“If she’s dripping milk, she’s in the dairy”

If a springing cow that is approaching calving has milk dripping from one or more teats, it means that the protective teat plug from the dry period has gone from those leaking teats - and if milk can leak out, bacteria can get in! This is often likely to be worse in cows with large springing udders and cows that have developed udder oedema (flag).

Once the protective teat plug has gone, and the udder is not being flushed by milking, the potential for infection of the quarter is massively increased.  You could think of it as the front door being left wide open without anybody guarding it!  It doesn’t mean that you will be burgled, but the odds are much greater that you will!

These dripping cows are at high risk (especially for Strep uberis infection) while they remain in the calving area, but the choice of the most suitable management and treatment options will be influenced by many factors, including the risk of metabolic diseases such as milk fever. 

The options for these cows include bringing them into the dairy and milking them, and also induction of calving (especially if they are not right on the point of calving). For those cows with udder oedema (flag), there are various other treatment options available.

If you are experiencing these problems, or you think you are likely to, contact your vet to discuss the various treatment options and how they apply to your herd, and then consider how the management options will fit into your system.

"If she's dripping milk, she's in the dairy"

Words 275