Blind Quarters

[marthajo]

I have a 5 year old Jersey cow. She calved 1 week ago. The calf appears to be healthy. The problem is that the cow has 3 blind quarters. Two of them have been that way for a while because they are very small teats and hard. The 3rd on the left front has gotten hard in the last few weeks.We can get no milk from the left front one, but when you insert a tube up the teat a short way, you will get a very small amount of white cottage cheese (about the size of a pea)type of fluid and blood. Is there something that I can do to keep from losing this left front teat completely? The right front teat is good. Will the one quarter be enough to feed the calf all he will need? Will the other 3 teats that are blind cause the 4th to go blind also? I know that I probably need to get rid of her, but she is a sweet, gentle cow and a good mother. If I could just keep that one teat in good shape and get just enough milk to make a little homemade butter and feed the calf, I would be happy. Any information would be welcomed. Thanks

[Gregg Alexander]

My thoughts on this is get a bottle and start feeding the calf. I don't think she will produce enough milk to raise the calf. If she was mine I would sale the cow and raise the calf and look for another cow. She is not worth the effort to me for what I would get in return. Just my thoughts

[marthajo]

I have thought about that also. Thanks for the input.

[Oregon Julie]

Question, what causes blind quarters and is there any treatment for the problem?

[gone-a-milkin]

Originally Posted by Oregon Julie

Question, what causes blind quarters and is there any treatment for the problem?

What normally causes quarters to go bad is one of many types of infections classified as 'mastitis'. There are different strains of bacteria that can settle in the udder and live and grow there.

Often people will treat these infections with antibiotics, injected through the teat end. Sometimes that will cure the infection, sometimes not. It is of utmost importance to detect mastitis quickly, and treat with the correct antibiotic. If the infection is in there for long, it will cause irreversible scarring in the udder.

You can have milk samples tested in a lab to find out which strain of bac you are dealing with.

[Calfkeeper]

We seem to have a chronic problem with new heifers having blind quarters when they first freshen. Dunno if it is caused by mastitis before pregnancy/calving or what. I think it's just a genetic thing that gets passed on, maybe by bad bulls, I don't know.

We have some three-bangers that give more milk than a 4 quarter cow, but it's still annoying.

To the OP: yeah, it sounds like mastitis. Try and treat that quarter, and keep it milked out as much as possible. There's always hope, but it sounds pretty serious; the fact that you aren't getting any milk out of it at all, just the curdled stuff.

Best of luck. It's always hard to get rid of a good natured beast, especially if she's more like a pet. I hope she comes through it for you.

[gone-a-milkin]

Originally Posted by Calfkeeper

We seem to have a chronic problem with new heifers having blind quarters when they first freshen. Dunno if it is caused by mastitis before pregnancy/calving or what. I think it's just a genetic thing that gets passed on, maybe by bad bulls, I don't know.

I have seen that occasionally too. Not too often though, certainly not 'chronic'. Hmm.

[Chixarecute]

Springing heifers with blind quarters can happen when, as youngsters, (weaning time) they are housed in groups. Their pen mates, still having a need to suck, will search out anything resembling a teat, including ears, navels, immature teats. The bacteria in the saliva, or the bacteria in the pen, get introduced to the teat canal through either the sucking & slobbering or when they lay down in the bedding. It's one of the reasons lots of commercial dairy farmers will use the individual calf igloos for several months.

[DJ in WA]

Originally Posted by Chixarecute

Springing heifers with blind quarters can happen when, as youngsters, (weaning time) they are housed in groups. Their pen mates, still having a need to suck, will search out anything resembling a teat, including ears, navels, immature teats. The bacteria in the saliva, or the bacteria in the pen, get introduced to the teat canal through either the sucking & slobbering or when they lay down in the bedding. It's one of the reasons lots of commercial dairy farmers will use the individual calf igloos for several months.

Yes, the bacteria causing mastitis are divided into the contagious ones, and those that come from the environment. Staph aureus is a common type of contagious bacteria with which many dairies have a problem. It will spread from cow to cow via the milking equipment or the milking crew's hands. Or from the infected udders to the milk to the calf's mouths, and then to other calf's teats if allowed access. Other bacteria come directly from the environment when lying in dirty conditions. Or from flies.

Marthajo, did your cow come from a dairy? Untreatable mastitis is a common reason to cull them and sell. Perhaps at that time only one quarter is affected, but with the contagious bacteria, will spread to other quarters. With breeding and feeding for high production, 5 years old is often as long as they last. As I've mentioned elsewhere, high production and age are risk factors for mastitis.