Dairy Health Flashcards
What are the main health problems in dairy cattle?
- mastitis
- poor fertility
- lameness
What is mastitis?
- an inflammation of the mammary glands (udder)
- usually caused by bacteria entering the teat canal and moving into the udder tissue
What are the signs of mastitis?
- hard, swollen, hot/cold udder
- quarter not milking properly
- painful to touch
- cow kicking or stomping
- potentially normal udder (sub-clinical)
How does mastitis affect milk?
- causes clots, unusual color, and/or consistency
- reduces/alters milk production
How can mastitis be detected if all signs are sub-clinical?
somatic cell counts (SCC)
What SCC can get a farmer penalized?
any number equal to or above 400,000/mL
How can mastitis be diagnosed?
- herd tests
- RMT (rapid mastitis test)
- strip cup
- conductivity meters
- bacterial culture
- PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests
- kits: mastatest (per cow), farm medix snapshot (bulk)
What bacteria(s) cause mastitis most commonly in NZ?
- Streptococcus uberis (23.6%)
- Staphylococcus aureus (23.5%)
How can mastitis be prevented?
- record and treat all clinical cases
- post-milking disinfection of teats
- use dry cow therapy at drying off
- cull cows with chronic mastitis
- perform regular milking machine maintenance
- control environment (avoid environments where bacteria will thrive)
How often must a dairy cow calve in order to match pasture supply?
every 365 days
What are the most important causes of poor fertility in dairy cattle?
- late calvers
- oestrus detection failure
- poor BCS
- first calving not properly grown
- pathological conditions (uterine or ovarian diseases, chronic debilitating diseases)
What could cause an oestrus cycle not to be detected?
- lack of training
- insufficient personnel
- lack of time
- surface
- other conditions (lameness, mastitis)
- the weekend syndrome
What happens if an improperly grown heifer gets mated?
- will likely get pregnant for first mating but not for second
What treatment is there for poor fertility in dairy cows?
- non-cyclers hormonal treatments
What is lameness?
- any variation/defect in an animal’s gait due to pain
- can include a variety of leg and foot conditions
What is the lameness scoring scale?
- 0: walks evenly, no action required
- 1: walks unevenly, minor action required; record and monitor (some cows may naturally walk unevenly)
- 2: lame, action required; needs to be reported, drafted, and examined within 48 hours, but can keep up with the herd
- 3: very lame, urgent action required; draft and examine as soon as possible (within 24 hours), and may require a vet
What does lameness affect in dairy cows?
- fertility
- milk production
- liveweight/BCS
What are the main types of lameness in dairy cattle?
- white line disease
- sole bruising/abscess/ulcer
- hoof wall crack
- foot rot
- digital dermatitis
What is white lube disease?
- the white line is a weak point in the hoof
- twisting & turning can cause the white line to separate
- stones can cause further separation of the wall from the hoof
- stone and bacteria can reach sensitive tissue and cause infection
What is foot rot and its signs?
- bacterial infection
- stinky
- broken skin
- hot and painful
- usually in moist conditions
What is digital dermatitis?
- bacterial infection
- most common foot disease worldwide, but rare in NZ
- ~10% of animals in NZ affected
- contagious
How can lameness be prevented in dairy cattle?
- maintain cow flow
- maintain cow tracks
- prompt early treatment
