EVALUATION OF BOVINE TEAT CONDITION IN COMMERCIAL DAIRY HERDS: 2. INFECTIOUS FACTORS AND INFECTIONS
Table 1 Teat conditions observable according to the cause of the problem. Machine induced Environmental Infectious Discoloration Chapping Pseudocowpox Oedema Mud sores Herpes mammillitis Congestion Suckling damage Cowpox Wedging Fly bites Papilloma Ringing Other abrasions and cuts Foot and Mouth Disease Hemorrhaging petechia Weather damage Vesicular Stomatitis Hemorrhaging larger Allergic reactions Ringworm [Hyperkeratosis] Photosensitization Staphylococcus aureus Chemical damage Streptococcus dysgalactiae Arcanobacterium pyogenes Fusiformis necrophorum
Milk flow pattern, somatic cell count and teat apex score in primiparous dairy cows at the beginning of lactation
Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between milk flow traits, milk Somatic Cell Count (SCC) and teat apex score in primiparous cows during the first 120 days of lactation. A total of 82 primiparous Holstein cows were randomly selected in 6 herds characterized by different milking machines and management. The cows were monitored monthly during the first 120 days of lactation. Each month, milk flow curves of the whole udder of each primiparous cow were registered with continuous electronic milk flow meters (Lactocorder), quarter milk samples were aseptically collected, somatic cells were counted, and teat apex scores were assessed. Quarter milk samples were divided in two groups according to SCC: <200,000 and >200,000 cells/ml, respectively. At udder level each cow was classified as low SCC (LSCC) when all quarters had <200,000 cells/ml and high SCC (HSCC) in all other situations, separately for each control. Animals with at least one HSCC control during the first 120 days of lactation (n=33), compared to subjects always classified as LSCC cows (n=49), showed significantly higher average milk flow (2.32 vs 2.13 kg/min; P<0.05), peak milk flow (3.71 vs 3.14 kg/min; P<0.05), lower duration of plateau phase (2.33 vs 3.27 min; P<0.05), longer duration of increase phase (0.81 vs 0.66 min; P<0.05), and higher average SCC (4.07 vs 3.45 Log10 SCC; P<0.05). Moreover, primiparous cows with at least one HSCC control had a significant increase in peak milk flow during the first four months of lactation, while the other cows showed only a slight increase. Teat apex scores significantly increased in both groups of primiparous cows as lactation progressed but values in subjects always classified as LSCC animals were constantly lower with respect to cows with at least one HSCC control. The results obtained in this study support the relationship between SCC, teat apex score and milk flow traits.
Relationship between thickness, chapping and Staphylococcus aureus colonization of bovine teat tissue
Summary Post-milking measurements of teat skin chapping score, teat thickness and colonization by Staphylococcus aureus were determined for 11·5 d. Three teats on each of twelve Holstein cows, free from Staph, aureus intramammary infections, were immersed in 1 M-NaOH solution to induce teat chapping; the fourth teat served as a control. To achieve different degrees of chapping, one teat per cow received one immersion after each milking for three consecutive milking periods, a second teat received two immersions, and the third teat received one immersion which coincided with the last immersion of the other two teats. All teats were challenged twice with a skim milk broth culture of Staph, aureus (5 × 106 cfu) after the first and second milking following NaOH treatment. Measures were initiated with the milking following the last Staph, aureus challenges. Tissue thickness of the lateral side of the teat (barrel) and colonization by Staph, aureus declined with time. Thickness of the teat end varied more erratically. Teat skin chapping score was positively correlated (P < 0·001) with tissue thickness of the barrel and Staph, aureus colonization. Thickness of the barrel was not significantly correlated with Staph, aureus colonization. Barrel thickness as a covariate had a significant effect (P < 0·05) on teat skin colonization of Staph, aureus, whereas teat skin score and teat end thickness had no significant effect. Thus, thickness of the lateral side of the teat explained the greatest variation in Staph, aureus teat skin colonization in the model tested.