Post-Partum Cow Processing

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1. Milking set-up
1. Be sure bucket system, claw, hoses, bucket top, and bucket are clean
2. Be sure teat dip container is clean
3. Be sure ample supply of clean cloth towels are available
4. Have alcohol swabs, sample vials, and other materials for sterile milk sample and blood sample collection
5. Set up bucket system for colostrum collection
2. Bring the cow to the head catch
1. Assess cow's stability on feet, general appearance, and any signs of milk fever in maternity pen
2. Set up gating prior to moving cow
3. Move cow calmly from maternity pen into south head catch in the clinical treatment area
3. Udder preparation, milk sampling and milking
1. Label sterile sample vial with cow's ID number and the date
2. Prepare udder for milking
1. Wear nitrile gloves
2. Use a first towel to remove sand and manure from teats and udder (use additional towels if needed)
3. Completely predip all four teats
4. For each teat:
1. Rub barrel to loosen any manure and ensure predip contact
2. While rubbing barrel, strip out 3-4 squirts of milk
3. Note abnormal milk or udder
4. Rub each teat end
5. Re-dip all four teats, wait at least 20 seconds
6. With a new, clean towel:
1. Wipe (once per teat) pre-dip off each barrel with a twisting motion. Use clean part of towel for each teat.
2. Flip towel over and rub each teat end (new towel if needed, purpose is to clean each teat end with a clean area of the towel.)
3. Collect a sterile composite colostrum sample milk from all 4 teats (1/2 to 2/3 full) for mastitis culture.
1. Scrub all four teat ends with alcohol swabs (clean far side teats first, then near side teats)
2. Working from the near teats to the far teats, strip a stream of milk from each teat, then carefully squirt 3-4 strips into the sample vial (sample near side teats first, then far side teats)
3. If there is an abnormal (mastitis) quarter, take an additional sample to use immediately for plating on a tri-plate.
4. Write the cow’s number and affected quarter on the white board next to the parlor door for the milkers and herdsman to see
5. Put labeled composite sample into freezer after attaching unit
4. Give 2 ml oxytocin in neck muscle. Replace cap on used needle on. Do not put used needle back into bottle. When giving the next injection, put a new needle on the syringe before drawing up the oxytocin.
5. Put milking unit on cow, adjust as needed. The vacuum hoses should come off of the side of the unit as attached.
6. Remove unit by kinking the black milk tube and allowing the unit to fall off as the vacuum drops when the cow is milked out or no longer than 3 minutes. (You can watch milk flow in the top of the claw.)
7. Post-dip all four teats completely
8. Remove plastic leg bands if present, except orange leg bands (They mean the cow has only 3 functional teats).


4. Clip cow as needed using the large livestock clippers: top line, flanks udders, ears (if hiding her tag)



5. Prophylactic treatments:
1. Restrain cow with halter.
2. Pull one “tiger (red/grey) top” tube before giving any calcium treatment. Label with cow ID.
1. This blood will be spun down later and serum collected and frozen
3. Drench cows and heifers with 400 mL of propylene glycol.
6. Data recording
1. Record all needed information into Daily Log Notebook
2. Write data about freshening & calf (cow ID, calving time and ease, heifer ID number & heifer American ID)
3. Check visual ID system of the cow. If a tag is missing in one ear, put on a new one. Tags are in the lab room in the second drawer down on west side, south end. There should be a tag pen to write the number on tag.
4. Parlor ID: Put a transponder on the cow and record CIDN (written on the bottom of the transponder) on the paper records in the daily log notebook.
7. Moving the cow to the fresh pen
1. Assess cow’s stability on her feet, general appearance, and any signs of milk fever
1. If she is unstable, put her back into the calving pen. Make sure the pen is well bedded and that there is feed and water available to her.
2. Move cow to fresh cow pen (Pen 41)
8. Clean-up (see calf processing protocol for details on equipment cleaning)
1. Fill the colostrum bottle (1 gallon bottle) to feed the cow’s calf
2. Wash bucket system, claw and hoses: warm water rinse, FLEX wash, acid rinse. (may wait until after calf processing).
3. Clean teat dipper
4. Spray down head catch area


9. Process calf (see calf processing protocol)



10. Sample handling
1. The colostrum sample vial goes in the bottom of the FREEZER section of the lactating cow refrigerator. (this is cultured for mastitis pathogens).
2. The tiger top tube will be placed in the refrigerator, not the freezer. Let clot for 30-60 minutes. Spin down and pour off serum into red top tube. Label with cow ID and place in freezer.