An established method to tackle udder health challenges without antibiotics is been broadened to selectively target individual cows with high somatic cell counts at the point off drying off.
The Maycillin udder health bolus, developed by Mayo Healthcare, is engineered to release the active compound allicin, which is a sulfoxide amino acid of Alliin.
Allicin in bolus form is used extensively in a growing number of countries in both clinical and sub-clinical challenges, but it is the first time this novel technology is being used to target cows for the drying-off period in Ireland.
Tackling udder health performance
Mayo Healthcare sales manager Leo Forkan says the bolus allows farmers to tackle udder health performance in an effective way without the use of antibiotics.
We are now entering a post-antibiotic period in dairying. New products like the Maycillin bolus aids udder health and this bolus technology offers farms a new method of tackling high cell count cows without having to rely on antibiotics.
The dry period offers an ideal time to select cows whose cell counts have risen over 200,000.
The advice is to double bolus these individual cows at the point of drying off, if using a teat sealant, then apply the bolus after the teat sealant has been infused.
For cows between 200,000 and 500,000, the application of the bolus is once off. For cows between 500,000 and 1 million, the advice is to make the application at the point of drying off and reapply at the beginning of the subsequent lactation.
The cost per application is around €30/cow.
Further information
For more information on the Maycillin udder health bolus click here