Heifers lose the natural keratin plugs in their teats when they come into milk before calving, making them susceptible to picking up bacteria through their open teat canals. 

When our teams teat seal a mob of heifers, we insert an internal teat sealant called Dryzen into their teats. This forms a physical barrier that will stay in place until it is stripped out after calving, providing better protection against bacteria.

Our teat seal teams cover a large part of the South. We are running four trailers out of our Winton clinic, two trailers out of our Gore clinic, and one trailer out of our Balclutha clinic. There are 4-5 techs per trailer.  

Our days start by meeting at the local clinic. First, we get the Dryzen warming up in chilly bins with hot water bottles, which helps ease insertion. We also grab warm disinfectant hand washes. Then we load the truck and trailer, before heading off to the farm. 

Once on-farm, we back the trailer into position and set up. Then we crack into it. We load six heifers at a time, rowing them up like in a herringbone shed. We clean their teats thoroughly with teat wipes and meths-soaked cotton balls to ensure it’s as sterile as possible (because Dryzen doesn’t contain an antibiotic). Then we insert the Dryzen into each teat and teat spray the udder. 

This process is repeated row-by-row until the whole mob is done. We then clean the trailer and pack up – ready to do it all again tomorrow!  

There are many reasons why techs love teat sealing, but the best bits include getting out on-farm, working with our amazing teammates, and playing good music as we work! We enjoy doing a great job for our fantastic clients and their animals.