Udder Health Large herd edition - USA edition

Jan Hulsen holds a DVM and a business management degree, and has a strong interest in communication. His company Vetvice provides knowledge and consultancy in the areas of cow management, animal health and welfare, barn & farm design, and labour organization. The trainings, books, consultancy, and other services are delivered worldwide.

Vetvice has developed many concepts, of which CowSignals is the most famous.

Do you know how to organize milking so that it takes the minimum time and runs smoothly and consistent with each cow? Do you know how to treat a cow with udder problems? Or how to overcome a cell count problem? In the end it’s up to you, but this book is an invaluable startingpoint.

Its practical text, problem solving flowcharts and clear photos and illustrations make Udder Health an accessible and interesting guide for every dairy farmer.

You’ll find yourself turning to Udder Health time and again. The practical advice it offers will help you improve the understanding of udder health on your farm and achieve higher standards.

Udder Health will help you control the number one health problem on your dairy farm!

Udder Health - Large herd edition is a publication in the Cow Signals® series. Cow Signals® presents highly practical knowledge on animal-oriented cattle farming in an accessible way.

The basic needs of the cow can be defined in seven key words, which form the corners of the cow signals diamond. These seven basic needs are: feed, water, light, air, rest and space, and health.

Health is the result of the other six, but it is also a basic need itself, because dealing with infections, injuries and metabolic problems also exists as a separate focus in addressing the needs of the cow, along with the other six basic needs.

Jan Hulsen Theo Lam

Ynte H. Schukken

Udder Health Large herd edition

www.qmps.vet.cornell.edu

www.roodbont.com

www.vetvice.com

www.cowsignals.com

A practical guide to managing udder health in large herds

Fe

Wa

ed

te

Health

Pe

ac

e

r

Light

Ynte Hein Schukken acquired a DVM and PhD at Utrecht University, where he was active in herd health management, mastitis research and epidemiology. He was director of Quality Milk Promotion Services (QMPS) until early 2013 and is a full professor of Epidemiology and Herd Health at Cornell University. Ynte is Chief Scientific Officer at GD Animal Health.

During his whole professional career, he has always worked on farms and with farmers.

With a structured approach, a dairy farm can achieve and maintain firstrate udder health. Udder Health contains the building blocks for optimal organization of housing, care, and management. It follows you, the farmer, through your daily/weekly/monthly and annual routines, since udder health should not be regarded as separate from other activities on the farm. This edition pays extra attention to large dairy farms. After all, a systematic approach to udder health on those farms is even more important. Putting into practice set goals and signaling/monitoring problems are described extensively.

This way they can be tackled systematically.

Jan Hulsen Theo Lam Ynte Schukken

After qualifying as a DVM, Theo Lam earned his spurs as a mastitis researcher (PhD), cattle veterinarian and then as a mastitis researcher again. He managed the Dutch Udder Health Center (UGCN), a successful 6 year project to improve udder health in practice – in other words on Dutch dairy farms.

Theo is professor of Udder Health and Milk Quality at Utrecht University and Manager Research and Development at GD Animal Health in Deventer.

seen from a farmer’s perspective. »

The Cow Signals Diamond

Space

« Practical prevention

Udder Health - Large herd edition

About the authors

Large herd edition

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Udder Health

Ai

r

Credits

Udder Health - Large herd edition Authors Jan Hulsen, Vetvice® Group Theo Lam, UGCN Ynte H. Schukken, former director of QMPS

Content editing The QMPS staff Cornell University (USA) Translator and language editing Sue Stewart, Stewart Translations Agrolingua

Photography Jan Hulsen (unless stated otherwise) Janneke Hulsen (p. 31, 35) Otlis Sampimon (p. 20, 38, 39, 50)

For books and customized editions

Vetvice® Group Moerstraatsebaan 115 4614 PC Bergen op Zoom The Netherlands T +31 (0)165 30 37 58 E info@vetvice.com I www.vetvice.com

P.O. Box 4103 7200 BC Zutphen The Netherlands T +31 (0)575 54 56 88 E info@roodbont.com I www.roodbont.com

For training and education

CowSignals® Training Company Hoekgraaf 17A 6617 AX Bergharen The Netherlands T +31 (0)6 54 26 73 53 E info@cowsignals.com I www.cowsignals.com

Jack Rodenburg DairyLogix Consulting 814471 Muir Line, RR# 4, Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, N4S 7V8 T +1 519 467 5294 F +1 519 467 5845 I www.dairylogix.com

Quality Milk Production Services Cornell University 240 Farrier Road Ithaca, NY 14853 USA T +1 607 255 8202 F +1 607 253 4000 I www.qmps.vet.cornell.edu

UGCN Dutch Udder Health Center P.O. Box 2030 7420 AA Deventer The Netherlands E info@ugcn.nl I www.ugcn.nl

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Graphics Marleen Felius Herman Roozen Verbaal, bureau for visual communication

For farming and barn construction advice

Design and layout Erik de Bruin, Varwig Design

With the cooperation of Gerrit Hooijer, H3 Consultancy Piet Kloosterman, PTC+ Oenkerk Joep Driessen, Marcel Drint, Nico Vreeburg, Bertjan Westerlaan, Vetvice Group

Special thanks to Johan Boelrijk, Tiny Brouwers, Joep Driessen, Marcel Drint, Lisa Ford, Belinda Gross, John Hermans, Ria Huijben, Paul Hulsen, Frans Kennis, Wim and Berrie van Kollenburg, Dick de Lange, Toon Meesters, Joan Taber, Linda Tikofsky, Jo Toenders, Jos Uiterwaal, Jansje van Veersen, Nico Vreeburg, Bertjan Westerlaan, Ellen Wilpshaar, and the many cattle farmers who kindly allowed us to take photographs on their farms. Not forgetting all of the farmers, vets and advisors who shared their knowledge and experience with us. © Jan Hulsen, 2014 Udder Health is part of the successful Cow Signals® series.

Koesignalen® and Cow Signals® are registered trademarks of Vetvice® .

ISBN 978-90-8740-033-0

With the collaboration of Hans Miltenburg (GD) Otlis Sampimon (GD) No part of this book many be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without prior permission from the authors.

The authors have compiled this publication with great care and to the best of their knowledge. The authors and publisher cannot be held liable for any damage, whatever its nature, resulting from treatments and/or decisions based on the information in this book.

Contents

Introduction 4

4: Annual/semi-annual routines

42

Mastitis or udder inflammation

4

The Double Five Program

42

Structure and function of the udder

6

Putting goals into practice

44

Mastitis

5

Improving, economics and genetics Developing SOPs

Putting SOPs into practice

1: Milking

8

Routines and consistency

8

Parlor throughput

9

Treatment protocols

Presenting protocols Sick cow area

Equipment check

10

Identifying infected cows

12

5: Problem solving

Milking procedure

14

Bacteria: a reference guide

Smart standard procedures

Abnormalities

Points to check

The milking robot The tie stall barn

2: Daily chores In the barn

Gentle handling

Hygiene of cows and environment Cows at rest

Attentive persons

Administering veterinary medicines Administering medicine

The CMT

Taking milk samples

Detecting problems

16

High cell count: analysis scheme

18

High incidence of mastitis: analysis scheme

17

Ventilated, dry, and cool Hygiene score

13

High bulk milk SCC: case study

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Teat score

11

3: Weekly/monthly chores

19

20

52 52

54

56

57

58

59

60

Monitoring tools

62

61

Index 64

24

25

26 27

28

29

30 31

32

The dry period

36

Introducing heifers

39

Culturing milk samples

50

23

22

34

Storage of drugs and applications

48

49

Resource page

How well are you milking?

Rearing young stock

47

20

32

Self-criticism and improvements

46

Cow Signals milking parlor People Signals

Working methodically Consulting advisors

High incidence of mastitis: case study

43

33

35

38

40

41

63

Routines and consistency

chapter 1

Milking

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

The factors that determine the success of milking are a milking machine in first-rate working order, excellent milking technique, and clean and calm cows. ‘Milking technique’ means the accurate, hygienic completion of the following activities: stripping of foremilk and pre-dipping, wiping the teat and attaching the cluster, positioning the cluster, detaching the cluster, and post-milking dipping or spraying.

Every cow is important

A pleasant workplace encourages you to work better. Make sure your parlor is comfortable and efficient. Think about ease of working, space and organization, ventilation, temperature (including the floor), footing, cleanliness, dryness, plenty of light, and soft music.

If you need reading glasses to read the newspaper, you need them for milking as well. You must be able to see every tiny clot in the milk. Make sure that there is enough light under the cow and near the teats (≥23 Foot Candle (FC), ≥250 lux).

Key words for milking: complete and consistent

Milking may be a routine activity, but every cow should receive due attention. Every milker should know what to do and why, and the milking parlor should be a pleasant place to work. A good milker (you) knows every cow with a high cell count and spots every new case of mastitis.

The farm treatment plan then tells you what to do with diseased cows.

8

The very best milking results are obtained when a full milking routine is combined with frequent training and re-training of the milking staff. Herds with a full milking routine have both a faster throughput of cows and a significant lower incidence of clinical mastitis than herds with incomplete milking routines. A full milking routine consists of pre-dipping, fore-stripping, wiping, and then attaching, in a hygienic, thorough and consistent manner.

Udder Health

Parlor throughput

Entry and exit

The rate at which cows enter and exit the milking parlor influences the parlor capacity and varies widely from farm to farm. Competent milkers in well-organized parlors rarely have to chase cows in. Cows must learn to come into the milking parlor calmly and quietly. This applies to new animals and to all cows if you have a new parlor. Cows are creatures of habit. Older cows are poor learners, while heifers learn quickly. Cows must leave the milking parlor quickly and smoothly, otherwise they prolong the milking time. The milker will also be inclined to hurry them along, which causes agitation in the parlor. Bad experiences in the milking parlor disrupt the entry process.

Peaceful enticement

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Use fresh feed in the feeding alley after milking as an enticement to get cows passing through the parlor smoothly. Making feed available helps cows enter the parlor but often leads to agitation during milking: once it is finished the cows start to look for more. Healthy, calm animals enter a well-organized parlor without problems. However, a degree of persuasion may still be necessary. Some cows quickly get accustomed to being fetched.

Use a crowd gate to reduce the size of the holding pen, not to push cows forward. Always apply a warning sound before the gate moves. Don’t use electric shocks. Milkers shouldn’t step from the parlor into the holding pen to chase cows in.

Cows in the holding area?

These cows are in the holding area but are heading away from the parlor. Why is this?

Cows soon become anxious and overheated when close together. Fans cool them down, bring in fresh air, and keep flies away. In the holding area, direct the flow of air lengthways and down towards the cows’ heads. In the parlor, ventilate from the center towards the cows.

Answer: The animals are afraid of people or the milking parlor.

They must be able to walk to their places confidently and unimpeded. This means space, grip on the floor, no obstacles, and a peaceful atmosphere. The parlor should be clean, light, and airy from the cows’ point of view.

Shouting and hitting produces timid animals that are difficult to handle. Calm, friendly, cow-oriented parlor workers milk faster and obtain more pounds (liters) per cow. They talk to the cows and touch them frequently in a gentle manner.

1: Milking

9

Equipment check

Scheduled maintenance

A scheduled overhaul of the milking system once a year will assure that the equipment is in good condition. Follow the supplier’s instructions. Arrange for the supplier to deliver new liners at the right time, or write the date you need to order new liners on the calendar. On average, most rubber liners should be replaced after 1,200 milkings. Silicone liners often last twice as long. Some liners have to be repositioned after 500 milkings. Old rubber loses its elasticity and puts more stress on the teats.

The inside becomes worn, which makes it easier for bacteria to gain a foothold.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Devise a small pre-milking check list: check the vacuum before milking. Stick a strip of tape at the correct level of the vacuum gauge. Has the milking machine been cleaned properly? Is there still enough oil in the vacuum pump oil reservoir? Is the milk line properly inserted in the bulk tank? The check list should be completed and signed off before every milking.

A heating element gives you constant access to water over 176ÂşF (80ÂşC), so you can rinse out the cluster after a high cell count cow.

Many farms have a separate hot water tap in the milking parlor.

Controlling the milking cluster

Replace damaged tubes immediately. Air leaking through a hole in the tube disrupts the vacuum.

10

Many liners have a mark on the lip and milk tube. These should be aligned to ensure that the liner is not twisted.

If the short milk tubes are twisted they then twist the teat cup, so it no longer hangs directly beneath the teat.

Udder Health

Smart standard procedures

Ready for action

The milking process and milking parlor should be organized to maximize efficiency. Simple, sound procedures ensure that you and your staff always do your work properly and consistently. If you follow well thought-out and organized procedures you can do everything right the first time, with minimum trouble and expense.

The essentials When you start to milk, the milking machine must be working properly. You should have all the relevant information about the cows. All the equipment should be ready for milking and available for use if necessary.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Example: dry pre-milking teat preparation

Each teat must be cleaned thoroughly with a clean cloth. The teat-ends should be ‘pinched’ clean. The milker needs to massage the udder during teat preparation, so a good grip with the towel is necessary. This can be done with paper towels, but cloth towels are often better (and cheaper in use). In the operator’s pit you need separate baskets and bags for clean and dirty cloths. A washing machine and dryer located close to the parlor provide a ready supply of clean udder cloths and clean work clothes.

Getting into good habits

Thinking through your routines

Dip and strip 5 cows Wipe and attach 5 cows If you always clean out the dip cup after milking, you will automatically start each new milking with clean teat dip and a clean dip cup.

1: Milking

Having everything at hand

Dip and strip 5 cows Wipe and attach 5 cows

This farm has worked out the ideal milking routine and defined it clearly in a useful diagram. They use it to keep each other on the ball. It is displayed in or near the milking parlor.

Dirty teats have to be washed and dried.

This is easy if you have running water at hand and a clean cloth for drying the teats properly. (Make sure you never have to wash more than 1 in 20 udders.)

11

Identifying infected cows

Identifying infected cows

Every cow with an increased cell count or evidence of mastitis should ring alarm bells with the milker. Such animals pose a serious risk to other cows, and you need to make sure their udder infections are treated. Assess the condition of cows and udders at each milking, then treat affected cows in accordance with your farm treatment protocol. The best procedure is to house all the known high cell count cows together and milk them at the end of milking before the cleaning cycle. This eliminates the risk of udder infections spreading to healthy cows that are milked afterward.

Rinsing the milking cluster

The milk filter should be clean after milking. If it is not, you know you haven’t been working hygienically or have failed to notice a cow with clots in her milk. Displaying the milk filters between milkings is a good motivation for great milker performance.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

After milking cows with a high cell count, you should remove bacteria from the cluster by rinsing and disinfecting. Without these precautions, the next four to five cows could become infected with mastitis bacteria such as S. aureus. Bacteria can be removed by rinsing the liner with hot water. Immerse the liner for at least thirty seconds in water over 176°F (80°C). At 185°F (85°C) S. aureus bacteria are killed after five seconds. Lukewarm water containing disinfectant takes two minutes to work. Flush the cluster thoroughly to wash out the disinfectant.

Doing it right

Do you know which of your cows need treatment, and do you make sure that others know this as well?

Answer: Use and pass on cow-related information to other workers as part of your daily routine. You have at least four systems at your disposal: 1. Mark cows using a coding system 2. Use codes via the display in the milking parlor (management system) 3. Pass on information verbally, the milker knows every cow 4. Use information on a notice board, the milker knows every cow.

In practice, people often work with several systems at the same time. For example, you mark cows, enter alerts in the management system, and make notes on a notice board.

Poor communication is the biggest reason for antibiotic contamination of the bulk tank!

12

Udder Health

Abnormalities

Identifying abnormalities

Successful treatment starts with early identification of abnormal milk and abnormal cows. Foremilk stripping is an essential process in order to detect abnormal milk.

Whether to treat a cow and how to treat her is defined in the farm treatment plan. The plan lists the signs that (through a flow chart) determine which treatment to administer. Treatment protocols should be posted and be available to the staff performing treatments. Only if you know which cows have abnormal milk is it possible to specifically combat the transmission of infection between cows. Rinsing and disinfection of milking clusters are important examples of this.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Only things that are at hand and ready to use will get used. The following should be in or near the milking parlor: • a thermometer • equipment for carrying out a CMT • equipment for aseptically taking milk samples • drugs and equipment for treating mastitis • tools for marking cows • a system for recording treatment and any unusual findings.

The milking parlor is generally not a good place for giving injections in the neck, but it is very convenient for administering intramammary treatments.

Identifying and reacting

If the high cell count cows enter the parlor randomly, it is important to identify them immediately and to do what needs to be done with each animal. Cow recognition and identifying the appropriate response is an important task for the milker. The milking machine can help identify high-risk cows, e.g. by means of alarm lights and automatic milk separation. A milker can easily remain fully alert for about an hour. After that, he or she will need to take a short break.

lights (red-yellow-green)

Any system is only as good as the commitment that goes into operating it. Commitment follows when people know why they have to do things, can do their work easily, and can see the results of their work (that is, knowledge of the working principles and monitoring of outcomes).

displays (showing the cow’s number) leg bands

1: Milking

13

Milking procedure

• • •

Wash and dry very dirty teats.

Dip or spray teats, assuring 2/3 coverage of the teat.

Express three squirts of milk before or after dipping or spraying.

Points to watch: •

•

2. Foremilk stripping and pre-treating

3. Attaching the cluster

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

1. Pre-dip

Avoid transferring/splashing mastitic milk to other teats or between cows (use a cup).

Ensure that the disinfectant that you use has gone through a standardized testing protocol. The NMC teat disinfection protocols are an example of that.

•

Wipe and clean teat and teat end thoroughly with a dry and clean cloth.

This massaging of teat and udder should last approximately 15 seconds; make sure to use gloves, and keep gloves and hands clean.

•

Wait 60 to 90 seconds between stripping and attaching of the cluster: hang a clock with a seconds-hand on the wall to check yourself on a regular basis.

•

•

•

• •

Attach the cluster between 60 and 90 seconds after first touching the teat.

Suspend the cluster directly beneath the cow (long tube lengthways, weight of cluster distributed evenly between the teats).

Make sure that claws and short milk tubes are not twisted.

Don’t allow air sucking.

Keep the cluster clean.

Why do we do this: Clean teats and teat openings mean a low risk of infection. When a teat is wet, the teat cup rides up during milking and thereby puts greater stress on the teat.

14

Foremilk stripping helps to identify mastitis early (alternative: clot detector in milk tube). It also promotes the release of oxytocin, shortens milking time, and improves milk out.

Attaching at the right time reduces the stress on the teat and shortens the milking time (see milk flow curves on page 34).

Udder Health

Milking procedure

• •

5. Detaching the cluster

Check the position of the cluster and teat cups (use tube guides).

Check that the cows are not agitated.

• •

•

Points to watch: •

•

6. Dipping or spraying

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

4. Milking

Agitation among the cows is a sign of distress and may be associated with poor milk out.

Check the milking equipment if more than 1 in 10 clusters falls off.

•

•

First switch off the cluster vacuum.

Remove the cluster from the teats very gently, preferably by admitting air at the same time.

Examine the teats and udder.

•

Make sure that at least the lower two-thirds of the teat are completely coated. This is much easier with dipping.

Kicking during cluster removal may be a sign of discomfort or pain (no more than 1 in 10 cows should do this).

Checking the settings for automatic removal is a job for a specialist.

•

Use a disinfecting dip or spray.

Why we do this: The right cluster position and the correct weight of the teat cup ensure that the cow milks out evenly.

1: Milking

When the milk flow falls below approximately 1 lb/min (0.5 l/min) it is time to detach the cluster. Early detachment or removal ensures better teat health without affecting milk yield.

The teat opening stays open for a while after milking. Dipping or spraying kills bacteria around the opening, preventing udder infections.

15

Points to check

Observe and improve

Identify and check as many points as possible in your daily routine. You should know why you are checking and what to do if something is not OK. Always try to be open to observations and suggestions from staff and outside observers.

A poor parlor layout causes problems for cows leaving the milking parlor. This can hold up milking, and you may be tempted to chase cows along, which causes agitation and stress. Consider obstacles such as slippery floors, steps up and down, and other cows blocking the exit. The problem here is a tight, narrow bend.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Rest phase & milking phase

Milking puts a heavy strain on the teat, causing the teat wall and end to swell slightly. Teat recovery takes around eight hours. If all teats are soft, dry, pink, and pain-free when they come out of the teat cup, you know the machine is milking properly.

•

Air sucking poses a risk for mastitis. It suddenly reduces the vacuum below the other teats. There is a risk that milk will flow from one teat cup to another, together with any bacteria present. These fluctuations in vacuum may cause drops of milk to be sucked into the teat.

To do before the next milking: • • • • • •

16

Enter all relevant cow information in the records.

Clean all clusters and replace worn tubes.

Clean the milking parlor and milking equipment.

Replace all used materials.

Optimize lighting and working comfort.

Start or plan parlor repairs and improvements (such as replacing bulbs).

After attaching the cluster there should be no pauses in the milk flow. The free cisternal milk should flow first, then the alveolar milk should follow without interruption.

Udder Health

Te a t s c o r e

Score the teat ends every three months. This should be done just after removing the milking cluster. Too much hardening indicates that the teat end is being exposed to excessive forces. Carry out a dynamic milking assessment if more than 1 cow in 10 has a pronounced teat ring (score 3 or 4).

Causes of hyperkeratosis: • milking vacuum too high • milking of the cow taking too long • overmilking when there is no milk flow either before or after the main milking phase • incorrect ratio of milk to rest phase (pulsator setting) • the liner not fitting the teats.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Mouthpiece ring As long as the liner surrounds the teat properly, the vacuum in the mouthpiece is much lower than below the teat end.

If the teats are small (i.e. with heifers) or the liners too large, the vacuum in the mouthpiece chamber becomes too high, and the liner rides up. This often leads to a painful build-up of blood in the teat end, which makes the cow agitated. This can also occur with wet pre-treatment where water creates a seal between teat end and outside air.

Teat end hyperkeratosis (hardening)

Photo: Thierry Hetreau

Tiny blood spots Excessive vacuum at the teat end causes tiny blood spots in the skin of the teat.

These are accompanied by a build-up of blood in the teat end, which is painful and will result in irritation of the cow.

Flat teat The pinched area develops because the teat was compressed in the liner. The cause is either a worn, stiff, or loose liner, or too long a rest phase of the pulsator.

1: Milking

Score 1: no ring

Score 2: smooth or slightly rough ring

Score 3: moderately rough rings with a few fronds of keratin

Score 4: very rough rings with many fronds of keratin

(Photography: Livestock Research, Wageningen University and Research Centre)

Wet teat If the teats are clearly wet after detaching the cluster, the milk claw is moving the milk away from the teat too slowly.

As a result, milk in the teat cup can flow back into the teat. This can result in the udder becoming infected with bacteria from its own skin, or bacteria from the milk or skin of a previous cow.

17

The milking robot

Made-to-measure technology

The milking robot can milk high-yielding cows frequently (up to 4x/day) and low-yielding cows less frequently (1.52x/day). The norm is one milking to every 22 pounds (10 l) of daily milk production. If the interval between milkings is less than six hours, the teats do not recover sufficiently.

Differences with a parlor

Milking robots work in exactly the same way every time.

They can be tailored to the cow and the quarter, e.g. by detaching the teat cup quarter by quarter to minimize stress on the teats. The robot also provides a stream of information about its own performance, the cows, and the milk. This enables the dairy farmer to identify abnormalities and problems, such as frequency of visits, refusals, and

number of failed milkings, at a very early stage. New techniques measure the quality of the milk from each quarter (including electrical conductivity, milk color, temperature, and cell count) with ever-increasing accuracy.

Magnification effect

Depending on the daily milk production per cow, one milking robot can milk up to 55 or 60 cows three times per day.

If something goes wrong it can have direct consequences for all cows and all milkings. An example is pre-milking preparation or post-milking disinfection errors.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Success depends on methodical checking and immediate action

18

Check at least twice a day: Robot: frequency of visits and alerts.

Barn: feed intake, water, health. Weak and even slightly lame cows don’t visit the robot often enough. Such cows both develop and cause problems. If they don’t eat enough, their resistance to infection drops.

Check three times a day that the robot is pre-treating, milking, and spraying properly. Teat disinfection is a basic cornerstone of udder health. Can you tell right away when the spray has run out? Milking robots can’t dip, not yet anyway. Therefore, viscous dips such as barrier dips can’t be used.

Dirty udders pose even more problems for a robot than they do for a milker, so cows and udders should be very clean at all times. This means first-rate nutrition, comfortable and clean cubicles, clean floors, and keeping udders and tails free from long hair.

Conductivity alerts are the most important daily check for mastitis. A new alert means that the cow and its udder should be checked immediately (palpation, milk removal, CMT). If the milk is abnormal, treat the animal immediately in accordance with the farm treatment plan.

Udder Health

The tie stall barn

Milking

work more smoothly and efficiently. Due to the long, high milk pipes, the installation and operation of the milking machine in a tie stall barn can be very different. Keep to a regular maintenance schedule, and if you have any doubts get an expert in to check your milking machine and milking technique by means of a dynamic milking assessment.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

The fundamentals of milking in a tie stall are the same as in a milking parlor or using a robot. However, it does take more discipline to keep the interval between pre-treatment and cluster attachment between 60 and 90 seconds for each cow. Too long or too short an interval results in a longer milking time, and probably less milk and more udder problems. Technical aids such as a rail for the milking clusters make the work lighter and easier, enabling you to

When working in a tie stall barn, you will need skill and dedication to keep cows strong and healthy. Do all animals have enough feed, water, light, air, rest, and space? Is tasty feed always available? Is each cow’s neighbor eating as well? Does the drinking trough provide enough water, and can the cow reach it?

Without a comfortable place to lie down, cows in a tie stall barn will overload their hooves and develop thick hocks and knees.

Their disease resistance and production will fall. Lying area for a Friesian Holstein cow measuring 58” (1.47 m) at the withers:

Where does this milk end up? Keep resting places clean, dry, and free from discarded milk.

1: Milking

length 73” (1.85 m), width 53” (1.35 m), with a soft floor providing good grip. Rear edge of feed trough: max. 8” (20 cm) and rounded. Neck rail: 48” (1.22 m) high, 16”(40 cm) in front of rear edge of feed trough. Inadequate light results in poor estrus and poor working conditions. Make sure the light level is 18 FC (~200 lux), 16 hours a day. Finally, cows need constant fresh air at their nostrils. If the barn temperature is over 75°F (24°C), a light breeze or artificial ventilation in the barn is desired.

Milk high cell count cows with a separate milking cluster. Mark them and/or keep them together at the end of the row.

19

« Practical prevention

Its practical text, problem solving flowcharts and clear photos and illustrations make Udder Health an accessible and interesting guide for every dairy farmer.

You’ll find yourself turning to Udder Health time and again. The practical advice it offers will help you improve the understanding of udder health on your farm and achieve higher standards.

Udder Health will help you control the number one health problem on your dairy farm!

Udder Health - Large herd edition is a publication in the Cow Signals® series. Cow Signals® presents highly practical knowledge on animal-oriented cattle farming in an accessible way.

The Cow Signals Diamond

The basic needs of the cow can be defined in seven key words, which form the corners of the cow signals diamond. These seven basic needs are: feed, water, light, air, rest and space, and health.

Health is the result of the other six, but it is also a basic need itself, because dealing with infections, injuries and metabolic problems also exists as a separate focus in addressing the needs of the cow, along with the other six basic needs.

Fe

Jan Hulsen Theo Lam Ynte H. Schukken

Udder Health Large herd edition

www.qmps.vet.cornell.edu

www.roodbont.com

www.vetvice.com

www.cowsignals.com

Wa

ed

A practical guide to managing udder health in large herds

te

Health

Pe

ac

e

r

Light

Ynte Hein Schukken acquired a DVM and PhD at Utrecht University, where he was active in herd health management, mastitis research and epidemiology. He was director of Quality Milk Promotion Services (QMPS) until early 2013 and is a full professor of Epidemiology and Herd Health at Cornell University. Ynte is Chief Scientific Officer at GD Animal Health.

During his whole professional career, he has always worked on farms and with farmers.

Do you know how to organize milking so that it takes the minimum time and runs smoothly and consistent with each cow? Do you know how to treat a cow with udder problems? Or how to overcome a cell count problem? In the end it’s up to you, but this book is an invaluable startingpoint.

Jan Hulsen Theo Lam Ynte Schukken

After qualifying as a DVM, Theo Lam earned his spurs as a mastitis researcher (PhD), cattle veterinarian and then as a mastitis researcher again. He managed the Dutch Udder Health Center (UGCN), a successful 6 year project to improve udder health in practice – in other words on Dutch dairy farms.

Theo is professor of Udder Health and Milk Quality at Utrecht University and Manager Research and Development at GD Animal Health in Deventer.

With a structured approach, a dairy farm can achieve and maintain firstrate udder health. Udder Health contains the building blocks for optimal organization of housing, care, and management. It follows you, the farmer, through your daily/weekly/monthly and annual routines, since udder health should not be regarded as separate from other activities on the farm. This edition pays extra attention to large dairy farms. After all, a systematic approach to udder health on those farms is even more important. Putting into practice set goals and signaling/monitoring problems are described extensively.

This way they can be tackled systematically.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Jan Hulsen holds a DVM and a business management degree, and has a strong interest in communication. His company Vetvice provides knowledge and consultancy in the areas of cow management, animal health and welfare, barn & farm design, and labour organization. The trainings, books, consultancy, and other services are delivered worldwide.

Vetvice has developed many concepts, of which CowSignals is the most famous.

seen from a farmer’s perspective. »

Udder Health - Large herd edition

About the authors

Large herd edition

Space

Udder Health

Ai

r