Post by Shelley (whistlingtrain) on Jul 22, 2007 18:05:07 GMT -5
Well, it finally happened. I suppose it was inevitable, but now that we're going into 6 weeks of this lactation, I thought Beauty would escape mastitis in her injured quarter. This is the teat that was cut short last summer, and we fought horrible mastitis for several weeks before it finally went away with antibiotics last fall. The teat spurts milk during let down, but seems to seal in between milkings/nursings. I have been milking the other three quarters like normal, and when she lets down I have to aim the pail so the milk geyser goes in and not on the ground. :-)
The calf nurses that quarter fine, once she figures out how to get latched on during the squirting. She actually likes to play in the gushing milk flow. I milked Friday morning as usual, mastitis card was negative. I left the calf with her Friday night because I wouldn't have time to milk Saturday morning--a market day. This morning when I was washing her up she was very sensitive. The short-teat quarter felt warm and then when I started milking a big clotty string came out. She kept trying to brush my hand away, so clearly it hurt. This cow doesn't kick!
So I got out what I could before she stepped in the pail, milked out the other three quarters best I could with her dancing around, then let Juniper, the calf out. I hid the other three teats from her and forced her to suck on the bad teat first, which Beauty tolerated better than me milking. Poor girl--the bunting really hurt, but at least she softened it up a bit.
I am going to try milking twice a day, maybe three times tomorrow and separating the calf each time and try to get hold of the mastitis without drugs, but I'm not going to wait forever. It sets in so fast!
When I talked to the dairy vet during the winter about this situation, he suggested that I might consider infusing clorhexadine (this may not be the right word) into the quarter to kill off the tissue and dry it up forever. He said it is painful, but may not be any worse than repeated mastitis attacks, and it will take about 2 weeks to finish the process. He can give anti-inflammatory drugs and painkiller if I want to make it easier on her.
It sounds like a horrible thing to do, but with our muddy winters (and it has been horribly rainy here the last week) and the short teat without a good sphincter, I'm wondering if this might be wise for Beauty in the long run. 2 weeks of misery versus repeated mastitis outbreaks for the rest of her life. She's only 9 years old. She's such a wonderful cow.
**Heather** would you mind asking your hubby about this for me? He's sympathetic and knowledgeable. I don't know anyone else to ask for a second opinion. I welcome the opinions of anyone else as well. Please help me decide what to do!
Thank you!
Shelley
The calf nurses that quarter fine, once she figures out how to get latched on during the squirting. She actually likes to play in the gushing milk flow. I milked Friday morning as usual, mastitis card was negative. I left the calf with her Friday night because I wouldn't have time to milk Saturday morning--a market day. This morning when I was washing her up she was very sensitive. The short-teat quarter felt warm and then when I started milking a big clotty string came out. She kept trying to brush my hand away, so clearly it hurt. This cow doesn't kick!
So I got out what I could before she stepped in the pail, milked out the other three quarters best I could with her dancing around, then let Juniper, the calf out. I hid the other three teats from her and forced her to suck on the bad teat first, which Beauty tolerated better than me milking. Poor girl--the bunting really hurt, but at least she softened it up a bit.
I am going to try milking twice a day, maybe three times tomorrow and separating the calf each time and try to get hold of the mastitis without drugs, but I'm not going to wait forever. It sets in so fast!
When I talked to the dairy vet during the winter about this situation, he suggested that I might consider infusing clorhexadine (this may not be the right word) into the quarter to kill off the tissue and dry it up forever. He said it is painful, but may not be any worse than repeated mastitis attacks, and it will take about 2 weeks to finish the process. He can give anti-inflammatory drugs and painkiller if I want to make it easier on her.
It sounds like a horrible thing to do, but with our muddy winters (and it has been horribly rainy here the last week) and the short teat without a good sphincter, I'm wondering if this might be wise for Beauty in the long run. 2 weeks of misery versus repeated mastitis outbreaks for the rest of her life. She's only 9 years old. She's such a wonderful cow.
**Heather** would you mind asking your hubby about this for me? He's sympathetic and knowledgeable. I don't know anyone else to ask for a second opinion. I welcome the opinions of anyone else as well. Please help me decide what to do!
Thank you!
Shelley