One of the main causes of teat damage is the milking process, with excessive pressure being applied to the teats from the liners, and an inadequate resting phase at the end of milking, often responsible.
Surepulse liners, which can easily be inserted into an existing parlour with the addition of Surepulse inserts, can help reduce teat damage caused during milking and improve cow comfort. Designed to mimic the rhythm of a naturally suckling calf, they create a smoother pulsation, along with shorter transition phases and a longer milking period.
Testimony to the comfort of Surepulse liners is that farmers find cows are more eager to enter the parlour for milking and note less incidences of clusters being kicked off.
The technology increases the “resting” or closed phase by as much as 35% compared to normal milking conditions, while keeping the milking phase at optimum levels. This reduces the volume of air in the pulsation chamber and controls the movement of the liner wall.
By physically stopping the liner ballooning, the insert is able to prevent the teat ballooning in the path of the liner. In standard milking systems, ballooning is often a reoccurring problem and if not addressed, this can cause long term issues by the way of thickening of teat canals. This results in slower milking cows and teats become more difficult to clean causing a build-up of residual bacteria, which increases the risk of mastitis.
With its proven ability to alleviate the pressure on the teats during milking and minimise damage which may result in mastitis, an investment in Surepulse liners will soon pay for itself, with a single case of mastitis costing on average £250. For a 300 cow herd with a 10% mastitis rate, the total cost to the business would be around £7,500* and therefore it pays to look at ways to mitigate the risk from the parlour routine.
*Cost of mastitis – AHDB mastitis control plan https://dairy.ahdb.org.uk/technical-services/masti...
