A case study to evaluate the incorporation of a polyvalent mastitis vaccine as part of a mastitis control program on a large housed commercial dairy unit.The herd is a large, permanently housed dairy in the north of England with a history of mastitis. The cows are milked 3 times daily through a 40/40 herringbone parlour with an automatic cluster remover and an automatic dipping and flushing (ADF) system.Since 2007 herd size has increased from 400 cows to over 1100, replacements are fresh calved Holstein heifers from continental Europe. Over the years mastitis, in particular staphyloccocal mastitis, has been major recurring problem despite implementationof on-going improvements; including Dairy Co. mastitis investigations, segregation of high cell count cows and extended antibiotic therapies. The parlour was upgraded in 2009, ADF system added in 2010 and the 20 swing over system replaced with a 40 point swing parlor in 2011. In 2010, 3 times daily milking was introduced and the automatic manure scrapers replaced with a tractor scraper used at milking times.
展开▼
