Mastitis Action Plan
The major cause of mastitis at Lackham is Streptococcus uberis. This is an environmental type of mastitis which is a particular problem in herds that are housed in straw yards. It is very important to pay attention to cow cleanliness throughout the cow's life, including the dry period. Other infections like Staphylococcus aureus (a contagious mastitis) are extremely difficult to treat and often become chronic hence leading to high cell counts. The bacteriological cure rate for these infections is often as low as 30 % on many farms.
To combat the continuing problem the following measures have been implemented to control Strep uberis infections:
- All straw yards are cleaned out fortnightly to reduce the heat build-up in the manure which aids the production of the bad bacteria. Fresh straw is applied daily.
- Cows are allowed a minimum of 6 sq m of lying area and a feed face of 1.15 m
- Calving boxes are cleaned out every week along with the group of dry cows.
- Pre milking teat spray is used on all cows to reduce levels of bacteria on the teats prior to milking.
- Post teat dips are applied after milking and within 20 seconds of the cluster coming off the cow. The current teat dip is a barrier dip which lasts longer than a cheaper iodine dip on the teat.
- The milking routine starts at 5am till 7am then 3.30pm to 5.30pm although this is not a twelve hour split it fits in with the RMS breeding programme which is described under AI.
- Treatments for cases of mastitis and high cell counts are as follows:
- 1st incidence 1 tube Tetra Delta every 24 hours for 7 days plus an injection of Metacam for pain relief at the first sign.
- 2nd incidence as above
- 3rd incidence
- Affected cows are separated into another small group away from the main herd yard, milked last to avoid any spread of the disease, and to make sure this milk does not enter the bulk tank.
If treatments are not successful then culling cows that are consistently repeat cases is the next course of action to reduce cell counts and further spread to other cows.
Persistent high cell count cases (more than 3 consecutive readings over 200,000) are considered for treatment, drying off or culling depending upon the individual cow's history, breeding and stage of lactation.
Most mastitis tubes are broad spectrum. Some, such as Tetra Delta™, Synulox™ and Leo Yellow™, contain corticosteroids which reduce inflammation.
Sub-clinical mastitis can be diagnosed by using the Californian Milk Test. This is a quick and cheap method for indicating that the cell count is high from any one quarter. Test kits can be purchased which also indicate mastitis and high cell counts in which of the cows quarters. Test kits are used to sample treated animals to check that the antibiotic to treat the disease has completely cleared through the cows system and the milk is clear to go back into the food chain.
