Many farmers have started drying off first lactation cows and cows that have a poor body condition score (BCS).
The majority of cows are yet to be dried off, so what is the best procedure to take?
A recent Teagasc study at Moorepark looked into the different procedures used at drying off and also looked at its impact on the somatic cell count (SCC) in the following lactation, using both antibiotic and teat sealer and using teat sealer only.
Of the cows that were used for this trial, every cow had an SCC of less than 100,000 cells/ml at the time they were dried off.
The cows were split into four different groups and dried off using either guidelines-based procedure or the standard procedure.
The drying off standard procedure and guidelines-based procedure is as follows:
Step Standard procedure Guidelines-based procedure 1 Clip tails and udders before drying off Clip tails and udders before drying off 2 New clean gloves for each animal 3 Teat dip (30 seconds plus dry) Teat dip (30 seconds plus dry) 4 Disinfect with cotton wool and
methylated spirits5 Disinfect with alcohol wipes until clean Disinfect with alcohol wipes until clean 6 Partially insert tube nozzle Partially insert tube nozzle 7 Massage udder Massage without touching teat end 8 Pinch teat base while infusing sealant 9 Leave some teat sealant visible at teat end Leave some teat sealant visible at teat end 10 Apply teat disinfectant
When higher levels of hygiene were used when drying off, the results were significantly better when using only teat sealer.
Drying off
With the standard procedure, when an antibiotic and teat sealer was used on the cows, the SCC showed to be roughly 55,000 cells/ml on the following lactation.
With the same standard procedure, when just a teat sealer was used, the SCC the following lactation was about 115,000 cells/ml.
However, when proper care and hygiene was used at drying off with the guideline-based procedure, when the antibiotic and teat sealer was used, the SCC in the next lactation was 50,000 cells/ml.
Most interestingly, with the same guideline-based procedure, when the teat sealer only was used, the cows had an SCC of 35,000 cells/ml in the subsequent lactation.
The study results were as follows:
This study shows that where higher levels of hygiene were adhered to, using teat sealer only showed significantly better results and proved that the impact of the antibiotic at masking poor dry off techniques is quite clear and evident.
The study proves how much care, diligence and hygiene is needed at drying off in the absence of an antibiotic and in order to reap the awards of a successful dry off.
Antibiotics are most certainly going to be needed for cows with high SCC and have recurring issues, but for a cow with an SCC of less than 100,000 cells/ml and no previous health issues, a teat sealer when applied correctly will deliver for a farmer.
Farmers should be consulting with their vet or their advisor at this moment in time to see what the best dry off procedure for their herd is, and which cows will only need teat sealers, using the milk recording and previous records to make the decision.