By Brittany Core, DeLaval Dairy Advisor and Kristy Campbell, DeLaval Dairy Advisory Manager
Mastitis is an ongoing challenge for dairy farmers. While proper maintenance and use of milking equipment is only one part of the National Mastitis Council’s 10-point mastitis control plan, it is important to implement the details of this step to prevent mastitis in your herd.
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To determine where deficiencies are within your system, there are a few areas you can focus on to isolate potential mastitis drivers.
Preventative Maintenance
We are all familiar with the Ben Franklin quote, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This is a vital piece of advice when it comes to milking equipment. Your technical service provider and equipment dealership can help you develop a plan to ensure preventative maintenance is performed on a routine basis. Also, inspecting all milking components regularly will reveal early wear, which may be a sign of larger problems within your system.
Routine Inspections
Developing a routine equipment inspection checklist and encouraging employees to complete these tasks daily or at the start of every milking will ensure problems are caught early before they develop into larger issues. If you have a significant or sudden increase in SCC or clinical mastitis rates, it never hurts to have your system fully evaluated with a dynamic test to ensure vacuum and pulsation are within desired parameters while milking.
Routine Equipment Inspection Checklist
| What to look for: | How to take action: |
|---|---|
| Inspect milk and pulsation tubes for tears | Replace if damaged |
| Inspect liners for cracks in mouthpiece, tears or twisting | Correct or replace |
| Inspect pulsation hoses for moisture | Notify service technicians for pulsator evaluation |
| Inspect claws and shells for damage | Replace |
| Inspect claw | Clean claw or liner air vents |
| Record system vacuum levels | Notify service technicians of deviations |
| Listen for air leaks or change in pulsation | Identify the leak, then correct or notify service technicians |
| Evaluate unit alignment and hose support of each unit | Adjust hose length, remove hose twists and correct hose support |
| Graph each pulsator on regular schedule according to manufacturer’s recommendation | Clean and repair |
Teat Condition
Short-term changes in teat condition, like discoloration, firmness or swelling, “ringing” around the upper teat barrel, or wedging of the teat end, are generally in response to a single milking. Short-term changes can increase inflammation, decrease milk-outs and influence cow behaviour during milking. High milking vacuum, faulty or incorrect pulsation, liner selection and over-milking could be contributing factors to these changes.
Hyperkeratosis is defined as excessive keratin growth, caused by a combination of teat shape, environmental factors, milking management issues and milking machine faults. The medium to long-term change in teat condition typically occurs over a period of two to eight weeks. Specific machine factors to investigate include the length of the D-phase in pulsation, total unit on-time, time spent in low flow at the beginning of milking and automatic take-off settings.
