The Bovine Bugle

Cold snap means cows take a dip

A cold cow gets treatment to prevent frostbite and other problems.

The three-day cold snap really drove the chill into everyone and everything. During sub-zero temperatures like we had the past three mornings, we take extra steps to make sure the cows stay healthy. We feed extra forage to help the cows keep their bodies warm, we make sure the freestalls have plenty of dry sawdust, and we even have a special teat dip we use when we dip the teats after milking.

We normally dip all four teats of the cow after milking with a liquid containing a germicide. This kills bacteria on the teats and helps maintain udder health between milkings. When the temperature drops below 30 degrees F we switch from a liquid dip to a powder dip. This powder contains a germicide, but just as important is the drying action of the powder. It dries all moisture on the teat. When the cow leaves the milking parlor and goes out into the freestalls where the temperature may be well below zero, she won't be in danger of getting frostbite on the ends of her teats. Before the powder became available several years ago, we would have several cases every winter of cows with frostbite on the very ends of their teats. This would make it difficult to milk the cow and almost always ended with the cow having a case of mastitis.

Our open-style barn is great for the health of the cow, and with precautions like the powder dip the cows survive the cold snaps just fine.

--Jonathan (left), Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont
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Posted by Blogger Chris at December 16, 2005 06:20 PM