treating mastitis, nursing calf

[Tilly]

Well, Sweetie had a gorgeous little black bull in December, who will only take the front two teats. We have been milking once a day. She has salty milk. The CMT says mastitis. No sign of blood or stringy stuff, just salty with a couple lumps in one quarter which doesn't seem to have much milk in it even after a full day. The vet gave me some infusion stuff that is supposed to be double strength, and we will start that tonight. Since the calf only takes the front two, and it's the back two getting treated, can I just leave him with her? Or will the antibiotic get into all the milk and hurt him? And yes, we are now in the 'always wash and dip' club. Thanks as always...


Tilly

[Cotton Picker]

Hi Tilly,

You will have to excuse me, "Sweetie" and I haven't been properly introduced.

Assuming that she is a dairy cow, from the sounds of it she is overproducing for the amount of milk that is being milked out of her by both you and her calf. She is doing what cows do when they are not milked out.... She's drying down to the level of production that is being required of her.

Cows give their highest production per day within two to three months post parturition.

My suggestion to you would be to pull the calf off of her and thoroughly milk her out twice a day. The medication will be in highest concentration in the treated quarters, however there will probably be systemic trace amounts in the untreated quarters. I am somewhat opposed to feeding treated mastitic milk to young calves, more for the exposure to unnecessary antibiotics, than the mastitic milk itself.

If you haven't already started treatment, you might try milking her out completely twice a day for a few days and see if there is a noticeable change for the better in the quality of milk she is producing. The presence of saline taste and the near absence of clots in the milk might be due to her not being thoroughly drained of milk each day.

If you want to supplement the calf with milk you can do so out of a bucket. At six to eight weeks "Blackie" should be eating solid food and able to drink from a bucket with no problem.

Happy Trails

[Tilly]

Thanks, I guess I should have introduced Sweetie better, sorry! She is a 9yo dexter who normally gives over a gallon a day with her calf still on her. This is (obviously) our first milk cow. She has mostly been milked once a day by previous owner, so we were just following what we thought was the regular routine for her. I didn't realize the milk could go salty from sitting in the udder too long, but it does make a lot of sense, now that I think about it.

Oh, and I was off by a month on 'Blackie' aka Georgie. He was born on Jan 8.

Any idea what the lump in her quarter is? It is not floating, but fixed in place near where all four come together. It is not completley round, but almost feels like two lumps connected, about the size of two grapes.Thanks again for the reply, I will go to twice a day and try to hold off on the antibiotic for a bit.

Tilly

Tilly

[Cotton Picker]

Tilly,

No worries, now that Sweetie and I have been introduced.


I've not had exposure to Dexters, although they do seem to be gaining in popularity amongst the homestead set.

From what you describe, this is the first lactation that you have been in contact with Sweetie. As with most girls she probably doesn't care for her age being widely broadcasted about. However we can at least presume this is her second calf.

The lumps you feel may be due to mastitis. I would monitor them to see if they abate or persist. If the quarter in question is hot or hard. It may indeed be mastitic. I would be somewhat doubtful that it would be edema.

If you are in contact with the previous owner, you might ring him up and ask him if she had the lumps in her previous lactation(s). It might be a chronic condition in her.

From the sounds of it, Georgie is thriving. At the very least she should raise you a good calf. You will have to decide if the added expense and hassle of treatment is worth what extra milk you are getting out of her for the table.

[Tilly]

Neither quarter has been hot or hard. Full, yes, but not hot and hard. She has been milked as a family cow for the last six calves, giving 3 gallons during one lactation while still having the calf on her. She has been the best cow to learn on, always friendly and patient, even with the kids. She is just one of those special cows ( I know, we get too attached) I just wanted to not mess her up. She never had problems with the previous owner and mastitis, they were the first ones I called. My hands are just going to have to get used to twice a day...Thanks again

Tilly









Tilly

[Cotton Picker]

Tilly,

I hope that what I posted was useful to you.

I started a thread with this link in it.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp

I would think that it would be a good future reference.

David

[BlackWillowFarm]

The more often you can milk her, the better to get rid of the mastitis. If you can milk three times a day that would be great. Put a hot towel on the lumps and massage them while you milk. Try to get them to soften up each milking. It sounds like you're hand milking....make sure your hands and her teats are dry when you're milking. If you can get the calf to nurse the back quarters, he'll do a much better job of getting the milk out than you can. Cover up his favorite teats with your hands and make him nurse off the bad two teats. Massage, massage, massage. You'll have big muscles when you're done.

Hope she's better soon.

[Tilly]

Thanks for all the advice, my hands hurt up to my shoulders, but we are back up to pre-mastitis milk levels. Things are looking better.


Thanks again

Tilly