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To reduce the negative effects of mastitis in dairy heifers in early lactation on the future milking performance, the aim of this study was to define the time-related period of intramammary infections and to relate this to risk factors at heifer and quarter level for intramammary infections and subclinical mastitis. In total, 279 German Holstein Frisian heifers in three farms in Northern and Eastern Germany were included in this study. Quarter milk samples for cytomicrobiological examination were collected 3 +- 1 days after calving and 17 +- 3 days after calving, and risk factors
at heifer and quarter level associated with intramammary infections and clinical mastitis were recorded during the trial period. Data were analyzed using logistic regression procedures and odds ratios were calculated. Calving at older ages increased the odds of intramammary infections with non-aureus staphylococci (NAS) and coryneforms 17 +- 3 days after calving compared to heifers calving at a younger age. Detaching of milking cups during milking is a risk factor for new infections between day 3 +- 1 and 17 +- 3 postpartum. The milk yield after calving is associated with a decrease in intramammary infections with environmental pathogens and clinical mastitis. A high milk yield assists the development of udder edema with an increased risk of intramammary infections with NAS and coryneforms. An increased somatic cell count (SCC) after calving increased the odds of intramammary infections with contagious pathogens 17 +- 3 days postpartum. The early lactation has an important influence on udder health and intramammary infections postpartum in dairy heifers. Udder quarters eliminated pathogens during early lactation by 6.9% for cases in
this study. New infections manifest themselves up until 17 +- 3 days postpartum, especially with Corynebacterium spp. and NAS. In total, 82.9% of the infected quarters showed new infections with another pathogen species 17 +- 3 days postpartum than 3 +- 1 days postpartum. In conclusion, the early lactation has an important influence on udder health and intramammary infections postpartum in heifers with the possibility that udder quarters eliminate pathogens, but also the danger that new infections manifest themselves. Thus, the prevention of new infections by minimizing the associated risk factors is of great importance.
Subclinical mastitis in heifers during early lactation affects udder health, future milk production and, therefore, the risk of premature culling. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify pre- and post-partum risk factors associated with a high heifer mastitis rate (HMR), and to find out which period (either pre- or post-partum) contains more risk factors and consequently should be the focus of mastitis control in heifers. A total of 77 herds were included in this study and the potential animal- and farm-related risk factors were recorded during a one-time farm visit. The HMR was provided by the dairy herd improvement test (DHI) as the annual average of the past 11 DHIs. For this study, data were analyzed in two models using generalized linear models. Each model examined the association between possible risk factors and HMR, one including only prepartum risk factors and the other one only post-partum risk factors. One identified pre-partum risk factor was the proportion of udder-healthy cows in the herd. Post-partum risk factors were the type of teat cleaning procedure before milking, teat disinfection, treatment of mastitis in heifers, a body condition score (BCS) of >3.0 in fresh heifers, and the combination of a teat cleaning procedure with a teat disinfectant. The results show the importance of the period shortly after calving for udder health in heifers, as four of the five significant risk factors were identified in this period and three of them were related to the milking process. However, further research with a higher number of herds is needed to minimize individual herd effects.