Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2008 7:41:02 GMT -5
I posted a few months ago about a multitude of small white spots that Marigold had developed on her udder this summer, coinciding with her decision to become kicky again. Well, I shaved her udder a few weeks ago and was shocked at the number of them, mostly concentrated around the base of her teats but also spreading downward on her teats. And I think I've figured out what they are (after countless hours researching Merck and others)...WARTS. I've switched her to an iodine-based udder wash, and I'll be making sure to keep her udder shaved and exposed to the air. She's on Kelp now, along with her loose Redmond's minerals. Everything I've read says other than freezing them off (which I can't imagine, there's so many!) there's really no reliable way to get them to go away. It just says to keep them lubricated so they don't dry and crack, and they may go away on their own. I've read a few articles that even say if you freeze them off, they can come back stronger and faster. YIKES. I believe (fingers crossed!) that she and Magnolia are both bred, and I'm considering just letting Marigold be a nurse cow to Maggi's calf so I can have a cow to milk that doesn't have the warty kicking problem. I do know that I have to be careful not to spread it to Maggi during milking. I'm still not sure how Marigold got it in the first place, though, as she's not left our farm! Thankfully my hands have stayed free from warts, and it hasn't really affected her milk production. She's 16 months into her lactation, milking OAD, and still producing consistently (although she did drop from 2 quarts a day to 1.3 quarts a day shortly after concieving). I can take updated pictures if anyone is interested in seeing what they look like.