A Comparison of Dry Period Outcomes after Selective Dry Cow Therapy Carried out by Farm Staff versus Veterinary Students in a Low-Cell-Count Dairy Herd

Plate, Peter; van Winden, Steven

Abstract

(1) Background: Selective dry cow therapy is widely promoted in many countries worldwide,
however, concerns have been raised about the consequences of the unhygienic application of
preparations by untrained operators, especially if no antimicrobials are being used, risking deteriorating
mastitis outcomes. (2) Method: This study follows up on cows being dried off by farm staff
and those dried off by final-year veterinary students and first-year graduate interns in a supervised
training session. Subsequent mastitis parameters and culling data in a single herd with a low somatic
cell count were evaluated. (3) Results: A total of 316 dry periods were enrolled in the study. There
was no significant difference in the percentage of cows showing at least one high SCC reading within
90 days of the following lactation or cows with at least one case of clinical mastitis within the same
period, neither in the total nor in the subset of cows dried off without an antimicrobial. Dry period
cure rates and dry period new infection rates were similar too, as was the percentage of cows surviving
in the herd after six months. The risk of culling within twelve months post-drying off was lower
in cows dried off by students, the difference in survival manifesting itself from 150 days post-drying
off, which is an unexplained finding. (4) Conclusion: Well-supervised practical training sessions on
drying off routine can be responsibly implemented on well-managed commercial dairy herds.

Citation

Plate, P., & van Winden, S. (2023). A Comparison of Dry Period Outcomes after Selective Dry Cow Therapy Carried out by Farm Staff versus Veterinary Students in a Low-Cell-Count Dairy Herd. Animals, 13, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13142318

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 14, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jul 15, 2023
• Publication Date: Jul 15, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jul 15, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 19, 2023
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13142318