time, it reaches the most disease-prone animals in the herd! Often, large numbers of pathogens are found in the claw of the milking cluster, which then reach the teats and ultimately the udder during milking. Regularly changing the teat cup liners should therefore be a matter of course, as should cleaning them with an alkaline and an acidic cleaning agent, alternating between them, after each milking.
Seal teats properly
If many newly calved cows become ill, you should consider whether and how to use an internal teat sealant. Sealants are designed to act as a mechanical barrier throughout the entire dry period, preventing pathogens from entering the teat. Because they do not contain antibiotics, the teat sealant does not kill any germs, unlike the antibiotic dry-off period. This also means that germs that enter the teat when the teat sealant is inserted have an easy time there. Wearing clean disposable gloves and disinfecting the teat before inserting the sealant are essential if you want to prevent mastitis shortly after the dry period.
It's also important to note that the teat sealant must actually remain in the teat to be effective. To achieve this, you need to press the base of the teat and place the sealant in the lower part of the teat. If it reaches too high, sealant material can often be found in the milk for weeks after calving. Some sealant preparations (e.g., OrbeSeal, NoroSeal) contain an air cushion in the injector as part of the manufacturing process. This should be removed before inserting the sealant.
Heifer mastitis
Heifers are the future of the herd. If problems arise with the heifers, the very foundation of the farm is shaken. If elevated cell counts only occur during the very first trial milking and then drop below 100,000, this often indicates problems with the heifers' integration into the herd. High-ranking animals block their access to feed, water, or the milking robot. This poses a significant problem, especially in overcrowded herds.
Vacuum cleaner Merzen
If animals in their first lactation have consistently elevated cell counts from the beginning or repeatedly, the problem often lies in the animals' mutual suckling during rearing. The teat tissue of the suckled animal is sometimes irreparably damaged. Repeatedly suckling animals should be culled, as they can spoil entire breeding groups.
Sometimes suckling is a bad habit that the animals learn from each other. However, the roots of the problem often go back years. If calves only receive a limited amount of milk twice a day (10% of the calf's body weight per day), they cannot satisfy their natural need to suckle and seek out "substitute teats." These are often the udders of other calves.
Ad libitum watering
Ad libitum feeding, in which the calves have access to milk in their buckets almost around the clock, has brought lasting success. They are only prevented from drinking during the daily cleaning of the bucket and teat. Similar to suckler cow husbandry, the calves consume daily milk amounts of around 20% of their body weight (8 kg of milk for a 40 kg calf), although individual differences naturally exist. Thanks to the acidification of the milk, the effort required is significantly lower than many farmers assume. At the same time, the higher the amount of milk, the higher the daily weight gain, and the calves become significantly more resistant to pathogens. Therefore, anyone who wants to address problems with udder health cannot limit their efforts to animals after their first calving!
Know pathogens
The points listed make no claim to completeness. They are intended to encourage you to question your own company's workflows and practices.
It's important to identify critical times during lactation or the dry period. At the same time, you should know which udder pathogens are prevalent on the farm. Only when critical times and the pathogen situation in the herd are known can you take targeted measures.