Mastitis is an inflammation of one or more quarters of the udder and it is one of the most expensive disease affecting dairy cow herds.
Costs of medicine, veterinary treatment, costs regarding animals mortality or recurrence of illness, decrease in cow productivity, change of milk chemical composition result directly from mastitis. A breeder must devote a lot of time to sick cows and treat them separately during the milking process.
Mastitis has clinical and subclinical type. The clinical type of mastitis is easily detected, however the subclinical type does not have visible symptoms and can develop for a very long time. (even a few months). As it turns out, the subclinical type of mastitis generates about 75% of general costs regarding this disease.
Productivity increase and free stall cowshed system unfortunately can contribute to spread of mastitis. Despite good hygiene during milking process, we are not able to fully eliminate micro-organisms which we can find not only in the feed, water, bedding and elements of fence but also on the liners and other parts of the milking system. That is why it is very important to control the cow udder regularly.
Before we notice first marks on the udder which will indicate an illness, we can detect mastitis in the early stage of this disease due to milk conductivity measurement. Inflammation makes pH value increase and potassium and lactose content decrease.
Such current pH values are obtained by using KOMPAS 500 measurement modules of POLANES company. Measuring chambers measure conductivity during milking, sending simultaneously values into analytic system INFODEX. Data are proceeded and in case of deviations, the user receives a message.
Besides milk conductivity measurement- INFODEX herd management system provides to breeder information about productivity, health and production potential of cows, lactation process and propagation, feed rations and its influence on weight, in other words, all indispensable data needed to control milk production in a modern farm.
