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P U L L - O U T G U I D E
CLEAN, DRY BEDS
Keep cows on clean, dry beds. If the cows look dirty, the
beds are not clean enough.
DRY BEDDING
Always use dry bedding, this absorbs maximum moisture
and does not get mouldy or damp. Scrape passageways
twice daily.
CALVING PENS
Pay particular attention to the calving pens. These must be
kept as clean as possible as freshly calved cows are most
prone to toxic mastitis.
CUBICLE SIZE
Have a minimum of one cubicle per cow (ideally 5% more
cubicles than cows). If on straw yards, allow at least 6.5sq
metres of lying space, bed up daily with clean dry straw
and clean out every 2 weeks.
PRE-DIP COWS
Pre-dip cows to disinfect teats prior to milking. Teats must be
dried. You may decide only to pre-dip the high yielder or
problem group. If the milk sock is dirty after milking, teat
preparation is not good enough.
STANDING TIME
Make sure that cows remain standing for 30 minutes after
every milking.
VACUUM LEVELS
Make sure that you have stable vacuum levels throughout
milking, you should not have any liner slip and the regulator
must always be leaking in air. Have the machine regularly
serviced and have a dynamic machine test carried out
every year.
TEAT ENDS
Check teat end conditions. If the teats are damaged then
there is an increased risk of mastitis as the teat end is the
barrier which keeps bugs out of the udder.
ORBESEAL
Use Orbeseal with dry cow therapy ensuring excellent
hygiene prior to infusion. Pinch the teat half way up and
infuse the Orbeseal so it sits at the base of the teat.
MONITOR PROGRESS
Monitor progress with your vets. Check on your mastitis
incidence and timings of infection. Use bacteriology tests
to identify the cause of clinical mastitis on your farm.
Work with your vet on Environmental Mastitis Control and enrol on FarmSkills courses
to yield better results in the prevention of Mastitis. Relevant topics include:
l
Cell count and milk quality control
l
Milking technologies/Robotic milking
l
Milking routines and parlour hygiene
XLVet UK Ltd
Carlisle House, Townhead Road,
Dalston, Carlisle CA5 7JF
T:
(01228) 711788
E:
farmskills@xlvets.co.uk
www.farm-skills.co.uk
To minimise
Environmental Mastitis
on your farm
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