Managing udder health in hot weather

Key Messages

• The risk of mastitis increases when there are more bacteria around the teats and teat defences are reduced.

• When cows are sprayed with water in dairy yards to reduce heat stress, udders can become wet and dirty.

• Preparation of udders for milking is important if udders are wet and dirty.

• Teat condition and cleanliness is also important after cows leave the dairy.

• Flies can lead to agitated cows and milking staff and disrupt milking routine.

• Outbreaks of clinical mastitis due to environmental bacteria can occur in hot weather.

• Increased numbers of clinical cases should trigger investigation.

Grabs for your newsletter

1. Outbreaks of clinical mastitis in summer
2. Summer milking routines for good udder health
3. What is environmental mastitis?
4. Sunsmart for cows’ teats

The grabs are also available here as a Word file (without photos - so you will need to use the links above to access the photos).

Relevant resources for advisers

Countdown pointers to advisers

Udder health issues must be taken into account in planning dairy herd heat stress management routines.

Increased numbers of environmental mastitis bacteria occur in areas where cows concentrate (eg under shade and around troughs).

Water sprays in dairy entry yards can lead to wet, dirty udders at milking, so where these are used, pre-milking teat preparation routines must be assessed. 

Exit routines from the dairy should also be assessed - water sprays in dairy exit yards can replace teat disinfectant with dirty water, and parking bays can become heavily contaminated.

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