牛体越干净，乳房越健康

The deeper the "mud", the dirtier the udder

牛体越干净，乳房越健康

By Noritsugu Ade, D.V.M, a veterinarian in Hokkaido Japan. He works for  Total Herd Management Services-Japan. Contributing authors were  veterinarians: Ichiro Yasutomi, Hokkaido, Japan; Ian Lean, New South Wales,  Australia; and Andrew Johnson, Seymour, Wis., U.S.

作者为日本北海道的兽医学博士Noritsugu Ade。任职于日本畜牧管理服务中心。参与编写者均是兽医：日本人Ichiro Yasutomi, Hokkaido；澳大利亚新南威尔士州人Ian Lean；及美国威斯康州人Andrew Johnson, Seymour。

Clean, dry, and comfortable — those should be the goals of every dairy  producer when it comes to cows and their housing conditions. If those goals  are met, odds are your dairy can produce quality milk from healthy udders.

干净、干燥及舒适应该是每一个奶牛场场主在谈到奶牛及其居住环境时的一个目标。如果达到了这个目标，则可以保证奶牛乳房健康，进而提高牛奶的质量。

But, when we visit dairies, it’s amazing to see just how many cows have  to deal with conditions that are less than ideal. In some situations, cows  have to move about barns with excess manure in free stall barn alleys, while  some cows must use muddy yards, pastures, and lanes. These conditions stress  the cow and can lead to poor milking hygiene, mastitis, and even foot  problems.

但是，当我们访问牛场时，令人惊奇的是，许多奶牛所处的环境是非常恶劣的。在这种情况下，牛不得不携带过多的粪便在牛舍中四处活动。这些牛走在脏的泥路，牧场及通道中。这些恶劣的条件，使牛感到紧张不安，同时也会造成挤奶不卫生，奶牛患乳房炎的几率会提高，甚至牛的肢蹄会出现问题。

While it is obvious to everyone that the cow contaminates her udder and  teats while lying in mud, it may be somewhat less obvious how her movements  transport manure and mud to her udder. We know it happens, but there never  have been any exact reports showing how contaminants move from the legs and  tail to the udder. In this study, we tracked the movement of contaminants to  prove the need for more effective sanitation.

很显然，牛躺在污泥中，会污染她的乳房及乳头。您可能不是很清楚，牛是如何把牛粪传到乳房上的。我们知道这种问题的存在，但从没有哪个报告明确指出过牛粪等是如何从牛的腿部、尾部传到牛的乳房上的。在这篇文章中，我们主要跟踪污染物的迁移，以证明牛需要更有效、更好的卫生环境。

Tracked movement from legs to udder...

解析粪污如何从腿部迁移至乳房…

Realizing that older and younger cows have different body structures, we  chose to work with first- and seventh-lactation cows to illustrate extremes  found in herd situations. In order to simulate unsanitary conditions, we  painted the in-side hoof area with red  watercolor while the out-side hoof area was painted with blue watercolor. The  paint simulated mud and manure that would accumulate on the cows legs after  walking through a slurry or mud. Before each cow was painted, she was washed  and allowed to dry. The pens also were thoroughly cleaned.

首先要明确，不同年龄的牛，会有不同的身体构造。我们选用头胎牛及七胎牛来举例说明这群牛的状况。为了模拟不卫生的情况，我们用红色水彩标注的是内侧蹄区，用蓝色水笔画出外侧蹄区。此图用来模拟随着牛的移动，粪污是会堆积到腿上的。在每头牛喷颜料之前，这些牛是被彻底清洗及吹干过的。当然，画笔也是被彻底清洗过的。

In the first trial, we painted the first 10 centimeters (about four  inches) from the ground up. In each of the four trials that followed, we  painted an additional 10 centimeters. So, in the last trial, cows had 50  centimeters (19.7 inches) of leg paint on their hind legs.

在第一次试验中，我们把颜料涂在从地面上数10厘米（大概4英寸）的位置上。在随后的四个试验中，我们每次再涂10厘米。在最后的一次试验中，奶牛后腿共被标注了50厘米（19.7英寸）。

Painted cows were released and encouraged to walk around the pens. After  the cows had moved around for some time, we took photographs of the udder from  the side, back, and underneath. From those photos,we made sketches (Figures 1 to 10).Figure 1 shows a seventh-lactation cow  with about4inches of “simulated dirt” while Figure 6 illustrates first-lactation  cows. As you move to the right, each illustration show what happened when an  additional 4 inches of paint was added.

之后释放被涂料标记过的牛，并使其继续在画笔周围走动。当牛走动一段时间后，我们给奶牛乳房的侧面、后面及下面分别拍张照片。根据那些图片，我们画出一个示意图（如图1至10）。图片1所示的牛为七胎牛，这头牛身上有4英寸被染上了颜料（模拟的粪污）。图六代表头胎牛。随后您继续向右看图，每一张图都可以很清楚的看到，被染4英寸的涂料（粪污）后到底发生了什么。

This study clearly illustrates  that, if a cow steps into mud or deep manure, natural leg movements carry  contaminants to many areas of the udder. That includes areas not normally  viewed in some milking situations. Despite having a higher udder, the first-lactation  cows contaminate their udders more easily. This holds true with only 4 inches  of debris on her legs. It appears that the hoof and dewclaw tend to move more  freely under the udder.

这项研究清楚地表明，如果奶牛进入泥浆或深粪坑，腿部运动携带的污染物会直接传到乳房周边的许多区域，包括一些在挤奶时不易被查看的区域。

尽管奶牛的乳房很高，但头胎牛其实更容易弄脏它们的乳房。这幅图仅是牛腿上的4英寸的地方带了牛粪。由此看来，牛的蹄趾会很轻易的把牛粪带到在乳房下方及周边。

As one would expect, the inside area of the hoof and leg contributed to  more soiling on the udder. But, as more dirt contamination progressed up the  leg, the outside area of the leg began contributing to soiling. Older cows  had more soiling from outside leg areas.

正如人们所料，牛蹄的内部区域及腿在乳房上会有更多的腐蚀物。但是，随着越来越多的牛粪被移动到腿处，腿的外侧也会被污染。年长的牛会在腿的外部区域有更多的腐蚀物。

Anyone who has ever been hit in the head by a tail can testify that those  tails can move mud, dirt, and manure. So, as part of this trial, we painted  tails to reflect with red and blue watercolors. The paint reflects  contaminants picked up while a cow is lying down in a muddy corral or stall  with a dirty aisle or gutter.

任何一个曾经被尾巴打在头上的人都可以证明，尾巴其实是可以移动携带泥浆、污物和粪便的。所以，作为试验的一部分，我们在尾巴上用红色及蓝色涂料标注。涂料展示的是，当牛在泥泞的畜栏中躺下后，或者停在不干净的过道及水排水沟中卷起的牛粪。

First-lactation cows were used in this study. The tails measured 96  centimeter or 37.8 inches. A zone from the tip of the tail to 30 centimeters  (11.8 inches) was painted red. Another zone 30 to 60 centimeters up was  painted blue. Like the first trial, photos from three angles were taken and  sketches were made (shown at right).

这篇文章的主要研究对象为头胎牛。其牛尾长度为96厘米或37.8英寸。A区为尾尖至尾部30厘米（11.8英村）处，被标为红色。另一个区域为30-60厘米处，被标为蓝色。如同第一个实验一样，从三个不同角度拍摄照片，并画出示意图（请看图片右侧）。

The figures clearly show tail sanitation is important. Good sanitation or  tail docking are two possibilities for keeping the cow clean. Many people  feel the tail is needed for fly control, but there are better alternatives.  In fact, the tail is a food source that attracts flies in the first place.  Housing improvements, tail docking, or clipping of the tail should be  considered to prevent udder contamination.

图中很清晰的看到，尾巴的卫生程度是很重要的。良好的卫生条件及尾部摆动是两个保持牛清洁度的两种可能性。很多人认为牛尾是为了驱赶苍蝇等，但是驱蚊其实还有许多更好的替代品。事实上，牛尾是吸引苍蝇的首要食物来源。改善牛舍环境、控制牛尾与其他处的接触及牛尾摆动可以防止牛的乳房感染。

Dealing with condition less than ideal...

在条件不理想的情况下的处理方式…

Soiled legs also contaminate bedding sources with bacteria found in the  mud and manure. Although the bacteria growth will depend on the bedding  sources, it will grow, leading to a greater chance of mastitis infection.

脏腿也是把污泥及牛粪中细菌带到垫床上的一个原因。细菌的生长情况取决于垫床的原料。细菌的生长会增加奶牛的乳房炎的感染率。

Corrals, pastures, lanes, parlor  entrances, barn alleys, and bedding should be kept as clean and dry as  possible. High-flow areas like feed alleys and water troughs should be kept  especially clean. If ground conditions are bad,the areas need to be fenced off, and, in extreme conditions, the cows  need to be kept indoors.

畜栏，牧草，通道，挤奶厅入口，圈舍及牛卧床应保持尽可能的清洁和干燥。经常使用的地方，如料槽及饮水槽应该保持极其清洁。如果基础条件不好，这些条件差的区域应该被隔离出来。在条件极恶劣的地方，需要把牛关在室内。

Milking procedures should also be modified with muddy conditions. Don’t  blindly wipe the udder with lots of warm water. That action will simply  spread mud to all the teats.

污浊情况在挤奶程序中也需要被控制及改善。不要盲目地用大量的温水擦拭乳房。这样会导致污浊物很迅速的扩散到乳头。

Under adverse conditions, dairy producers are wasting time and money  trying clean and dry udders. It would definitely be better to deal with  cleaning teats and teat ends. An even better move would be dealing with the  sanitation problems themselves because good sanitation leads to high-quality  milk and less mastitis.

在环境恶劣的情况下，奶牛场场主们需要花费时间及金钱去清理及擦干乳房上的水分。这无疑需要更好地处理与清洗乳头和乳头端。一个更好的举措是处理改善卫生问题，因为良好的卫生问题会使奶牛产出高质量的牛奶，并降低乳房炎患病率。