 Tips
on improving teat spraying efficiency
Teat
disinfectant is one of the most effective ways to control mastitis. But you’ve
got to do it right.
Good teat
coverage is important. It requires careful operators with good equipment and
safe facilities. Spray efficiency can be improved by:
-
Choosing
equipment that will spray an even cover of fine droplets to about 10 cm
diameter when sprayed vertically from about 10 cm distance. Hollow or
“doughnut” patterns are not satisfactory.
-
Checking
the spray pattern regularly by spraying onto a piece of paper.
-
Arranging
work routines to avoid boredom.
-
Encouraging
milking staff to regularly assess their own and each other’s teat
coverage.
Simple checks:
-
Examining
individual teats of several cows to determine if all sides of the teat
barrel are being covered. Wrapping a paper towel around the barrel, then
carefully removing and examining it, can assist this procedure.
-
Checking
that at least 20 mL of prepared teat disinfectant is being used per cow per
milking. This involves measuring the total amount of teat disinfectant used
over two milkings and dividing this number by the total number of cows
milked at both milkings.
-
Calculating
the time in seconds that is needed to apply the correct amount of
disinfectant solution. This can be done, for example, by counting the number
of seconds required to fill an empty 20 mL syringe barrel with the spray.
This can then be compared with the actual time that operators take to spray
each cow.
Regular review
of teat disinfection efficiency with an adviser can also add to staff training
and awareness about the importance of this routine activity in mastitis control.
Image
& caption.
A poor
“donut” spray pattern makes teat coverage difficult
Check
coverage by wrapping a paper towel around the teat
Length
- 280 words
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