Udder Health - English edition

« P r a c t i c a l prevention

With a structured approach, a dairy farm can achieve and maintain first-rate udder health. Udder Health is a guide for farmers and their employees.

Udder Health contains the building blocks for optimal organisation of housing, care and management. It follows you, the farmer through your daily/weekly/monthly routines.

Udder health is aimed primarily on the prophylaxis, prevention of diseases on your dairy farm.

Udder Health

Udder Health

s e e n f rom a farmer’s perspective. »

A practical guide to first-rate udder health

Do you know how to organise milking so that it takes the minimum time and runs smoothly 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 down to you, but this book is an invaluable starting-point. 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 to control the number one health problem on your dairy farms!

Jan Hulsen Theo Lam

Authors Jan Hulsen and Theo Lam can guarantee quality and relevance in practice. Jan Hulsen (Vetvice) wrote the successful Cow Signals, Hooves and From calf to heifer, and trains and advises dairy farmers and their advisors all over the world. Theo Lam earned his spurs as a mastitis researcher and cattle vet and is currently project leader of the Dutch Udder Health Center.

www.roodbont.com

www.cowsignals.com U I T G E V E R I J

Udder Health is part of the Cow Signals® series.

Cow Signals®: highly practical, reader-friendly information on animal-oriented cattle farming.

www.vetvice.com

Udder Health A practical guide to first-rate udder health

Aut hor s Jan Hulsen, Vetvice Theo Lam, uiergezondheidscentrum, The Netherlands

F or books and c ust om edi t i ons:

Co nt e nt e d it ing Prof. Laura Green, University of Warwick

Roodbont Publishers P.O. Box 4103 NL-7200 BC Zutphen The Netherlands Telephone: +31 (0) 575 54 56 88 Fax: +31 (0) 575 54 69 90 info@roodbont.com www.roodbont.com

Tra nsla tor Sue Stewart, Stewart Translations P hot og r a p hy Coverphoto – Jan Hulsen Jan Hulsen (unless stated otherwise) Janneke Hulsen (p. 31, 35) Otlis Sampimon (p. 20, 38, 39, 50)

F or f ar mi ng and shed c onst ruc t i on advi c e:

Gr a p hic s Marleen Felius Emjee | graphic design Verbaal, bureau for visual communicatione La y out Emjee | graphic design Erik de Bruin, Varwig Design Co v e r Erik de Bruin, Varwig Design

And thanks to: Johan Boelrijk, Tiny Brouwers, Joep Driessen, Marcel Drint, John Hermans, Ria Huijben, Paul Hulsen, Frans Kennis, Wim and Berrie van Kollenburg, Dick de Lange, Toon Meesters, Jo Toenders, Jos Uiterwaal, Jansje van Veersen, Nico Vreebrug, 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.

2

Vetvice® Moerstraatsebaan 115 NL-4616 PC Bergen op Zoom The Netherlands Telephone: +31 (0)165 30 43 05 Fax: +31 (0) 165 30 37 58 info@vetvice.com www.vetvice.com F or t rai ni ng and educ at i on:

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

UGCN Dutch Udder Health Center P.O. Box 2030 NL-7420 AA Deventer Telephone: Telephone: 0900-7100071 info@ugcn.nl, www.ugcn.nl

With the participation of: Hans Miltenburg (GD) Otlis Sampimon (GD) Quality Milk Production Services (NY, USA) ©Jan Hulsen, 2012 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.

Udder Health is part of the Cow Signals series, which also includes Cow Signals, Hooves and From calf to heifer.

Information about Cow Signals books, lectures and training courses can be found at: www.cowsignals.com.

Cow Signals® is a registered trademark of Vetvice®.

Cont ent s Introduction Mastitis or udder inflammation 4 Structure and function of the udder 6

Chapter 1: Daily routines

In the cowshed Peaceful handling Fresh, dry and cool Hygiene score Hygiene of cows and surroundings Cows at rest Attentive farmer Administering veterinary medicines

Chapter 2: Milking

8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

The milking parlour Milking machine in good order Clever standard procedures Identifying infected cows Abnormalities Milking procedure Points to check Teat score The milking robot The group pen

Chapter 3: Weekly/monthly routinesl

18 20 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29

Working methodically Consulting advisors How well are you milking?

Self-criticism and improvements The dry period Rearing young stock Introducing heifers California mastitis test (CMT) Taking milk samples

Chapter 4: Monthly/yearly routines

30 31 32 33 34 36 37 38 39

Our five-point plan Can you do it better?

Treating methodically Bacteria: a reference guide Problems and how to tackle them Unclassified notable observations (UNOs)

40 41 42 44 46 51

3

Cha p ter 1 : D a ily routi n e s

In t he c owshed Infection pressure from cows Cows with bacteria in their udders usually have raised cell counts and can cause new cases of mastitis in other cows. Infection between cows usually occurs during milking, which is why it is vital to milk hygienically and to identify cows with mastitis straight away.

This will enable you to stop them passing on bacteria. These cows also pose a risk in the cowshed. Flies and milk leakage in cubicles can pass on the bacteria.

Udder health is something you work on every day. Some of this is obvious, such as treatments and cleaning cubicles. However, to some extent, udder health depends on general factors such as nutrition, rest and overall health.

Infection pressure is a combination of the number of organisms attacking the udder, and their virulence (strength). You really do not want them in your cows if you can avoid it. The ease with which organisms cause mastitis depends on the general health and resistance of the cow.

Low infection pressure of surroundings Some environmental bacteria are always present, such as E. coli and S. uberis. These can be controlled by having dry cubicles, clean bedding and clean outdoor conditions, especially for dry cows. Others occur in certain conditions, for 8

example, Klebsiella is usually present in wet sawdust, and Pseudomonas in contaminated water, teat dip or teat cloths.

Contagious bacteria: bacteria transmitted from cow to cow via milk (milk-borne).

Environmental bacteria: bacteria entering the udder from the environment.

The main mastitis-causing bacteria are always present on cows or in the cowshed or ďŹ eld, so trying to stop bacteria getting into the teat opening is a full-time job.

When cows huddle together, often the risk of mastitis increases due to higher infection pressure. Cows huddle when under stress; here, they are seeking shelter from the heat of the sun. They are stressed and their general resistance drops accordingly.

Cha p ter 1 : D a ily routin e s

Milk cows with mastitis and high cell counts last

In practice, there are two solutions:

All cows must eat well throughout the day, maintaining a full rumen. Here are a lot of thin cows, cows with empty rumens and soiling due to watery dung. They are not eating enough and are probably selecting their feed. Their resistance to disease will be reduced.

2. High-risk cows are put into a separate group, which you milk separately. In many cowsheds this calls for clever positioning of barriers and additional passageways. In some cases you can reduce the average waiting time and hence feed intake.

1

2

Once every four weeks, after assessing the cell count result from the milk recording results, determine which cows are high-risk and which are no longer high-risk.

You decide to start milking the cows with mastitis and a raised cell count at the end of each milking. This way all the cows needing treatment are together in the milking parlour at the same time. And you do not run the risk of passing on udder infections from infected to healthy cows. How do you go about this?

1. Mark with a leg band and separate out before milking.

This farmer has marked his cows with a neck band that he uses to separate them out quickly.

Good general resistance A major cornerstone of resistance is optimal good feed and water intake. Cow nutrition is mainly about energy, protein and avoiding rumen acidosis. After that, minerals, vitamins and trace elements are important.

Resistance also depends on optimum rest and activity. A healthy cow in a well-run cowshed lies down for an average of 14 hours a day in a dry cubicle. Movement stimulates metabolism and hoof health.

In the end, the healthier the cow, the greater her resistance. Hoof problems and infectious diseases such as BVD and paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease) reduce a cow’s resistance to other diseases. The same is also true for all types of inammation.

In t he c owshed

9

Cha p ter 1 : D a ily routi n e s Driving to the collecting yard Cows should enter the milking parlour as peacefully as possible. This process starts with driving to the collecting yard before milking. At this point it is easy to see how well the cows are walking and their rumen fill tells you how much they have eaten in recent hours. The stragglers are particularly interesting, because these are usually the cows that are having difficulty walking. Have they eaten enough? Is their dung too watery, too dry or poorly digested? The collecting yard should also be an oasis of calm. At each milking, cows should have at most an hour’s waiting time with twice-daily milking, and at most 45 minutes with three times per day milking.

Peaceful and predictable handling is essential when dealing with cows. Calm farmers have cows that produce more milk.

They are also much easier to handle and suffer fewer injuries. Calm cows are less likely to bump into and injure themselves on barriers or corners in the cow shed.

10

P eac ef ul handl i ng Or this:

Like this:

But not like this:

Collecting yard

Collecting yard

Milking parlour

Milking parlour

If cows have far to walk, their hooves are at greater risk of wear and damage, particularly on concrete paths and rough tracks with loose stones. Careful floor maintenance may help reduce sole ulcers and white line disease lameness. Cows prefer to walk on a soft surface with good grip, such as this rubber mat.

The cows should flow smoothly towards the milking parlour and should not have to turn.

Dominant and low-status cows have distinct positions in a herd on the move, which helps to avoid conflict. The strongest cows often take the lead. If the cows have to turn both strong and weak animals have to cut across the flow. This causes agitation and stress, and an increase in hoof problems due to pushing and turning and entry to the milking parlour is disrupted.

Rubber flooring also ensures cows sustain fewer hoof injuries from pushing and turning and are happy to enter the collecting yard but is not a alternative to good cow flow.

A collecting yard that slopes away from the parlour is easier to wash clean than a flat one. The entrances to the milking parlour should taper inwards. The floor of the milking parlour should be even to prevent hoof damage and should provide good grip.

Cha p ter 1 : D a ily routin e s

Cooling Cows cool themselves mainly via their breathing, but also via their skin. The air breathed in cools the airways, and the cow secretes water through her airways: in a sense, she sweats through her lungs. A cow radiates heat through her skin. Sweating helps to cool her down via the skin, but cows have limited sweating capacity. In still weather and in cowsheds with poor natural ventilation, fans can improve air quality in the shed even at lower temperatures. As a bonus, they make the shed drier. An insulated shed is cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

For more information see another book in this series: Cow Signals.

herd?

A yes to all these is good.

you got this right for your

Does the shed or field have at least one fast-flow drinking trough to every 15 cows, or one reservoir-type trough to every 20 cows, evenly spaced and containing clean water?

correct composition. Have

Do all dry cows, heifers, lame cows and newly calved cows eat enough thoughout the day (rumen fill always over 3)?

be offered tasty food of the

Is the composition of left-over feed and the original diet the same?

have access to water at all times and should

Are you collecting 5% or more left-over feed every day?

All cows should

Do your cows start to eat straight away, or do they search about and dawdle?

Heat stress reduces resistance.

Depending on the humidity in the cowshed, heat stress occurs above a temperature of 20 to 23ºC, the point at which the maximum cooling capacity of the cow’s airways is reached. At and above this point, the cows need help from fans to blow air over them, both in their cubicles and at the feed barrier.

In the cowshed Things to check in your shed:

Fresh, dry and cool Fresh air without draughts helps to keep cows healthy and dry surroundings lower the concentration of bacteria in a building.

Lactating cows generate a lot of heat. Cows feel comfortable between –5 and +15 ºC. Any colder, and they start to use energy to warm themselves up. Any warmer, and they have to work to cool themselves down.

Fre s h, dry and c ool

Having open sides, insulating the roof, grooving floors or laying rubber and installing fans are things that can be done in every cowshed. Wide paths ensure that food and water are accessible and that cows can be driven smoothly and calmly to the collecting yard. Hoof problems make cows walk less, lie down less, eat less and drink less.

11

Cha p ter 1 : D a ily routi n e s

Hygi ene sc ore Udder hygiene: How clean are udders and teats on entry to the milking parlour?

1

2

3

4

Points to watch: hygiene and bedding in lying areas, path hygiene, udder clipping or singeing, cubicle comfort, dung consistency, herd health, etc.

(Norm: < 10% score 3 or 4)

1

2

3

4

side view of udder Upper leg hygiene: How clean are the lying areas?

Points to watch: preparation of lying areas and bedding, cubicle comfort, dung consistency, herd health, etc.

(Norm: < 15% score 3 or 4) 1

2

3

4

side view of rump and hip Lower leg and hoof hygiene: How clean are the paths?

Points to watch: use of dung scraper, cleanliness of paths not cleared by dung scraper, dung consistency, cleanliness of collecting yard, etc.

1

12

3

3

4

(Norm: < 20% score 3 or 4)

Cha p ter 1 : D a ily routin e s Cows should be clean Clean cows have clean teats and are healthier. Soiling indicates that the cow’s surroundings are too wet or contanimated with dung, and hence a cows’ resistance is under constant pressure. Dirty cows are a sign that their dung is too watery or that they are having trouble standing up before defecating. This tells you that their nutrition, health and cubicles could be improved.

Finally, soiling is a sign that the farmer is accepting his animals’ less-than-ideal situation too readily.

Hygiene of cows and their surroundings A discharge due to metritis soils the tail and causes streaks on the rump. Metritis may be a sign that the transition from dry period to lactation did not go well. Affected cows are more susceptible to mastitis.

How hygienically do you work?

Ask your family, friends and colleagues the following questions: 1

Do you know how cleanly I work when milking, assisting calvings and looking after newborn calves?

2

Am I sometimes too quick to assume that “it’ll turn out all right” when I have a cow with clots in her milk or a high cell count, or a cow calving in a dirty calving pen?

3

Do I ensure excellent hygiene in cubicles, dry cows, calving cows and during milking?

4

Do you think I take criticism on board and try to improve myself?

results every day in terms of the nutrition and health

Know yourself, because you, the farmer, are the most

of your cows. You may need to take more trouble over

important influence on health and production of your

some things, do other things differently, get someone

herd. You should be constantly checking that you are

else to take on some of the tasks, or not do some

working cleanly and correctly and achieving top quality

things at all.

A dirty tail and soiled hindquarters are almost always due to watery dung of the cow herself. Cubicles that are too short and a wet floor can make this problem worse. Tail clipping promotes udder hygiene.

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Cha p ter 1 : D a ily routi n e s Comfortable cubicles Adequate rest stimulates cows’ resistance. If their cubicles are comfortable enough, cows will lie for 14 hours a day. It also gives hooves a chance to dry, which suppresses infections.

Resting cows are out of the way, giving other cows more space to get to feed, water, brushes, milking robots or cubicles. If there is at least one comfortable cubicle available per cow, weaker and low-status animals will have fewer problems with feed intake, water intake and lameness (provided that good, tasty feed is available at all times).

Cows at rest

While a cow is lying down, her teats are resting on her hooves or on the floor. This means that hooves and cubicle floors should always be as clean and dry as possible. All cubicles should be cleaned thoroughly twice a day (ideally during milking). They should also be freshened up twice a day (during your rounds). Top up the bedding daily.

Milk leakage poses a risk for infection. Variable intervals between milkings and cows that milk out fast increase milk leakage. Inadequate calcium intake can also play a role. Leakage may be greater in comfortable cubicles than in hard, short or narrow ones. This is because cows tend to lie down more in them and their lying position may also have an effect. Put mattress cubicles on a 3 to 4% incline.

1. soft floor providing good grip

Friesian Holstein cow 725 kg:

so the cow lands and lies softly:

15 cm deep bedding or 5 cm rubber mattress;

2. long enough, so the cow can swing her head out to rise easily:

outer row: 3.25 m, double row: 5.50 m together; headroom: no obstacles between a height of

3. withers and knee bars out of the way, in correct position so the cow can stand up and lie down straight in the cubicle:

0.10 and 1.00 m; 1.80m distance from knee bar and withers bar to back edge (standing/lying area); possibly install flexible

4. wide enough,

Bedding should be dry and free of mastitis organisms as far as possible. Try to mechanise the changing of bedding. Regular bacteriological testing of mastitis samples will tell you whether the bedding is causing udder infections.

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so the cow can lie down and remain lying down:

withers band; 1.27 m (heart to heart measurement);

5. used by strong cows with healthy legs: Put poor cows in a straw-bedded pen.

To ensure comfortable cubicles, use the largest cows as your standard. After installation you can tailor the cubicles to your herd if necessary. Heifers are the smallest cattle and will soil cubicles most often. A separate heifer group with smaller cubicles will solve the problem and also improve production and reduce losses.

Cha p ter 1 : D a ily routin e s Before milking An ideal time to inspect the cows is while walking to the parlour. Cows with mild lameness stand out. Animals that are not alert and animals with empty rumens are also noticeable.

Schedule time every day for individual inspection and treatment of animals that require attention. This will enable you to avoid many problems such as lameness and twisted stomachs. Problems are always unexpected, inconvenient and take up valuable time. If you mark newly calved cows you will automatically give them more attention.

Dry cows and heifers

Schedule two fixed rounds a day for dry cows and heifers. Combine these with jobs such as cubicle preparation. Here the dry cows’ teat are being dipped.

At t ent i ve f ar mer Trodden teats

Cows who know that fresh feed awaits them in the feed trough after milking will enter and exit the milking parlour more easily. Check and make sure all animals can drink freely after milking. Put the water trough near the milking parlour, but not so that cows drinking there block the exit.

After milking After milking, ensure cows stand for at least 30 minutes once the last cow has been milked. During this time the teat openings seal up, reducing the risk of udder infection when they next go to lie down. This can be done by keeping the cows at the feed barrier for half an hour, or closing the cubicle house.

Even the last cows to leave the milking parlour should eat first and not go straight to a cubicle. Cows that don’t go to eat are a sign that something is wrong. Why are they lying down or skulking? Are they lame or sick? Or is there no space for them due to overcrowding or ranking order anxiety?

If cubicle floors are too smooth and/or too narrow, cows will ‘scrabble’ with their hind legs to gain a grip when standing up.

One consequence of this is trodden teats.

Agitation in the cubicle also increases the likelihood of trodden teats.

Good lighting ( 200 lux) lets you see everything clearly. Coloured light can make it difficult to tell the difference between urine, milk, blood, mucus and pus.

15

Chapter 1: Daily routines

Administering veterinary medicines

Treatments call for an organised and calm approach.

Injection in the neck (intramuscular)

16

1. New needle.

2. Use 100% clean injection ďŹ&#x201A;uid.

3. Keep records.

4. Mark the cow.

5. Cow stands nice and still.

6. Clean syringe and tidying up.

« P r a c t i c a l prevention

With a structured approach, a dairy farm can achieve and maintain first-rate udder health. Udder Health is a guide for farmers and their employees.

Udder Health contains the building blocks for optimal organisation of housing, care and management. It follows you, the farmer through your daily/weekly/monthly routines.

Udder health is aimed primarily on the prophylaxis, prevention of diseases on your dairy farm.

Udder Health

Udder Health

s e e n f rom a farmer’s perspective. »

A practical guide to first-rate udder health

Do you know how to organise milking so that it takes the minimum time and runs smoothly 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 down to you, but this book is an invaluable starting-point. 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 to control the number one health problem on your dairy farms!

Jan Hulsen Theo Lam

Authors Jan Hulsen and Theo Lam can guarantee quality and relevance in practice. Jan Hulsen (Vetvice) wrote the successful Cow Signals, Hooves and From calf to heifer, and trains and advises dairy farmers and their advisors all over the world. Theo Lam earned his spurs as a mastitis researcher and cattle vet and is currently project leader of the Dutch Udder Health Center.

www.roodbont.com

www.cowsignals.com U I T G E V E R I J

Udder Health is part of the Cow Signals® series.

Cow Signals®: highly practical, reader-friendly information on animal-oriented cattle farming.

www.vetvice.com

Udder Health A practical guide to first-rate udder health