Since 2012, the ecoantibio plan aims to reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock farming and therefore reduce the risks of antibiotic resistance. In dairy sheep, the curative efficacy of intra-mammary treatments in the event of mastitis has been well demonstrated. But today, some of the Tarn farmers use syringes to control the cell counts in tank milk. Less explicitly, some also treat to ensure the smooth running of the dry-off from a functional point of view, in particular for ewes “Strong dairy”. However, an intra-mammary antibiotic has no direct action on the reduction or cessation of lactation.
These systematic preventive treatments are widely questioned. Indeed, many studies confirm that the use of selective treatment is relevant both from a health and an economic point of view.
Treat only certain sheep after CCI!
The objective of selective treatment is therefore to treat only part of the ewes. The choice of these sheep should not be made by default but by a real sorting.
It is first necessary to reform the ewes having presented a clinical mastitis, but also the ewes with abscesses, indurations or a too pronounced imbalance of udder. After reform, the animals to be treated will be sorted on the basis of an individual cell count (ICC). A CCI makes it possible to identify subclinical mastitis, invisible to the breeder (see box on somatic cells). With a CCI, carried out during the last milk check or in the last month of lactation, it is possible to select, for example, females above 400,000 cells / ml for treatment (ie 300,000 cells in the new standard system). Please note this value is indicative! The threshold at which to treat is to be defined according to the status of each farm. This depends in particular on the other CCIs carried out previously in the campaign (if there are any) and on the cellular quality level that the breeder wishes for his herd.
The breeder can also do individual tray tests (CMT) on his herd to identify problem ewes. The system is less precise but makes it possible to carry out an initial targeting of the ewes to be treated.
In parallel with this counting (by CCI or CMT) and secondly, the breeder can identify and treat high-producing ewes during the last milkings. This will prevent infections after drying up.
The advantages of selective processing
The first immediate benefit is the significant reduction in the cost of treatment. The savings are significant if, for example, only 10 to 25% of the ewes are treated instead of the entire flock! The treatment site is also reduced as a result: less time to spend and less pain.
It should also be realized that there is very little benefit to treating a sheep without any infection and whose milk production has already fallen. Targeting sheep makes it possible to reduce the use of antibiotics and therefore limit the development of resistant bacteria.
Finally, we can observe a reduction in the risk of mastitis at the next lambing (mastitis which can be caused by an excessive number of intra-mammary injections in a contaminated environment).
Different Tarn breeders can testify. In comparison with the systematic practices of previous years, the implementation of this reasoned management of treatments had no consequences on the cellular quality of their milk.
Cells and new standard for cell counting
The cells are mostly white blood cells naturally present in the udder. Their quantity increases in the milk in case of mastitis. A high cell count indicates an immune response to infection. In case of infection of the udder, the cells are excreted in large numbers.
Subclinical mastitis is invisible but very common in sheep farming. Their diagnosis is made by milk analysis or by plateau test (CMT). Clinical mastitis is accompanied by symptoms: they are therefore visible but infrequent in sheep farming.
From April 1, the national standard, used since the 1980s for counting cells, is replaced by an international standard certified in all French analysis laboratories and for all sectors. This new standard results, on average, in a drop in cell counts of around 20%. Thus, from April 2021, the number of cells should decrease without this reflecting any improvement in the health of the herd.
(Source “Mastery of the cellular level”; CNBL)
Testimony of Laurent Gasc from EARL Costes Auriés
Laurent Gasc is installed in EARL in the commune of Travet with 350 Lacaune Ovitest ewes. He has set up a selective treatment of ewes at dry-off for a few years. “Before we put intra-mammary antibiotic syringes in the teat, Laurent explains. Antibiotics were injected to lower the cell count. It had a significant cost! And the site was restrictive. ” He wanted to change things on his farm. “It was Philippe, my milk recording technician, who suggested this method to me: do the cell count of each ewe to determine the number of cells per ewe and anticipate the drying up.”
Concretely, for the breeder, this consists in taking individual milk samples during the last control. “I am in CLO, suddenly the young ewes have already been collected several times for a CCI in the countryside. At the last check, all the ewes over 2 years old are removed. This makes it possible to know their number of cells and to adapt accordingly. The ewes with the most cells will be removed from the herd, that is to say culled, or else we will put syringes for drying off in the intra-mammary to lower the cell level. The goal is to have as few cells as possible for the upcoming campaign. ” And the system works well for the breeder: out of a flock of 300 ewes, only 30 ewes were treated last year! “The fact of no longer using syringes is still a great saving. And the work is reduced. Before this method, I was over 600,000 cells on average over the year. Now, I have come down to 425,000. You can see from the numbers that this is not a risky technique. ”
–
