Milkability of Holstein cows is significantly affected by the incidence of clinical mastitis for weeks after diagnosis.

Abstract

The main objective of this research communication was to explore the extent of milkability changes caused by the incidence of clinical mastitis. Our second objective was to investigate if the milkability of cows shortly before mastitis incidence significantly differed in comparison with healthy cows. Milk yield, milking time, average milk flow, partial milk flows and the occurrence of bimodal milk flows were monitored during the first 120 d in milk for all cows that calved on the farm during the experimental period (n = 127). A veterinarian diagnosed 27 cows with clinical mastitis, while the remaining healthy cows served as a control group. The period surrounding the mastitis was monitored in a timeline from 2 weeks before to 4 weeks after the diagnosis. We did not observe any significant differences in milkability between the healthy cows and the cows in the pre-mastitis period, which suggests that monitoring these might not be useful for early mastitis detection. Milk yield and milk flow were significantly decreased in the week of mastitis diagnosis compared to the pre-mastitis period. Milking time was not affected in the week of diagnosis, but was significantly increased in the following week, because milk yield returned to pre-mastitis values, but average milk flow was still significantly decreased. Milk yield was normalized to pre-mastitis values as the first of monitored parameters. Milk flow returned to pre-mastitis values in the fourth week after mastitis diagnosis. Milking time was the only parameter that was significantly affected up to a month after diagnosis. Our results showed that milkability changes caused by mastitis are significant and should not be ignored. The ability to adjust milking settings for cows diagnosed with mastitis could become a useful tool for improving mastitis treatment.