Post by daisyhill on Jul 31, 2014 11:15:55 GMT -5
So far, I am ambivalent.
For myself, I never use antibiotics (this is easy for me to say, because I am hardly ever sick, and if I am, I seem to have a stout immune system). The first time I ever took an antibiotic was when I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was in college. It seemed sensible at the time, as a preventative measure. I wouldn't hesitate to use antibiotics for a real reason (say, Lyme disease, or something like that). I feel cautious about their over-use.
When I first started keeping cows, I was far more likely to call on the vet than I ever would be to call on a doctor for myself, and as a result, I used antibiotic treatment for mastitis, and even killed a quarter on the vet's recommendation (I would not do that again). I have not been impressed with infusions, and as I've done more research, I realized that they never have a very high success rate during lactation (makes sense), and are more effective as dry-cow therapy.
I've also learned how to get a sample tested for bacteria, which is MUCH better than shooting in the dark (for some reason, the vet doesn't bother with samples--odd, I think). I've learned a lot about mastitis, which I think indicates that I have got a problem with my hygiene, because I don't think I should have learned this much in four years. So, I'm working on that--I've gone back and forth about post-dipping, because of share-milking. I'm not sure how to handle that. I have always used a separate cloth on each teat, and disinfect my hands between cows. I do my best to keep bedding clean in winter, in summer they are out in the pasture, and I rotate pastures.
So far, I've had the quickest return to normal milk with non-antibiotic therapy: milking every two hours around the clock, alternating between a hot compress and a comfrey poultice held on for 15-20 minutes at a time. This is a lot of work. I started doing this because I was not willing to give random antibiotics, and it takes a couple of days to get the results back from the lab. I have to do something for the cow while waiting, so I did the same thing my sister did for herself when she had mastitis with her last baby.
So, now here we are. April had a slight bout of mastitis--it strained slowly, leaving a yellow film on the filter (not butter). I quickly checked all four quarters, one was salty. Calf is nursing twice a day, but not on mama because of cut teats not healing well. I milked her out multiple times per day for two days, milk from that quarter had nasty clots for part of one day, then cleared up and strained quickly again, but leaving a few clots the size of a pin head. I sent off a sample for culturing. Milk still tasted "off" for a couple more days. The lab was slow, and it took them almost a week to get the results back to me. Meanwhile, the milk in that quarter returned to normal. I carefully taste it each day, and now I can't tell the difference between it and the good quarters. This morning, it strained fine, except for a few pin-prick clots on the filter.
I finally got the lab results back this A.M., and it says +++ strep. disgalactiae. I've been researching the antibiotic options, and so-far, I'm not too impressed. Considering how well she seems to be doing, I kind of hate to run the risks of infusions. On the other hand, I'd hate to leave something brewing. I'm just not sure what I'm going to do.
For myself, I never use antibiotics (this is easy for me to say, because I am hardly ever sick, and if I am, I seem to have a stout immune system). The first time I ever took an antibiotic was when I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was in college. It seemed sensible at the time, as a preventative measure. I wouldn't hesitate to use antibiotics for a real reason (say, Lyme disease, or something like that). I feel cautious about their over-use.
When I first started keeping cows, I was far more likely to call on the vet than I ever would be to call on a doctor for myself, and as a result, I used antibiotic treatment for mastitis, and even killed a quarter on the vet's recommendation (I would not do that again). I have not been impressed with infusions, and as I've done more research, I realized that they never have a very high success rate during lactation (makes sense), and are more effective as dry-cow therapy.
I've also learned how to get a sample tested for bacteria, which is MUCH better than shooting in the dark (for some reason, the vet doesn't bother with samples--odd, I think). I've learned a lot about mastitis, which I think indicates that I have got a problem with my hygiene, because I don't think I should have learned this much in four years. So, I'm working on that--I've gone back and forth about post-dipping, because of share-milking. I'm not sure how to handle that. I have always used a separate cloth on each teat, and disinfect my hands between cows. I do my best to keep bedding clean in winter, in summer they are out in the pasture, and I rotate pastures.
So far, I've had the quickest return to normal milk with non-antibiotic therapy: milking every two hours around the clock, alternating between a hot compress and a comfrey poultice held on for 15-20 minutes at a time. This is a lot of work. I started doing this because I was not willing to give random antibiotics, and it takes a couple of days to get the results back from the lab. I have to do something for the cow while waiting, so I did the same thing my sister did for herself when she had mastitis with her last baby.
So, now here we are. April had a slight bout of mastitis--it strained slowly, leaving a yellow film on the filter (not butter). I quickly checked all four quarters, one was salty. Calf is nursing twice a day, but not on mama because of cut teats not healing well. I milked her out multiple times per day for two days, milk from that quarter had nasty clots for part of one day, then cleared up and strained quickly again, but leaving a few clots the size of a pin head. I sent off a sample for culturing. Milk still tasted "off" for a couple more days. The lab was slow, and it took them almost a week to get the results back to me. Meanwhile, the milk in that quarter returned to normal. I carefully taste it each day, and now I can't tell the difference between it and the good quarters. This morning, it strained fine, except for a few pin-prick clots on the filter.
I finally got the lab results back this A.M., and it says +++ strep. disgalactiae. I've been researching the antibiotic options, and so-far, I'm not too impressed. Considering how well she seems to be doing, I kind of hate to run the risks of infusions. On the other hand, I'd hate to leave something brewing. I'm just not sure what I'm going to do.