Dry Cow Therapy National Mastitis Council Factsheet Dry Cow Therapy Role of Dry Cow Therapy Dry cow therapy is the use of intramammary antibiotic therapy immediately after the last milking of lactation. The most effective time to treat subclinical udder infections is at drying off. The incidence of new infections during the dry period is reduced. Clinical mastitis at freshening may be reduced. The risk of contaminating milk with drug residue is reduced.
Most herds benefit by treating every quarter of every cow at drying off.
This approach will reach all infected quarters, is more effective than selective treatment in preventing new infections early in the dry period, and does not require laboratory screening procedures. However, selective treatment may fail to reach 20 to 40 percent of infected quarters in a herd. Also, quarters not treated at drying off are more likely than treated quarters to become infected during the dry period. Dry Cow Infusion Products FDA-approved commercial antibiotic products formulated specifically for dry cow therapy in single dose containers for intramammary infusion should be used. These products contain high levels of antibiotics in a slow release base which will maintain therapeutic levels in the dry udder for longer periods of time.