Effect of Clinical Mastitis on the Milk Yield in Dairy Cows in India

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of clinical mastitis along with associated factors on milk yield in dairy cows in India by collecting the data from three organized cattle farms for the period of 2012-13. The overall prevalence of mastitis in dairy cows was observed as 29.27 %. The results of paired t test showed the significant reduction in daily milk yield after the occurrence of mastitis. The results of general linear model showed that the overall daily mean reduction in milk after the occurrence of mastitis was observed as 1.64 kg. The crossbred cows (2.37 kg/day) and aged cows (2.09 kg/day) showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher reduction in milk yield due to mastitis than their indigenous (0.91 kg/day) and young lactating cows (1.19 kg/day), respectively. The longer duration of mastitis was found to be associated with higher milk losses in dairy cows.