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
Latest Thoughts on Methods for Assessing Teat Condition
The Teat Club International (TCI) is an excellent example of an interdisciplinary and international cooperative effort and illustrates the synergies that such collaboration can produce. The group of experts cited in the references to this paper (lead by Graeme Mein, then Eric Hillerton and now Ian Ohnstad) began a dialogue intended to develop a commonly accepted methodology for assessing teat condition. This effort has facilitated scientific progress by allowing these common methods to be used by researchers and field investigators around the world so that results could be pooled, compared, and communicated using a common language.
The effects of machine milking on teat condition.
Short-term effect of milking on teats is swelling, which can be measured by ultrasound. Long-term effects are changes in teat-end tissue, resulting in a callous ring around the teat orifice. Teat-end callosity can be classified visually, e.g. by the PV-classification system. With some machine settings, cows differ in response. For example longer suction phase of the pulsator will in general decrease machine-on time, but in a substantial part of the cows will show an increase. Different liners can cause different degrees of teat swelling but not always differences in milk flow profiles.