The drying-off of cows is ongoing on farms, with many farms now approaching the final few cows that are still milking.
For those farms which only have a few rows still milking, it is important to ensure that the last cow is dried off as well as the first cow.
Getting the drying-off process right is vital to ensure the cows calf down in spring, without cell count issues or mastitis.
Drying-off
Over the next week or so, the vast majority of spring-calving herds will have the last of their cows dry.
Drying-off has been ongoing on many farms for the last few weeks, and many can now see the ‘light at the end of tunnel’.
It is important that you are as precise and hygienic with the last few cows as you were with the first cows.
Keep the hygiene standards high during the drying-off process, and follow the same procedure that you have been using on all the previous cows.
Introducing a source of infection to cows now at drying-off would likely result in cows having high cell counts and mastitis during the following lactation.
Cows should be left to stand, and then returned to a cubicle shed which is clean and dry.
Monitoring
Proceeding the drying-off process, it is important that cows are closely monitored for signs of infections.
Cows are susceptible to new infections particularly in the early dry period before their teats have sealed, and in the two weeks prior to calving.
Cows need to be monitored closely during these times, because if mastitis is not identified promptly, the cow can become very sick, very quickly.