Can yearling heifer get mastitis?

[wardarden]

I have an odd question. It is to us anyway, but we don't have much experience in dairy cattle. We have an 8 m.o. Jersey heifer that we have had for about 2 months. Her name is Belle and she is wonderful. I was out in the lot with her today seeing if she liked to eat a Triscuit (she did!) and my DH noticed that one quarter of her udder looked like it was kindof full. He reached down and milked out a couple of streams of really thick yellow fluid. Then I felt it. It is not hot but seems kindof firm, about the size of a baseball. It does not seem to cause her pain. I have a CMT test kit in my goat barn that I test my goat with from time to time but have never tested a cow. The fluid is so thick I'm not even sure if I could get the tester fluid to mix with it. Any ideas? She is not bred, at least we don't think she is. I did not think that dairy animals not milking got mastitis??

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

[john in la]

Yes young heifers can get mastitis but it is often not noticed until the first calf is born.
If you have problems testing with your CMT you could take a sample to a vet for lab testing just to be sure.

Mastitis in young stock is most times caused by calves sucking each other. Sucking of ears and tails does no harm but creates a bad habit. But when it turns to sucking of udders it becomes a problem. The utter seal gets broken by the sucking and allows bacteria to enter the utter.

[Up North]

I think I will start following JOHN inLA posts and learning from them. He's pretty sharp fellow on the dairying..........................................

[john in la]

Originally Posted by Up North

I think I will start following JOHN inLA posts and learning from them. He's pretty sharp fellow on the dairying..........................................

Now that is no way to be...............
Following me around and giving me a head so big I can not fit through the front door. LOL

Really I just try to answer questions I know. We give up the dairy years ago but I still enjoy raising replacements so I can tell you more about calves than I can cows.

My kids could even answer a few of your questions.
http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/...eedingtime.jpg

Funny how I could get my daughter (in the picture) to help at 5AM when she was young but I can not get her to help at 5PM now that she is 16.

[Up North]

John Funny with them kids. My 3 boys will help anytime it involves the tractor or backhoe running, but tend to dissapear when it's time for choring,LOL.
Most of my brothers are making good livings now from what they learned while growing up on the farm. 3 of them in Construction Mechanics& welding out West and one running a new Kenworth OTR.(The last has an MBA from Carlson school of business management)LOL. Many years of college among us yet we all make our living from the "Vocational Education" Dad bore the cost of by letting us do our projects at his shop and farm!!!
I'm sure your kids will be better citizens for their experiences on da Farm.
Keep helping out us folks who are learning this farming as your advice "Rings True", LOL.........cheers from cold country...Heavy frost just this morning!!!!!