With a lot of farmers entering their third week of calving, the risk of mastitis will be building on farms.

The riskiest period for a cow is the two weeks before calving, as they begin to experience changes in their body which can weaken their immune system, making it easier for infection to cause problems.

However, cows can be prone to infection for more than 60 days post-calving, meaning regular monitoring and good hygiene practices are critical at this time of the year.

Keeping mastitis at bay

Animal Health Ireland (AHI) are recommending farmers follow a simple '1-2-3' rule to save costs, milk, time, and cows.

Find bacteria;
Deal with bacteria;
Prevent spread.

There are two main types of mastitis, contagious mastitis (Staph. aureus and Strep. agalactiae), and environmental mastitis (Strep. uberis and E. coli).

Finding these mastitis-causing bacteria will help detect any infection at an early stage, allowing for treatment to be administered before the infection develops into a severe case.

This will also reduce the likelihood of infection being passed to other cows, and the development of chronic infections.

When looking for these bacteria, AHI recommends fore-stripping cows post-calving to look for clots, using the California Mastitis Test (CMT) to identify rising somatic cell counts (SCC), and getting milk recording done early.

If any of these tests are flagging a suspicious case, farmers should collect a milk sample and send it for culturing in a lab to see what kind of bacteria they are dealing with and decide what the best course of treatment and further prevention is.

Dealing with mastitis

AHI have said that detecting mastitis early means you will have fewer cases, less dumped milk, and less stress.

However, they also stated that there is no 'one size fits all' solution when dealing with mastitis-causing bacteria.

Each case needs to be dealt with uniquely at farm level as there is an array of factors involved. However, following standard rules can help deal with general infections.

AHI is advising farmers to treat clinical mastitis with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories following advice from your local vet.

The organisation also advised farmers to consistently review their protocols and stated that if more than 20% of cases require a second course of antibiotics, the protocols should be reassessed.

Meanwhile, cows with subclinical mastitis (SCC of 200,000 cells/mL or higher) will have varied treatment.

AHI said antibiotic treatment may be needed for heifers with an infected quarter after calving.

However, it added that first lactation animals that have a positive reaction on CMT in several quarters may just need a little more time post-calving.

AHI did remind farmers that heifers infected with mastitis within a month of their first lactation will produce less milk throughout their life.

Cows who have high SCC 60 days post-calving and had high readings in previous lactations despite appropriate antibiotic dry cow treatment, are considered chronically infected.

AHI said that treatment is unlikely to be successful and that a cull cow strategy should be implemented to ensure the cow does not spread bacteria or continue to breed within the herd.

Preventing the spread

Mastitis is considered to be one of the most costly diseases in dairy, with an average cost of over €60/cow/year.

Therefore, preventing mastitis infection within herd is one of the most important tasks to be carried out during high-risk times like calving.

The main area will always be hygiene, keep cows clean by tail and udder clipping.

Keep cubicle beds clean and dry with lime, however be careful not to over-lime and cause teat burn.

The recommendation is to use 1t of lime for every 20 cows, which is 50kg/cow for a five-month winter. That is 32kg per day over 150 days of liming for milking/dry cows.

Maintain hygiene in the parlour by washing down collecting yards and the parlour itself, and wear clean gloves and apron.

Each teat of each cow should be disinfected every milking to prevent contamination within the herd.

AHI also advised farmers to ensure their milking machine is running properly.

Carry out a test and service, change liners if they are due as these are the only thing that come in direct contact with the open teat. Check that the claw air bleeds are clean, and clean the regulator sponge.