Use Healthy Udder Bolus at drying off
The bolus can also be used throughout lactation with no milk withdrawal to help reduce the use of antibiotics in cases of high somatic cell counts (SCC) and both clinical and sub clinical mastitis.
The ‘Healthy Udder Bolus’ contains a combination of ingredients including Beta-Carotene which boasts anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
By Mitchell Park - Farmers Weekly Apprentice finalist: “I farm along with my father and grandfather just outside Ballymena, County Antrim. One of our aims is to reduce antibiotic usage on the farm. It is well documented globally the concerns about antibiotic resistance at an on farm level and this is something that I feel very strongly about. As food producers, I feel that it is our responsibility to start sourcing and using alternative products rather than just reaching into the medicine cabinet for the antibiotics every time there is a problem. One of the ways we are managing to do this is using the Healthy Udder Bolus.
I had been talking to a neighbour who had got very good results from using this new bolus at drying off to help reduce the farms’ reliance on antibiotics in early lactation. We had a few issues with mastitis and rather than go down the route of antibiotics, we have now introduced the Healthy Udder Bolus into our drying off routine. We have been very pleasantly surprised with the significant impact that this bolus has made in reducing the number of cases of clinical mastitis in our freshly calved cows, and it has greatly reduced the volume of antibiotics that we are now using. This approach obviously also has the added economic benefit of keeping a lot more milk in the tank to sell.”
Tim Montgomery from Matrix Animal health added: “The chemistry and theory behind the Healthy Udder Bolus is new to the UK and Ireland, with the combination of Beta-Carotene and Allicin boosting anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. By inhibiting the migration of neutrophilic granulocytes into the epithelia it also has an anti-inflammatory effect. The bolus has an antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
“Feedback from our customers has been extremely positive. Farmers are commenting that the ‘Healthy Udder Bolus’ has succeeded in significantly helping with Somatic Cell Count in the vast majority of cases. We are seeing fantastic results on farm with these new boluses both in terms of lowering SCC levels and the Mastitis burden. Farmers understand their responsibility to reduce their reliance on antibiotics and this product helps them with that goal, with the extra benefit of more milk in the tank.”