 It has long been accepted that bedding type and cleanliness
play a major role in mastitis prevention. Many studies have shown
that bacterial populations found in bedding are similar to those
found on the teat end and thought to contribute to environmental
mastitis. Dairymen have tried various sources of bedding, different
bedding schedules and several additive products in an attempt
to decrease bedding bacterial populations and achieve the most
effective bedding program.
A resent
study in the Journal of Dairy Science reported some interesting findings on using
commercial conditioners such as hydrated lime, alkaline treatment and acid treatment to
reduce bacterial populations in sawdust and recycled manure. In short, the study showed
that conditioners differed in effectiveness with the two bedding materials. The
effectiveness of the treatment was pH dependent. The alkaline treatment was most effective
when used with recycled manure while the acid treatment was most effective when used with
sawdust. The antibacterial activity of all three of the conditioners was extremely
short-lived irrelevant of the bedding source.
Hogan,
et al. evaluated eight sets of tie stalls for a total of eight weeks. Each set of tie
stalls was exposed to each bedding type and bedding treatment. Cows remained in the same
tie stall for the duration of the study and were evaluated on day 0, 1, 2, and 6 for the
presence of environmental bacteria at the teat end. The researchers found good response to
the hydrated lime and alkaline treatments with the recycled manure at day 1 of the
observation, however, by day 6, bacterial populations in treated stalls were similar to
the non-treated stalls. In general, the antibacterial activity of the alkaline treatment
was higher than the hydrated lime when used with recycled manure. A similar, but opposite
activity pattern was seen with the sawdust bedding material. The most effective
conditioner in combination with the sawdust bedding was the acid treatment. Just as with
the alkaline treatment and recycled manure, the effectiveness of the acid treatment and
sawdust bedding had deteriorated by day 6.
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The
pattern observed with the teat end evaluations was similar to
those seen with the bedding bacterial counts. Although the bacterial
populations at teat end were still somewhat lower than the control
at day 6 with the most effective bedding conditioner for each
bedding type, the trend for diminished effectiveness was clear.