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Mastitis & Cell count Advice:

Infections in the udder will cause an increase in cell count, and when this is the case in several of your milking cows then you will be penalised on your milk cheque. A more severe infection will cause the milk to clot, the udder might feel hot and hard and the cow can get really ill. This is what we call clinical mastitis. Clinical mastitis problems and high cell count problems will affect your herd health and your milk production. These problems are worth investigating! At Penbode we can help you by keeping an eye on your milk recording data with a monthly cell count analysis. We can check your parlour while you are milking, and of course we can send of milk samples to be cultured for causative pathogens. This information all together will help you controlling mastitis and cell count problems.

To check out which quarter of a cow has a high cell count you can do a CMT test in the parlour yourself!
Click here to open a window with instructions.

Monthly Cell Count Analysis:

Many dairy farmers will check the individual milk yield, and features like cell count, milk protein and butterfat every month. You can give permission to your vet to receive these ‘milk recording results’. We will then receive the information via the internet, which means that there is no hassle for you! We will analyse your milk recording data and will send you a summary with comments on herd cell count, problem cows and we will look at milk protein and butterfat levels, which can indicate problems like acidosis and ketosis. We will do this for any farmer who is interested, using our own Cell Count Analyst program, which Andrew Cobner developed.

Milk recording companies will take on board fertility events as services and PD’s, so please provide them with correct data. Clients that have a routine visit will have the benefit that their vet will be aware of their herd’s performance and any occurring problems can be discussed in depth, which means that action can be taken. Please contact us if you are interested in this service.

Dynamic Parlour Testing:

Have you purchased a new parlour? Or do you have problems with mastitis, high cell count, or cows being restless during milking? These are reasons for checking your parlour during milking. This is different to the normal parlour tests which are done outside of milking. At Penbode several of our farm vets have followed an in depth course on mastitis problems, in relation to the milking parlour. Any of them can perform a dynamic parlour test, to check the effect of the milking machine on the udders. During this visit the vet will observe all features of the milking process and will check out any risk factors for udder infections. The findings will be reported to the farmer and options to manage and resolve the problems will be discussed with the farmer.

During milking you can check the teat ends of your cows; to find out what they can tell you click here.
Teat assessment

Milk Samples

Mastitis problems and high Cell Count problems can be caused by several pathogens. Each of these pathogens has its own way of infecting the udder, and of spreading between cows. This in turn means that there are different ways for treating and for preventing each of the causative pathogens. To decide what measures to take, we need to know what bug is affecting your herd and good milk samples need to be taken and tested.

How to take a milk sample:

It is important to take a milk sample for bacteriology as sterile as possible, for we could end up culturing ‘cow dung-bacteria’ instead of mastitis bacteria. Therefore, follow this advice when taking a milk sample:

1. Make sure you have clean hands. Wash and dry if necessary, or preferably wear disposable gloves.
2. Wash and thoroughly dry the teat if it appears dirty.
3. Strip out and discard the first 4-6 squirts, thus flushing out non-mastitic bacteria from the teat canal.
4. Thoroughly rug the teat end with a swab, or cotton wool soaked in surgical spirit. Do this until the cotton wool remains clean.
5. Open the top of the sample bottle. This should be a clean bottle with a good sealing top, which you can get at Penbode. Hold the bottle at an angle of 45 degrees or less and draw out one squirt of milk in a diagonal direction. One good ‘draw’ of milk is sufficient. It is not necessary to fill the bottle.
6. Replace the lid on the bottle and write the cow identity, the quarter, date and farm name on the sample bottle.
7. Store the sample in the fridge (+4 ˚C), or in the freezer, until it can be transported to the Vet Practice.
8. It is worth freezing samples for future reference.

Common Causes of Mastitis / High Cell Count

1. E. Coli
   Escherichia Coli, or for short E. Coli is commonly found in the wide environment where it attaches to the udder. When the teat canal opens, when the udder is under pressure from an amount of milk like it is when a cow has just been dried off, of just before calving, and during milking, then the ‘door is open’ and E. Coli can enter into the udder. Hence the importance of a clean environment for both milking cows and dry cows, and the use of a pre-dip to kill off any bacteria on the teat before you start milking the cow.
2. Strep. Uberis
   Streptococcus Uberis, is a bit similar to E. Coli, as they are both ‘environmental’ infections, picked up from the environment. Therefore also for this bug it is important to keep your milking cows and your dry cows in a clean and dry environment, and to use a pre-dip to kill of any bugs on the teat before your start milking. The main problem with this bug is that it can enter cells inside the udder and hide there. This makes it difficult to treat this type of mastitis, and mastitis or ‘high cell count’ can re-occur.
3. Staph. Aureus
   A cow with Staphylococcus Aureus is carrying the bug inside cells in the udder. Staph. Aureus is also present in her milk, and this bug is spread from cow to cow during milking. Using gloves (and cleaning them), using a separate towel for each cow, flushing the units and using a post-dip after milking, will all help in preventing any more cows to get infected. It is also advised to milk chronic high cell count cows last. Staph. Aureus is very difficult to treat, especially during lactation and unfortunately many cows will need to be culled due to this ongoing infection.
4. Summer Mastitis
   This form of mastitis occurs mainly in dry cows and heifers, in the summer. The udder goes hard and is sore. Several pathogens can be involved and the infection is thought to be transmitted by the head fly Hydrotoea irritans.