What are the
current Dry Cow treatment options?
Each
year farmers need to choose one of three treatment options at drying off:
(1)
“Blanket”strategy - to treat all quarters of all cows with antibiotic Dry
Cow Treatment
(2)
“Selective” strategy - to select the infected cows and only treat these cows
with antibiotic Dry Cow Treatment
(3)
“Combination” strategy - to use antibiotic Dry Cow Treatment in all quarters
of infected cows and teat sealant in all quarters of non-infected cows
Because
it requires at least 3 cell counts for each cow in each lactation to accurately
pick infected and uninfected cows, the Selective and Combination strategies are
really only options for farms that use regular Milk Recording. Farms that do not
have individual cow cell counts should use Blanket antibiotic Dry Cow Treatment.
Here
are the key questions for farmers to consider when choosing between these
options:
How
many cows are infected?
Do
more than 30% of my cows have their highest cell count above 250,000 cells/mL?
Or did we have any milk cultures showing Strep ag?
If
so, Blanket antibiotic Dry Cow Treatment is likely to give the most
cost-effective approach.
Is
there a significant risk of new infections in the dry period?
Did
we have more than 5 cows per 100 with clinical mastitis in the first month of
calving, or a significant number of Strep uberis cases last season? Are we
likely to have more than 5% of cows or heifers dripping milk or needing
treatment for udder oedema (udder “flag”) next calving?
If
the answer to one of these questions is ‘yes’, it’s worth using a
protective option – either Blanket or Combination strategy. The choice between
these strategies is based on factors such as desire to minimize antibiotic use
on the farm and relative costs of products.
If
the number of cows infected is low, and the risk in the dry period is small, the
Selective strategy is likely to be the most cost-effective option.
Image and caption
"Discuss which Dry Cow
Treatment strategy is best for your herd with you Veterinarian"
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