How to administer dry cow therapy
Dry cow therapy treatment is important to perform correctly to reduce the risks of udder infections and mastitis.
The procedure can be carried out when the cow has gone through the drying off period and is ready to be abruptly dried-off.
Follow these step-by-step instructions with an XL Vet expert to help you carry out the treatment safely and according to best practice.
1. To maximise hygiene, the procedure should be done outside of the parlour routine in a crush separate to the milking routine.
2. Have your sterile dry therapy tube ready with swabs at hand to clean off the teats so that the area is as sanitised as possible and wear sterile gloves.
3. Start with the front left quarter of the teats.
4. Treat the front teats first and the rear teats afterwards to prevent contaminating the area when you are reaching back and forwards.
5. Clean and disinfect the teats with the swabs – paying particular attention to the teat end.
6. Holding the teat, insert the tip of the tube a small way into the teat canal (6mm or less) so that the antibiotic covers the whole area inside the teat.
7. Squirt the full contents of the tube in then withdraw the applicator.
8. Massage the teat to help the antibiotic up into each quarter.
9. Finish off by immediately applying teat dip.
This “how to” is based on a video made by Farmers Weekly and XL Vets. You can watch the video below.
See also: Reduce dry period infection risk by cleaning teats