Many years of experience in the operation of milking machines show that milking rubber was and remains a short-lived and unreliable link in the technological process of machine milking. During operation, rubber quickly loses its strength and elastic properties, becomes stiff and less elastic, deforms, and changes its shape. The purpose of this study is to identify changes in the technical parameters of milking rubber under industrial conditions in order to establish their impact on the milking process. The obtained results could make it possible to rationally choose the milking rubber for teat cups, which would ensure an effective milking process. During this study’s initial stage, the physical and mechanical condition of milking rubber was experimentally established at steam disinfection and as a result of saturating the article with milk fats. The following stage implied detecting the effect of milking rubber tension in a teat cup on the speed of milking. It was established that milking rubber during operation is actively exposed to milk fat, which leads to the loss of its weight relative to its original value. On day 1,000 of work, the weight loss relative to the initial value (100 g), under the washing regime temperature of 85 °C, 50 °C, 35 °C, and 20 °C, was 1 g, 3.3 g, 5 g, and 4.2 g, respectively. The dependences have been derived for the swell mass of milking rubber M on the temperature of washing solutions T and the duration of operation t as a result of saturation with milk fats. The dependence of milk yield rate V on the tension force of milking rubber F in teat cups has been established. Thus, it was found that when the tension force of milking rubber changes from 25 to 60 N, the difference in the average intensity of milk yield is 0.13 kg/min (10.8 %). Regarding the amount of milk yield at the specified tension, the difference is 0.15 kg (2.5 %). At rubber tension from 60 to 25 N, the average milking time increases by 0.46 min (8.3 %). Thus, it was determined that a milking machine with milking rubber at different tension over a total milking time would unevenly milk different parts of the cow’s udder. The study reported here expands the idea about the technical and manufacturing characteristics of rubber articles, namely changes in them at steam disinfection and as a result of saturation with milk fats

In the industrial pig farm for 26 thousand heads, the analysis of the influence of a forage factor on bacteria carriers of a uterine pig population in connection with mass morbidity of dairy piglets on anaerobic enterotoxemia is carried out. Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia, Pasteurella multocida, Clostridium perfringens, Neisseria spp., Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger which are able to form biofilms, were isolated from five samples of “SK-1” compound feed for pregnant sows and from the blood of animals (n=20) fed with this compound feed. The structural basis of the most stable biofilms in vitro were the aerobic fungi Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. Biofilm-forming variants of these bacteria showed multidrug resistance to 30 antimicrobial drugs (synthetic penicillins, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, combination drugs). Isolates of associative microflora isolated from the blood of sows were pathogenic for 30% of laboratory mice. It was found that probiotic agent No1 (composition based on Bischofite with probiotics) showed the universal bactericidal activity against the bacteria Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia, Pasteurella multocida, Clostridium perfringens, Neisseria spp.

The problem of treatment of subclinical mastitis often arises after calving, especially in cows of the first lactation. The paper presents the results of the therapeutic effect of Bacillus megaterium in subclinical mastitis in cows. The aim of the research. To determine the effect of Bacillus megaterium on the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract and colonies of microorganisms isolated from subclinical mastitis in cows. Materials and methods. The research was conducted in a dairy farm growing Holstein. Cows with subclinical mastitis of the experimental groups were given concentrated feed with the addition of Bacillus megaterium (1 × 109 CFU/g) at a dose of 15–35 g per animal. The control group of cows was given the usual diet for dairy cows. The experiment lasted 30 days. Results. The use of Bacillus megaterium (1 × 109 CFU/g) at a dose of 35 g per animal had a pronounced effect on the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract of cows. The amount of Lactobacillus sp. was 67 % higher and Bifidobacterium 58 % higher than the control. In addition, the level of opportunistic pathogens on Escherichia coli decreased by 45 %, Clostridium by 27 %, Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus by 75 %, and Candida by 80 % compared to controls. The amount of microflora in milk decreased by 40.2 % and the number of somatic cells by 87.9 %. Conclusions. The therapeutic efficacy of Bacillus megaterium (1 × 109 CFU/g) at a dose of 35 g per animal for 30 days in subclinical mastitis has been proven. After treatment, the amount of microflora in cow's milk decreased by 40.2 % and the number of somatic cells by 87.9 %. A positive effect on the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract of cows, where the number of Lactobacillus sp. increased by 67 % and Bifidobacterium by 58 %. The level of opportunistic pathogenic microflora decreased by Escherichia coli – by 45 %, Clostridium – by 27 %, Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus – by 75 %, Candida – by 80 %, compared to the control.

A total of 38 species of mosquitoes of the Culicidae family of two subfamilies Anophelinae and Culicinae belonging to 6 genera, were identified on the territory of Kharkiv Region from 2009 to 2019. Dirofilaria larvae were found in 932 insects, which was 4.46 % of the surveyed mosquitoes. The prevalence of the infection of female mosquitoes by dirofilaria was 4.46 ± 0.24 %, while the mean intensity of dirofilariae was 5.4 ± 2.1. Infection of mosquitoes with dirofilariae is currently detected in 11 districts of Kharkiv Region and the city of Kharkiv. The infection rate of mosquitoes of the genus Aedes was 3.83 ± 0.63 %, of the genus Culex — 0.75 ± 0.34 %, of the genus Anopheles — 0.12 ± 0.39 %, whereas females of the genera Culiseta, Coquillettidia, and Uranotaenia were uninfected. It was found that in Kharkiv Region there were 2 types of canine dirofilariae — Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy, 1856) and Dirofilaria repens (Railliet & Henry, 1911), with a predominance of Dirofilaria repens. For the period from 2009 to 2019, we examined 378 blood samples from dogs (190 males and 188 females) aged from 8 months to 13 years with suspected dirofilariasis. According to the results of the studies, 140 samples were positive, the prevalence of infection by the larvae of Dirofilaria spp. in blood samples from dogs with suspected dirofilariasis was 37.03 ± 0.12 %, while infection with Dirofilaria immitis was 2.86 ± 0.45 %, and Dirofilaria repens — 97.35 ± 0.24 %. The number of positive samples from mongrel dogs was 42 (30 %). It was found that cats are more often amicrofilariaemic than dogs.

The article provides data on the causes and premature culling of cows. Extraordinary activities are a matter of productivity of cows, which significantly affect the efficiency of milk production in livestock farms. First of all, the number and intensity of manifestations of other pathological processes in the body to enhance the quality of milk (grade, bacterial contamination, etc.). The next factor in the economic condition of both an individual economy and the industry as a whole is the length of the productive period. Premature culling of cows entails damage from inefficient use of feed, costs for the unproductive period (from birth to 1 calving), losses from undersupply of calves and often loss of breeding value of the livestock. The aim of the work was to establish the reasons for the culling of cows, which affects the efficiency of the enterprise, especially at the age of 4-6 years (3-5 lactations). At the same time, we used the data of the Uniform-Agri accounting program of the Astarta-Kiev agricultural holding, statistical research methods, and the processing of the data obtained was carried out using a Microsoft Excel 2016 spreadsheet processor. It was found that during 2017-2019. out of 47,282 16538 head retired, which amounted to about 35.0% of the total breeding stock, the largest number of retired cows was observed in the first lactation - 4602, which is 27.8%. In 37.1% of cases, obstetric and gynecological diseases and pathological conditions of the mammary gland were diagnosed. At the same time, 24.5% of culled cows were diagnosed with surgical pathology. In addition, 20.8% of cows dropped out due to metabolic disorders, due to violations of the parameters of keeping and feeding. The next step was to determine the proportion of cow culling due to obstetric (23.9%), gynecological (49.0%), surgical (59.1%) pathology and breast diseases (27.7%). It was also important that 30% of the culled cows had a diagnosis of maceration and mummification of the fetus or ordinary abortion. It should be noted that the vast majority of animals had obstetric, gynecological and surgical pathology at the same time. The culling of animals by age was: after the 1st lactation 31.9%, the 2nd lactation decreased by 12.6 %, and the 3rd, 4th and 5th and more lactations, respectively, by 3.0%. 2.9 and 4.3% Key words: cow, culling, obstetric, gynecological, surgical pathology.