MANAGEMENT OF TEAT AND UDDER AFFECTIONS IN DAIRY ANIMALS

MANAGEMENT OF TEAT AND UDDER AFFECTIONS IN DAIRY ANIMALS

Teat and udder health are increasingly important for dairy producers and any disease condition involving udder or teat ultimately affects the productivity and the farmer’s economy. Unscientific milking and management practices are the main cause for teat and udder affections and cause a great loss to the poor farmers. The dairy farmers are less aware about  clean  milk production  and  teat  or  udder  health. Further, they also do not pay enough attention on udder care and sometimes even mishandle the udder which always  leads  to  teat  and udder affections. For successful dairy farming practice  also ensures that the milk is produced by healthy animals in a manner that is sustainable and responsible from the animal welfare, milking hygiene, nutrition in term of feed and water, social, economic and environmental perspectives. The udder and teats are vulnerable to external trauma or injury because of their anatomical location, increase in size of udder and teats during lactation, faulty methods of milking, repeated trauma to  the teat mucosa, injury by teeth of calves, accidentally stepped on teat, paralysis resulting from metabolic disturbances at parturition.

It’s Management–

1. Newly introduced cow should be milked separately and should be screened through California Mastitis Test (CMT).
2. Teat endoscopy is an excellent diagnostic procedure for covered teat injuries.
3. Theloscopy requires minimum time for giving accurate diagnosis about the internal teat injuries. By using theloscopy, milk flow disorder can be diagnosed easily and precisely. It allows to treat injuries according to a précised diagnosis and to monitor the treatment.

Diagnosis-

1. Diagnosis of the teat and udder diseases is mostly based on critical inspection, palpation and probing. If facilities are available, radiography can also be used as a valuable diagnostic tool.
2. Special attention should be paid to any sign of recent or old injury. The size, shape and appearance of the affected teat are compared with the teat of the parallel quarter.
3. The palpation of the teat by rolling it between the thumb and fore finger is of diagnostic value.
4. Probing with a sterilized teat siphon helps to remove the milk from the affected quarter and to locate the site of obstruction, if any. The removed milk can be used for quantitative and qualitative tests and bacteriological examination.
5. Positive contrast and double contrast radiographic methods have been used by clinicians to diagnose abnormalities of the teat.

Surgical Affections of Teat and Udder-

   Various diseases or anomalies of the udder and teat can be divided into three main subgroups–

1. Conditions of the epithelial surface of the udder and teat– Supernumerary teats, fused teats, lacerations, teat fistula and papilloma and warts.
2. Teat cistern- Lactoliths, polyps, teat spider and local and diffused obstructions.
3. Streak canal- Contracted sphincter, enlarged leat orifice, rupture and inversion of the streak canal mucosa and occlusion of the teat orifice.
4. Conditions of the epithelial surface of the udder and teat–
5. Supernumerary teats: These teats are often seen in the bovine in between the normal teats. Their functional capacity can only be determined after parturition of the animal. It is desirable to remove these teats for cosmetic reason and also because they interfere with the milking procedure. Supernumerary teats are removed surgically under local anesthesia.
6. Fused teats: Fused teats are infrequently seen in buffaloes and rarely in cows. In such cases, the skin of two teats is fused together from the base without any involvement of the teat canal or muscles. Surgery in such cases involves division of the skin in between the fused teats and suturing of the cutaneous wounds under local anesthesia.
7. Teat lacerations: Incidence of teat lacerations is relatively higher in goats due to their pendulous udder and long teats. In bovines, lacerations may occur due to a direct injury which might even be self-inflicted. Barbed wire fences, thorny bushes and some agricultural implements may also cause deep injuries. Superficial wounds are treated on general principles with thorough cleansing.
8. Teat fistula: Teat fistula is an abnormal opening or a passage between the teat cistern and the teat surface through which milk flows out in lactating animals. Mostly, it is an acquired anomaly, traumatic in origin, and rarely congenital. Teat fistula is best treated during the dry period, fresh wounds need an immediate attention. Surgery should be delayed if the teat is highly inflammed. For repair of a teat fistula, two elliptical incisions are given on the skin edges for debridement and undermining.
9. Papilloma’s or Warts: These finger-like projections may be isolated or multiple and originate from the skin surface of the teat. Usually the warts do not interfere in milking but when ulcerated or cracked may cause pain. A tight ligature at the base of the wart will occlude the blood supply and after necrosis the wart drops off.
10. Lactoliths (milk stone): Lactoliths in the teat cistern form due to mineral deposits. They are usually present as concretions and rarely as organised calculi. The concretions interfere in the milking procedure and an obstruction to the milk flow may occur if this gel lodged at the teat orifice, Lactoliths can be diagnosed by palpation and probing.
11. Polyps: A polyp is generally a pea sized growth attached to the wall of the teat cistern. The growth may interfere with milk flow and can easily be palpated after milk has been removed. A teat tumour extractor, a curette or a teat polyp extractor may be used to remove such a growth. The polyp can then be milked out or retrieved with an alligator forceps.
12. Teat spider (membranous obstruction): This condition may be congenital or acquired in nature. When congenital, it is associated with improper development of the teat cistern. Acquired obstruction occurs due to injury, tumor or infection.
13. Teat cistern obstructions: Most teat cistern obstructions are initiated as focal fibrotic nodules either from the base of the teat cistern or from the tip of the teat. If the obstruction is diffuse, a hard fibrous cord like structure can be palpated in the teat cistern. Possible causes include improper milking and occasionally repeated trauma caused by suckling. Chronic mastitis may also lead to the formation of a fibrotic cord. Due to obstruction, quantity of milk is reduced which flows in a fine thin stream. In such cases nodules can be removed with a teat tumor extractor. If the growth is larger than a nodule but occupies less than 30% of the teat cistern, open teat surgery (thelotomy) to remove the growth may be successful in a few cases.
14. Contracted sphincter (Hard milker): In this condition, it is difficult to express the milk which comes out in small streams and milking time is prolonged due to stenosis of the streak canal.
15. Enlarged teat orifice (Free milker or leaker): A relaxed sphincter or it’s excessive surgical enlargement in case of a hard milker may cause the milk to leak spontaneously from the teat orifice. Any direct trauma may also lead to this condition. Small amount of sterile mineral oil or lugol’s solution injected around the orifice using 22-to-24-gauge needle may help to reduce the diameter of the orifice.
16. Occlusion of the teat orifice (Imperforate teat): This condition may be congenital or acquired in nature. In the first calver it may be a developmental anomaly. When acquired, it is mainly due to trauma to the tip of the teat.

In such cases, milk is present in the teat cistern down to teal sphincter but cannot be forced from the teat. For treatment, an 18-gauge hypodermic needle is forced through into the teat cistern under local anaesthesia.

1. Amputation of the mammary gland: The procedure is rarely used in cows and buffaloes. However, in goats, unilateral or bilateral amputation of the mammary gland may be indicated to salvage the animal following development of gangrenous mastitis. After removal of the affected glands, the skin flaps are sutured together taking care of close the dead space by tacking the skin deep to abdominal wall at several places.

COMMON DISORDERS OF UDDER & TEATS IN DAIRY COWS & ITS TREATMENT WITH SURGICAL INTERVENTION

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