Te aaaChapter 44 Dairy Herd Health 829 Dairy cattle are subject to most of the same disease and parasite problems that affect beef cattle. See Chapter 17 for a discussion of cattle diseases and parasites. “There are some health considerations that need to be emphasized concerning dairy catle, which are discussed in this section. HERD HEALTH PLAN ‘The dairy farmer needs to develop an overall plan for maintaining the health ofthe dairy herd. An effective plan puts emphasis on the prevention of prob- lems. The services of a veterinarian should be used on a regular and planned basis (Figure 44-1). The veterinarian needs to be familiar with the dairy ‘operation on the farm. A planned program of regular vaccination and herd testing should be imple- mented. Diseases of major concern are brucellosis, infectious bovine thi- notracheitis (IBR), bovine virus diarthea (BVD), and parainfluenza-3 (PI,). ‘Symptoms, control, and prevention of these diseases are discussed in Chapter 17. Control of other diseases is needed in herds or areas where they are a problem. Itis important to keep health records on all animals in the herd and make individual physical examinations as needed. ‘A planned program for mastitis control should be followed, Mastitis is one of the major causes of economic losses in dairy herds. Keeping accurate reproduction records is extremely important. Have a veteti- narian examine any cows with breeding or calving problems. Make routine preg- nancy examinations. Follow a planned program of calf health care. Prevent disease by vaccina- tion atthe right age. To prevent loss treat calf health problems, such as scours, quickly. Use the services of a veterinarian whenever cows show health problems. Diagnosis and treatment of health problems is a specialized skill. Losses can be high when improper diagnosis and treatment is done. Herd health problems are reduced by the following management practices: + Proper feeding ofthe herd. + Good facilities that are ventilated properly. + Using clean, dry bedding. + Proper cleaning and sanitation of facilities and equipment. + Controlling disease carriers, such as flies, birds, and rodents. + Raising the replacements needed for the herd. + Requiring the health records of replacement animals and isolating them from the rest ofthe herd for 30 days. + Isolating all sick animals from the herd. + Using a veterinarian for quick, accurate diagnosis and treatment of health problems. + Controlling access to the dairy fcilties by posting sign at the farm entrance informing people that entry is limited and restricted to certain areas to con- trol diseases. + Requiring visitors to use some type of protective footwear covering, such as plastic boots, or use rubber boots and a disinfectant foot dip atthe entrance tothe facilities. + Not allowing visitors to have unlimited access to areas where the cattle are kept. + Havingbulk milk pickup and feed delivery points as far from the cows as pos- sible and restricting access by these vehicles to only those designated areas. Figure 44-1 The services of avet- erinarian should be used on a regu- lar basis to maintain herd health, Photo by Pegay Greb. Courtesy of US. Department of Agriculture.830 Section 9 Dairy Figure 44-2 A healthy herd is of the utmost importance for maximum milk pro- duction, Courtesy oF US. Department of Agriculture Dairy Quality Assurance Program ‘The Dairy Quality Assurance Program is designed to help dairy farmers pro- duce high-quality milk (Figure 44-2). Participation is on a voluntary basis, The program was developed by the National Milk Producers Federation and the American Veterinary Medical Association. A producer, in cooperation with a veterinarian, goes through a 10-point checklist of management practices to become certified. The program identifies several critical control points that help the herd owner produce a quality product. Emphasis is placed on following a preventa- tive health program, including vaccination, housing, nutrition, and sanitation Producers must use the correct drugs, store them properly, and follow required ‘withdrawal times. The use of drug screening tests and good record keeping are other important aspects of the program. Other management practices, includ- ing sanitation, feeding, and milking equipment maintenance, are also reviewed, Producers who complete the certification and follow the management guidelines can reduce the risk of drug violations in the milk by more than 0 percent. Use of Drugs for Treatment of Dairy Cows and Calves + Read drug labels carefully. Hundreds of changes are made in drug labels each yearand many ofthese changes affect the way you should use drugs in treat- ing your animals, + Use drugs only in the animal species indicated on the label. Drugs meant for cone kind of animal can cause adverse drug reactions or illegal drug residues in another species. + Always make sure you are giving the proper amount of drug for the kind and size of animal you are treating. Overdosing can cause drug residue violations. + Make sure you are calculating pre-slaughter drug withdrawal and milk dis- card times accurately. Remember, withdrawal and discard times begin with the last drug administration. + Always use the correct route of drug administration. Giving oral drugs by injection can cause loss of drug effectiveness. Giving injectable drugs incorrectly can lead to adverse reactions, reduced effectiveness, illegal drug residues, and possibly the death of an animal,Chapter 44 Dairy Herd Health 231 + Avoid “double-dosing” your animals. Using the same drug in the feed supply and then by injection can cause illegal residues. + Keep an accurate record of the drugs you use and identify the animals receiving the drugs. Sending an animal to market too soon after it has been treated or shipping a treated animal because it was not properly identified can be a costly mistake + Good drug use records also help when professional animal health care is needed. Veterinarians need to know how much and what kinds of drugshave been given before they can treat animals effectively and safely. + When injecting animals, select your needles and injection sites with care. Depending on the animal—and sometimes the drug—the wrong needle size, spacing or number of injection sites, or drug amount per site, can result in tissue damage, reduced drug effectiveness, or illegal drug residues. + Remember, feed containing drugs also can cause illegal residues. Make sure you have a reliable source of drug-free feed for your animals to eat during ‘withdrawal periods and that your storage bins and feed troughs are cleaned thoroughly before the withdrawal feed is put in them. + For a complete explanation of all the precautions you need to take in using any particular drug or feed medication, first consult the drug label or feed tag, Ifyou have any questions about the proper use of any drug, see your feed dealer or veterinarian tis Control ‘Mastitis is a serious economic problem for dairy farmers. (Figure 44-3 shows the effect one type of mastitis has on milk). ‘The presence of mastitis in the dairy herd causes losses by + Towering milk production from infected cows. + increasing the cull rate inthe herd. + the cost of treatment. + loss of infected milk that must be throwin away. + increased labor cost to treat infected cows. + possible loss of permit to sell milk if infection becomes serious enough. Mastitis is usually caused by bacteria that get into the udder through the teat opening, ‘Ihe bacteria can enter through an injury to the teat. Mastitis may be acute or chronic. The symptoms of the acute form include: inflamed udder. swollen, hot, hard, tender quarter. drop in milk production. abnormal mil (lumpy, stringy, straw-colored, contains blood, yellow clots) + the cow goes off feed, shows depression, dull eyes, rough hair coat, chills or fever, constipation, + death may result. ‘The symptoms of the chronic form of mastitis include: + abnormal milk (clots, flakes, watery). + slight swelling and hardness of udder that comes and goes. + sudden decrease in milk production. ‘The chronic form may not show any symptoms. ‘Therefore, itis often not treated. Sometimes it does not respond to treatment, Chronic mastitis is a more serious economic problem than the acute form, Either form may cause perma- nent damage to the udder. Figure 44-3 Normal milkisshown on the left and an abnormal secre- tion from a cow vith colforn mas- titi is shown on the right. Courtesy of James Lawhead, DVM.832 Section 9 Dairy 7 Leukocytes are white blood cells that fight infection. The presence of mastitis, ‘causes an increase of leukocytes in the milk. Somatic cells are leukocytes and body cells. While all normal milk contains some somatic cells, the goal for the dairy herd should be an average of no more than 150,000 to 200,000 cells per milliliter, Ninety percent of the herd should be below 200,000 cells per milliliter. ‘The somatic cell count can vary considerably from month to month in cows that have a mastitis infection. Daily per head milk losses increase as the somatic cell count increases, ranging from 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) at 72,000 cells per milliliter to 6.0 pounds (2.7 kg) at somatic cell counts of ever one million per milliliter. Somatic cell counts above $00,000 usually indicate a bacteria infection, a cow in late lactation, udder injury, or an old cow. Problem cows may need to be culled from the herd. Current regulations state that bulk Grade A milk picked up at the farm cannot have a somatic cell count exceeding 750,000 cells per milliliter. A violation can result in the loss of the Grade A permit. This can result in serious economic loss for the dairy farmer. Several tests are used to detect high somatic cell counts. The California Mastitis ‘Test (CMT) is a common test to screen the herd for mastitis. It gives an estimate of the somatic cell count and should be used at least once amonth, Assmall paddle with four cup compartments is used. Milk about I teaspoon of the first milk from a quarter into a cup. Check each quarter separately. A chemi- cal that reacts with the milk is placed in the cups. The presence of leukocytes is shown by the reaction. A slight precipitation shows a low leukocyte count. ‘The development of a heavy gel and a purple color shows a high leukocyte count. ‘Tests for somatic cell count can be done in a laboratory. Some tests are chemi- cal. Electronicinstraments have been developed for giving more accurate somatic cell counts in milk, A direct microscope count may also be made. A carefully planned and followed mastitis control program is essential for the dairy farm, The control program must be designed to both reduce the number of new infections and effectively treat existing infections in the dairy herd. An additional objective of the control program must be the avoidance of drug resi- dues in the milk. “The following practices should be followed in an effective mastitis control program. 1, Maintain milking equipment in proper operating condition, 2. Practice proper milking procedures, 3. Wentify the bacteria causing the infection and determine the extent of the infection in the herd. 4, Promptly treat identified cases of mastitis. S. Treat all quarters of cows at drying off time. 6. Cull cows with chronic mastitis problems that do not respond to treatment. Improperly maintained and operating milking equipment can contribute to a mastitis problem in the herd. The milking vacuum should be relatively stable at 11 to 12 inches of mercury at the claw. The pulsator should maintain 45 to 60 pulsations per minute with a milk/rest (pulsation) ratio of $0/50 to 60/40. (Specific brands of equipment may be designed to operate at different speci- fications; if so, be sure the equipment is operating within the design specifi cations.) Check the system while all units are operating. ‘The end of the teat may be damaged if the pulsation ratio and/or rate are too high. ‘This can allow bacteria to enter the teat. Vacuum fluctuation, liner slip, and liner flooding may allow bacteria to enter the teat through the teat canalChapter 44 Dairy Herd Health 833 Bacteria can also be transmitted mechanically from cow to cow by the milker claw; this problem can be reduced by properly sanitizing the liners and claw between cows and by milking cows with high somatic cell counts or known infec- tions of mastitis after the other cows in the herd are milked. Care must be taken to keep the sanitizing solution from becoming contaminated when treating the liners and claw between cows. Contaminated sanitizing solution will not prevent the spread of mastitis, Large herds with a serious mastitis problem may justify the expense of solid- state backflushing units, which are now available for use in milking parlors. hese ‘units backflush the equipment with a sanitizing solution between each cow. The flush cycle takes from 1 to 3 minutes and uses up to 1.5 gallons (5.7 liters) per cow. his can help reduce the spread of the infection by the equipment. Proper milking procedure includes washing the udder before applying the milking claw and dipping the teats in a sanitizing solution after milking is com- pleted. Procedures are discussed in detail in Chapter 43. Identifying the bacteria that are causing the mastitis problem is essential for proper treatment. A determination can then be made of the proper antibiotic to ‘use in treating the infection. Bacterial culture tests and somatic cell counts taken from four or five daily bulk tank samples will give an indication of the extent of ‘mastitis infection in the herd. Cows showing symptoms of acute mastitis infection should be treated with intravenous or intramuscular injections of the proper antibiotic. ‘This treat- ment should always be done under the supervision of a veterinarian. Cases that are not quite as severe may be treated with mastitis infusion tubes in the affected quarters. ‘Treat all quarters of cows being dried off with an approved dry cow mastitis treatment. This practice will help prevent infection during the dry period. If infection is present, the cure rate is higher than if treatment is done during lactation. Treatment also helps damaged tissue regenerate, reduces infection at freshening time, and avoids the problem of drug residues in marketable milk. Cows with chronic mastitis infection that does not respond to treatment should be culled from the herd; this will eliminate a possible source of infection for other cows. Displaced Abomasum Displaced abomasum (DA) is a condition in which the abomasum moves out of place in the abdominal cavity. It is more common in dairy cattle than in beef cattle. Treatment generally requires surgical correction and in most cases results in rapid recovery and return to production (Figure 44-4). Nonsurgical treatments such as rolling the cow over or forcing her up a sharp incline has sometimes proven successful. The majority of the cases occur shortly after calving. ‘The symptoms of displaced abomasum include + Poor appetite + Diarrhea + Reduced fecal discharge + Dropin milk production + Soft or pasty feces + Dull listless, thin appearance “The kind of ration fed appears to be involved in causing displaced abomasum. ‘Too rapid an increase in grain feeding just before calving increases the chances of DA. Poor-quality, moldy roughage or too much silage in the ration also increases DA. Do not overfeed silage and concentrates to dry cows. Increase the amount of concentrate in the ration slowly a calving time. Label directions for pericd | of use and withholding of milk. rom the market must be followed; failure to da somay result insevere eco- nomic los due to condem- ration of entire tanks of milk. Kits are available for testing individual samples ‘of milk before adding them to the bulk tank if there is any doubt about the pres- ence of rug residues. wes | Figure 44-4 A displaced abo- ‘masumin thisHolstein cows required surgery, The vet practices normal surgical procedures of anesthesia, cleansing, etc, on the farm, Phatoby Catrina Kennedy.834 Section9 Dairy & Retained Placenta Retained placenta is a condition in which the placenta (afterbirth) is not dis- charged within 12 to 24 hours after calving, It is normal for 10 to 12 percent of dairy cows to have retained placenta, A higher rate indicates a problem that needs attention ‘A number of causes may be involved in retained placenta, including: + infection in the reproductive tract during pregnancy. + deficiencies of vitamin A or E, iodine, and selenium. + an out of balance calcium to phosphorus ratio in the diet. + the cow being too fat (fed too much carbohydrate feeds) + stress at calving. + breeding the cow too soon after calving. Good management that prevents the listed causes will help reduce retained placenta, Call a veterinarian to treat a cow with retained placenta, Ketosis Ketosis is a nutritional disorder in dairy cows. Blood sugar drops to a low level It is caused by not feeding enough energy feeds to meet the cow's needs for high milk production. Ketosis usually occurs in the first 6 to 8 weeks after calving, Symptoms of ketosis include: + the cow goes off feed shortly after calving. + adrop in milk production, + loss in body weight + the cow becomes dull and listless. + an odor of acetone in breath, urine, and milk. Feeding a properly balanced ration will help prevent ketosis. A veterinarian should be called to determine the proper treatment if a cow develops ketosis. ‘Common treatments include injection of ghucose into the bloodstream, injection of hormones (cortisone or adrenocorticotrophic hormone), or oral feeding of propylene glycol or sodium propionate. Feeding molasses will not cure ketosis. Metritis Metrtisis an infection in the uterus. It usually affects a cow within I to 10 days after calving, A higher rate of metrtisis seen in cows that are too fat at calving time. Symptoms of metritis include: + loss of appetite. + fever. + drop in milk production. + abnormal (thick, cloudy, gray, foul odor) discharge from the vulva, + standing with back arched, + in severe cases, rapid death. Feeding a properly balanced ration to dry cows helps prevent metrtis. Keep the calving area clean and sanitary. Mettitis is treated with intrauterine antibiotic drugs. Consult a veterinarian for proper treatment. Milk Fever Milk fever (parturient paresis) is caused by a shortage of calcium salts in the blood. It is more common in older, high-producing cows. It usually occurs within a few days after calving.Chapter 44 Dairy Herd Health 835 Symptoms of milk fever include: + loss of appetite + reduction in quantity of feces passed. + the cow may be excited in the early stage. + staggering + the cow becomes depressed + cold skin, dry muzzle, + paralysis. + lying on brisket with head turned back toward side. + in later stages, ying on side with head stretched out. + bloating, + ifnot treated, death, Feed a balanced ration to dry cows with the correct calcium-phosphorus ratio, Milk fever is treated by intravenous injection of calcium. Call veterinarian for treatment. Internal Parasites Common internal parasites of cattle are discussed in Chapter 17. A regular pro- {gram of treatment for internal parasites should be followed for the dairy herd. Consult a veterinarian to set up a regular treatment program. ‘All mature dairy cows should be treated for worms after each lactation. Worm replacement heifers near the end of their pregnancy. External Parasites Common external parasites of cattle are discussed in Chapter 17. Care must be taken when using insecticides on dairy farms. Insecticides in milk are illegal. ‘Very small amounts can be detected. Use only insecticides approved for dairy animals and facilities. Follow label directions carefully to avoid illegal residues in the milk, SUMMARY ‘An effective herd health plan emphasizes prevention of problems. Regular vacci- nation and herd testing is important. Good management practices help prevent health problems. Mastitis is the most serious disease that affects dairy cattle. Careful manage- ment and proper treatment is needed to keep losses low. Be careful when using rugs to avoid illegal residues in the milk. ‘A good herd health plan, set up with the assistance of a veterinarian, will increase net profits. Control internal and external parasites. Student Learning Activities 1. Have a veterinarian speak to the class about mastitis control in dairy herds. 2. Plan a herd health program for a local dairy farm. 3. Prepare and present an oral report to the class on any aspect of dairy herd health 4, In order to maintain good herd health, use the information in this chapter when planning and conducting a dairy supervised experience progeam.836 Section 9 Dairy Discussion Questions 1, Describe management practices that will help maintain good herd health. 2. What care should be taken when using drugs for treatment of dairy cows and calves? 3. What losses are caused by mastitis? 4, What are the symptoms of acute and chronic mastitis? S. Describe the California Mastitis Test. 6, How is mastitis treated? 7. Discuss the symptoms, prevention, and treatment of each of the following: a. displaced abomasum d. metrtis b, retained placenta e. milk fever «. ketosis 8. Briefly explain control of internal and external parasites in the daity herd Review Questions True/False 1, Dairy cattle are not subject to the same diseases and parasites that affect beef cattle 2. The Dairy Quality Assurance Progeam is designed to help farmers produce high-quality milk 3. Mastitis is one of the major causes of economic losses in dairy herds. 4, Allmature dairy cattle should be treated for worms, during each lactation. S. Metritis isan infection of the uterus in catle. Multiple Choice 6. Ketosis usually occurs during the fist__ to ‘weeks after calving ada 68 +b. 456 d. 8; 10 7. One objective of a mastitis control program is the avoidance of residue in the milk. a. feed protein b. drug i bacteria Completion 8. is using the same drug in the feed supply and then by injection, 9, Mastitis may be or. Short Answer 10. What does an effective plan for herd health emphasize? 11. How does mastitis cause economic problems for dairy farmers? 12. Why isit important to sanitize the milker claw and liners? 13, What isa displaced abomasum? 14, What are leukocytes?