Dry Cow Strategies
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At the end of lactation, dairy cows require a dry period to allow udder tissue to repair and rejuvenate. The recommendation is that all cows are protected from mastitis during the dry period. Dry cow management has a significant impact on herd health as decisions during this time influence your herd's mastitis performance for the next 6 to 12 months.
Before drying off
In the months before drying off, consider these decisions:
- Which cows will need to be dried off early, and when?
- Which cows need to be culled based on this year's mastitis records?
- What dry cow treatment approach to use at drying off?
- Who will administer the dry cow treatments? Have they been trained sufficiently?
- How will milk yields be reduced in the last 1-2 weeks before drying off?
- How will cows be managed for the first 3 weeks after dry off?
Dry cow management strategies
Calculate drying off dates so that all cows get at least a 6-to-8-week dry period, to allow enough time for the udder tissue to repair and rejuvenate. Dry off high somatic cell count (SCC) cows early to help manage bulk milk SCC.
Collect information to assess your current situation and consult with your veterinarian to decide dry cow strategies. DairyNZ, veterinarians and milk companies support the appropriate use of antibiotics at dry-off to ensure their long-term effectiveness. Your vet can help you reduce antibiotic use on your farm, while maintaining milk quality. For most herds, selective antibiotic DCT will be appropriate.
Cows that may receive antibiotic DCT include:
- Cows treated for clinical mastitis in the last dry period or in current lactation.
- Cows or heifers with 1 or more high individual cow SCC or,
- Cows with a positive RMT result.
Other factors that may influence DCT use:
- Other test results, e.g. culture results or information about the pathogens present in the herd.
- Cows over 4 years old and milk production over 15 L at the last herd test of lactation.
- Cows with visible teat end damage.
Product options include antibiotic Dry Cow Treatment (DCT), which is used to treat existing infections, and Internal Teat Sealants (ITS), which are used to protect quarters from new infections in the dry period.
For further information on selecting cows and DCT products, see Guideline 14.
For more technical information supporting these recommendations, see Technote 14
Selecting cows to cull
A realistic annual culling benchmark is 1-2% of total cows in the herd, to support good mastitis control. Consider culling cows that have had 3 or more cases on clinical mastitis in the lactation or have had high SCC in two consecutive lactations. For more information, see Guideline 15.
Drying off abruptly
Consider drying cows off that are producing less than 5 litres a day. Ensure their feeding levels are reduced to reduce milk production. Always put cows in clean areas after giving DCT and feed cows their maintenance diet for the first 7-14 days after drying off. For more information, see Guideline 16.
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