For correct administration of your dry cow therapy programme, perform the following steps:
Cows should be treated as soon as possible after last milking. Keep syringes clean whilst preparing the teats and DO NOT immerse syringes in water. Dry cow antibiotic therapy does NOT need warming prior to administration, if using Teatseal use the warming water buckets provided. Take only the number of tubes required for one cow at a time.
Always wash and dry hands between cows and replace gloves when needed. Disinfect and then treat each teat individually. Thoroughly disinfect the teat end with Teatseal meths wipes, using at least one wipe per teat and scrubbing until the wipe comes away spotless. Use as many wipes as necessary to achieve this.
When removing the cap from the dry cow syringe, be sure not to touch the end of the nozzle (and don’t use your mouth!). Partially insert the nozzle into the teat end up to 3mm and infuse the product (full insertion can damage the delicate inner lining of the teat and reduce effectiveness).. When using antibiotic dry cow therapy in combination with Teatseal, massage the antibiotic DCT up towards the udder and then use a teat wipe to clean the teat before inserting the Teatseal. Always follow the same pattern to avoid losing your place when distracted.
Unlike dry cow therapy, Teatseal is designed to remain in the teat itself. To help ensure this, when inserting Teatseal, grasp the teat where it attached to the udder while slowly injecting. If at any time the nozzle of the syringe becomes contaminated, discard it and use a new syringe. Do not massage Teatseal.
Apply a teat spray at the high risk concentration to cover 100% of each teat. Mark each treated cow and keep her away from the milk supply. Keep animals calm and walk them slowly back to the paddock.