Posted by Dr. Sara Barber on June 14 2003 11:39
Three ways Cows get Mastitis
- Contagious organisms spreading through the herd
- Environmental organisms infecting milking cows
- Cows becoming infected during the dry period
- If we can determine the area where most infections are occurring we can more effectively and economically target control measures
Common problems associated with Inadequate Premilking Cow Prep
- Teats and ends poorly cleaned/dried
- Increased SCC
- Increased incidence of environmental mastitis
- Inadequate milk letdown stimulus
- Variation/inadequate prep lag time
- Greater variation between milkers
Some objectives of Premilking Teat Preparation
- Achieve a clean and dry teat surface (especially teat ends)
- Prevent udder infections/increase udder health
- Maintain low SCC
Teat Cleaning
- Enough time should be spent on premilking cow prep to get the teats clean, esp. the teat ends
- Anything that does not get cleaned off the teat will end up in the bulk tank milk
- Everything that touches the cow's teat must be kept as clean as possible