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I was feeling a bit frustrated in the parlor this week.
We work so hard to produce good-quality milk that it is hard to watch something go wrong and not know the reason why.
Tuesday morning, both Steve and I found three new cases of mastitis. We had to dump that milk and start a treatment protocol. It's expensive every time a mastitis case pops up.
Before we started milking Tuesday morning, there was only one cow that needed to have some of her milk kept separate from the milk from the other cows. By Wednesday afternoon, that number had jumped to eight. That's almost 10 percent of our milking herd. Unacceptable.
Milking is such a pleasure when all the cows are feeling good. Things just hum along and milking goes so quickly.
I like it like that.
So when those six cows presented new cases of mastitis, I was feeling down in the dumps. Why can't we ever maintain just one cow with the ickies?
It meant we had to figure out what was happening within the herd that was causing the problem.
Believe me, there are a myriad of things that can cause issues.
The first culprit I think of as a possible cause is the post dipping technique. Each of the teats needs to be completely dipped after the cow has finished milking. It decimates any germs.
There was a time when this was the cause of the mastitis. Most of the new cases of mastitis were the left-front teats. I analyzed my dipping procedure and noticed I wasn't covering the entire teat. I spread the word to the employees to make sure they were not making the same mistake I was.
Another time mastitis ran rampant through our herd was just after we built our bedding-pack barn and our new parlor.
That was like opening a Pandora's Box in an effort to find the culprit.
Was it the new milking parlor equipment? Could it be the bedding pack? Was it employee error?
We spent weeks trying to figure out what was happening. At that time, we had 25 percent of our herd that needed to have their milk kept out of the bulk tank.
So when this latest round of mastitis occurred, I started analyzing the different cases. There was no obvious sign that the milking units were messed up. Of all the cows, it was apparent that no single quarter was most commonly being infected.
Time to look elsewhere.
Where to start?
Steve and I took the time to look at all 12-individual milking units for leaking hoses or loose screws. Nothing.
But things were about to change.
Wednesday morning, at the end of milking, Steve took the micro-fiber towels into the utility room to put them in the washing machine.
"Hey honey, do you always wash the towels with the water level set at small load?" he said.
"No. It should be on large or extra-large," I said.
"I think I found the problem," Steve said. "It always amazes me. Just when we think we have it all figured out, something different happens."
Having the washing machine set at low doesn't give the towels a good steaming, hot wash. Only the cold water from the long water lines would have been used for the wash cycle. Plus having a low level of water prevents the towels from really agitating.
We have tested our towels for germs and found that a lot of mastitis-causing germs live on those towels and they have to be properly washed.
We adjusted the water level and now we wait to see if the new cases of mastitis slow down. During milking Thursday morning, we didn't find any!
I'm a little less frustrated.[[In-content Ad]]

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