dry period (redirected from dry period treatment)

dry period

the period during the lactation cycle when the cow is not lactating, i.e. the period between the end of one lactation and the beginning of the next.

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dry period colostrum

see dry period secretion (below).

dry period secretion

after lactation ceases in normal cows the milk in the udder changes to a thin watery fluid, then disappears altogether in some, then a thick, honey-like secretion appears, then to a very thick opalescent colostrum and finally the normal custard-like colostrum.

dry period treatment

treatment of the udder of dairy cows during the dry (nonlactating) period. This is an important part of most bovine mastitis control programs in the removal of subclinical infections which have established during the lactation, and reduction of new infections occurring during the dry period. This is effected by treating each quarter of the udder with a long-acting, broad-spectrum antibiotic preparation immediately after the last milking of a lactation. The strategy is highly effective against the common contagious bacterial causes of mastitis, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae.

The possibility exists that the sterilizing effect that the technique has on the udder may increase its sensitivity to other infections. In order to avoid this it is recommended that only those cows that show evidence of mastitis be treated in this way. This also greatly reduces the cost of the operation in those herds in which the incidence of the disease is low.