What are the key points for preventing mastitis in dairy cows?

Maintain environmental hygiene. 99.5% of dairy cow mastitis is caused by bacterial infection of 1 to 4 quarters, and these bacteria mostly enter through the teats. Therefore, attention should be paid to maintaining environmental hygiene. The cow bed should be designed reasonably, with enough bedding straw that is replaced in time; manure should be cleaned up promptly to keep the exercise yard dry and clean; the cow's body should be brushed frequently, especially keeping the hindquarters and tail clean; stocking density should be reasonable to avoid poor air quality.

Strengthen milking management. Before milking, wash the dairy cow's udder well, ensuring one towel per cow and a water change for each cow. Be careful to wipe the teats first, then the udder quarters, and finally wipe the milk mirror. Teat dipping before and after milking will have a good effect on preventing mastitis. When using machine milking, also pay attention to cleaning and disinfecting the equipment before and after each milking, and the milking equipment should also be regularly inspected and effectively maintained.

Formulate the ration reasonably. The ration nutrition should be balanced. According to the feeding standards, sufficient vitamins should be included in the dairy cow ration, especially vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin E, and abundant macroelements and microelements should be supplied.

Strengthen quarter care for dry dairy cows. Generally, the rapid dry-off method should be used. Immediately after the last complete milking, each quarter should be treated with medication, and for the first 7 to 10 days of the dry period, teat dipping should be done once daily.

Strengthen care for dairy cows during the periparturient period.

From 7 to 10 days before calving, teat dipping should be done once daily. If udder edema is found in first-calf cows, the salt content in their ration should be controlled, and milking should be done by hand. Remember that machine milking must never be used before the edema disappears.

Strengthen routine herd management and avoid mechanical injury. Calves should be dehorned to avoid the horns scratching the udder during fighting. Barn doors should be wide enough, and the floor and cow beds should not be slippery, and herding should be slow to avoid crowding and slipping of dairy cows. Water troughs and feed troughs should be wide enough to avoid cows competing for water and feed as much as possible. Reduce group changes, and group changes should be arranged at night as much as possible.