Q:
What is the proper size for a footbath?
A:
The dimensions for a walk-through footbath vary from dairy to dairy but they should be at least 3 feet wide, 6–9 feet long and at least 5–6 inches deep. The footbath should also be built for efficient drainage, cleaning and refilling.
Updated: 10/01/98
Q:
How can I figure out the capacity of my footbath?
A:
Measure the length, width and depth and multiply by 7.46 to get the capacity in gallons.
Updated: 10/01/98
Q:
Are walk-through footbaths always effective in controlling foot problems such as hairy foot warts?
A:
No. If footbaths solutions are not frequently changed, the solutions quickly loose their effectiveness. The footbath is only part of the solution and should not be relied upon to solve lameness problems on the dairy.
Updated: 10/01/98
Q:
Why aren't antibiotics always effective when used in a footbath?
A:
Antibiotics are quickly neutralized by the presence of mud and manure in the footbath. In large herds, the antibiotic solutions must changed often to provide results on a herdwide basis. One footbath is need for each 150-200 cows or the solution within t
he footbath must be changed after each 150-200 cows have walked through it.
Updated: 10/01/98
Q:
What cows should I include in a milk culture program to control mastitis?
A:
All fresh cows within 3-5 days after calving, all new clinical cases of mastitis, any new additions to the herd, whether heifers or older cows, any cows that went to the fair and were milked there, and the bulk tank (1-2 times per month).
Updated: 10/01/98
Q:
What should the rumen pH be on a rumenocentesis sample?
A:
The normal rumen pH is usually above 5.8. The range of 5.6 to 5.8 might be considered marginal. Readings at or below 5.5 are considered to be abnormal. It is suggested that 10-12 cows should be tested. With a TMR ration, testing should be done 5-8 hours
after feeding. If greater than 30% of the readings taken are below 5.5, it should be considered abnormal on a herd basis.
Updated: 4/20/98
Q:
What urine pH is reflective of an adequate DCAD ration?
A:
The range for urine pH when most DCAD rations are effective is between 6.0 and 7.0. pH readings of less than 6.0 indicate too much DCAD in the ration. When the urine pH is above 7.0, the DCAD ration will probably be ineffective. Keep in mind that this is
a “suggested” range and the pH reading should be interpreted in association with the prevalence of clinical metabolic diseases.
Updated: 4/20/98
Q:
Can fluoroquinolones be used in an "extra-label" manner in
dairy cows?
A:
No, fluoroquinolones are specifically prohibited by FDA for use in any food
producing animals.
Updated: 12/17/97
More information:
Prohibited Drugs for Food
Producing Animals.
Q:
Do we have to sanitize the teats of dairy cows before
attaching the milking maching during the milking process?
A:
Yes, item 13r of the Grade A PMO states that teats must be
santized before the milking machine is attached.
Recently there has been an attempt to modify the Grade A PMO by removing
the need for sanitizing teats prior to milking. While the NCIMS approved
such a change, the FDA did not, so the need for sanitizing remains
essentially unchanged.
Updated: 12/17/97
More information:
The FDA did provide for an alternative. See
item 13r of the PMO.
Q:
Is mycoplasma still a problem on California dairies?
A:
A recent retrospective six-year survey (1989-1995) of dairies shipping
milk to a central valley California creamery found that between 1.8% and
5.8% of the bulk tank milk samples contained mycoplasma. When only the
pathogenic mycoplasma were considered, the yearly percentage ranged from 1.2%
to 3.1%. Mycoplasma bovis was the most common isolate and was most likely to
be isolated multiple times on a single dairy. Acholeplasma laidlawii, a
non-pathogen, was frequently isolated in small numbers. Direct culture was
used by the creamery and speciation was done at the Veterinary Medical
Teaching and Research Center, Milk Quality Laboratory.
Updated: 02/23/97
More information:
"Is Mycoplasma Still Out There
on California Dairies?"
Q:
Should I use enrichment media to culture milk for mycoplasma?
A:
It all depends. Enrichment media has been shown to be useful when culturing
individual cow milk samples. The recovery rate is much greater than that of the direct culture method. The lower limit of detection with enrichment is about 10 cfu and for direct plating it is about 100 cfu. The answer is not clear with bulk tank milk as
there is no published research on this subject.
Updated: 05/19/97
More information:
Culturing for Mycoplasma
Q:
Should I speciate the positive mycoplasma milk culture isolates?
A:
For incident cases of mycoplasma isolation it is very important to know
the species involved because not all mycoplasma isolated from milk samples
are mastitis pathogens.
It is important to have milk sample mycoplasmal isolates speciated to
determine what species of mycoplasma is present. The reason that speciation
is important is that there are at least 11 species of mycoplasma which have
been isolated from milk samples and not all of them are thought to be mastitis
pathogens. Acholeplasma laidlawii is the most common, non-pathogenic mycoplasma
isolate. It is often considered a contaminate and is seen most often during
rainy, wet weather.
The most common mycoplasma isolated from bovine milk samples is Mycoplasma
bovis. It probably causes the most severe clinical cases of mastitis of the
pathogenic mycoplasma. Other mycoplasma commonly found in bovine milk samples
in California are M. bovigenitalium, M. canadense, M. californicum
and M. alkalescens.
Updated: 02/23/97
Q:
Where can I get a copy of the new standards for milking machines?
A:
There are three new standards available from the American Society of
Agricultural Engineers:
ASAE EP445.1, Jul 96
Test Equipment and Its Application for Measuring Milking Machine
Operating Characteristics.
ASAE S518.2 Jul 96
Milking Machine Installations -
Construction and Performance
ASAE S300.3 Jul 96
Terminology for Milking Machines,
Milk Cooling, and Bulk Milk Handling Equipment
These standards can be
ordered from:
American Society of
Agricultural Engineers
2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph MI 49085
Phone: 616-428-6324,
FAX: 616-429-0300
email: paine@asae.org
http://www.asae.org/people/paine/
The cost is $14.00 each
with $3.75 for handling.
Updated: 02/23/97
Q:
Could Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) become a problem in California?
A:
Currently FMD is causing a severe disease problem in the swine industry of Taiwan. Taiwan is many thousands of miles away by boat but only a few hours away by plane. Many Californians have family roots there and travel back and forth. Returning travelers
who have visited swine farms could bring FMD with them or they might be bringing pork products which could contain the FMD virus.
Updated: 05/19/97
More information:
FMD: Foot and Mouth Disease
(PDF: 627K, 9pp w/photos) For information on where to download free Adobe Acrobat Reader for PDF files, see Home Page: Optimal Browsing.
Q:
What are the important factors that influence calf mortality?
A:
Colostrum feeding (method, timing, quantity), removal time from dam, calving
difficulty and twining. The colostral feeding method associated with the lowest calf mortality is to feed greater than two quarts of first milking colostrum via bucket or bottle within six hours of birth.
Updated: 05/19/97
More information:
Calf Mortality
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