Dr. Don Sockett has seen his share of sick calves. He is also a super-sleuth at figuring out the causes of sickness, even in the most challenging on-farm cases.
A Veterinary Microbiologist and Epidemiologist with the University of Wisconsin Veterinary and Diagnostic Laboratory, Sockett shared his advice on The Dairy Signal webcast from the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin. He said cleaning and sanitation of calf-feeding equipment is a primary management subset that really matters. When done well and consistently, it can go a long way toward preventing calves from becoming sick, and minimizing the spread of illness between calves.
“When I go out on farms, there are two things that I see frequently, right off the bat, that I would like to change about calf equipment maintenance,” shared Sockett. “One is that their soap for the initial wash isn’t strong enough. They use a product like Dove or Joy because it smells nice and it’s easy on their hands. But mild soaps like that have a pH of 10 or less, which doesn’t take care of stubborn pathogens like cryptosporidium and salmonella.”
The second factor is that scrub brushes used to wash calf-feeding equipment are not dried properly, and are not changed frequently enough. “You can’t wait for the bristles to start falling off before your replace your brush,” he advised.
His recommended steps for processing calf-feeding equipment are:
- Rinse with lukewarm (90°F) water to remove milk residue and organic matter. This initial rinse water should not be hot, because you don’t want to denature the milk proteins and cause them to stick to the equipment surfaces, creating a build-up of bacteria-harboring biofilm.
- Manually wash with a brush or clean-in-place (CIP) system for 2-3 minutes. Use hot water (>140°F) that contains chlorinated alkaline detergent (pH 11-12). This step emulsifies fats and solubilizes protein and carbohydrates so they can be released and washed away. It’s also the most crucial step by far, according to Sockett, because it breaks down biofilm.
- Rinse with cold water, and then rinse a second time with cold water that contains an acid (pH 2-3) and 50 ppm solution of chlorine dioxide. The acid rinses away mineral deposits, and the chlorine dioxide serves as a disinfectant.
- Dry thoroughly. This may be facilitated by building drying racks to hang equipment to promote air exposure.
- Sanitize with a 50 ppm solution of chlorine dioxide within 2 hours of the next use. This can be done by rinsing or spraying equipment.
Sockett said the last point is important because it is impossible to destroy all pathogens. Those remaining can regrow in the 10-12 hours between calf feedings. In humid conditions he has seen bacterial regrowth overnight to levels as high as they were on the dirty equipment before it was cleaned and sanitized the night before.
He also advised routine audits of equipment by a third party such as the herd veterinarian, milk replacer supplier, dairy equipment representative, or other consultant. These checks are performed with an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) meter, which will measure bacteria load on equipment surfaces.
Another note on brushes: get one that is long enough to clean the entire length of the tube on esophageal feeders. Cleaning the tube from both ends with a too-short brush -- leaving a “dead” spot in the middle -- creates a perfect set-up for biofilm build-up, and directly introduces pathogens to your most vulnerable animals.
Finally, Sockett advised planning a regular replacement schedule for bottles, pails, and nipples as well. Small crack and fissures in plastic and rubber are perfect colonization sites for pathogens. Calf-feeding equipment is much easier to clean and sanitize if it is kept up-to-date and replaced before these factors become a problem.
Sockett said effective cleaning and sanitation protocols for calf-feeding equipment need not be complicated. Their implementation, along with periodic ATP checks for quality control, can become standard routines that set the calf operation up for long-term success.
“Equipment must be cleaned first, disinfected second,” he advised. “You cannot disinfect filth. One producer told me, ‘I was doing it wrong for so long, I thought I was doing it right.’”
For more on calf care, read:
- What’s the Best Route to Mimicking Transition Milk?
- Who “Nose” When a Calf is Getting Sick?
- New Artificial Intelligence Technology Meets the Maternity Ward
- Facility Focus: The Best Way to Better Manage Group Maternity Pens for Calmer Calvings
- America’s Heifer Shortage is Preventing Expansion. Is the Big Money for Beef-on-Dairy a Factor?
