Dry Cow Therapy and Welfare: Evidence-Based Approach

Key Welfare Considerations

• Dry cow therapy (DCT) at drying off protects against mastitis during the dry period and early lactation.
• Blanket DCT (treating all quarters of all cows) historically provided simple welfare protection against mastitis.
• Selective DCT targets antibiotics to cows and quarters with identified infection or high somatic cell count.
• Selective DCT reduces antibiotic use without welfare compromise when combined with internal teat sealants.
• Teat sealants form a physical barrier preventing new welfare mastitis infections during the dry period.
• Bismuth subnitrate teat sealants (Orbeseal) are welfare-effective at preventing new dry period infections.
• BCVA guidelines recommend selective DCT based on cell count history, mastitis records, and culture results.
• Cows with SCC below 200,000 cells/ml and no clinical mastitis records can be dried off without antibiotics.
• Culture-guided dry cow therapy targets organisms identified from quarter milk sampling for welfare precision.
• Culture before dry-off takes 2-3 days — results guide welfare-appropriate antibiotic selection.
• Dairy industry targets reducing antibiotic use at drying off while maintaining welfare mastitis prevention.
• UK antibiotic use data shows significant reduction in dry cow antibiotic welfare through selective approaches.
• Vet-farmer partnerships developing farm-specific dry cow welfare protocols improve outcomes and stewardship.
• Monitoring transition mastitis rates validates welfare-appropriate dry cow therapy selection decisions.
• The welfare evidence supports selective DCT with teat sealants as equivalent to blanket DCT in low-SCC herds.