B 7 Yeast Mastitis

[kellyj]

I woke up at 1:00 this morning and thought maaayyybee I should check on Shasta. She had super bagged up and had a loose tailhead last night but she isn't due until the 20th so I convinced myself to fall back to sleep. I woke up at 4:43, and bolted out the door with only my bathrobe and slippers on (we are hitting temps in the 90s). I can't explain the sense of urgency I felt, I didn't turn on lights - I didn't even grab coffee. I just bolted and ran to the barn arriving just in time to find Shasta squished into the tightest spot possible with the only the calf's head out but it was completely twisted back and wedged between the wall and the studs with no room to spare, its nose and mouth were totally smashed into the corner. I gently turned it her head - she bleated loudly- Shasta pushed and stood at the same time and pop!!! out came the baby!

I was hardly awake and it all happened so fast I wasn't terribly logical so bear with me here - all I could think was that I needed to unthaw colostrum and get the booster powder stuff that vet had left for post-delivery(see mastitis/health issue below) so I flew to the house. By the time I got there I had lost both slippers and the belt to my bathrobe. My poor husband walked into the kitchen to find me barely clothed with blood on both arms and hands and hurriedly rummaging around finding things.

He has been chuckling all day!!

Now to up on the dry cow/mastitis story. Last Thursday I began to aggressively treat mastitis in two quarters. This cow so did not want to dry up. The vet couldn't come until Saturday morning. By then Shasta's temp had returned to normal, the milk was flowing as milk not bloody water and clumps. He couldn't believe how bad the local infection was and that she had not gone septic. Of course I attributed that to every bit of advice that I had found on this board! Comfrey, willow, raspberry, vi-c, cod liver oil, and of course lots and lots of hot packing and cayenne pepper massages etc.. I had been doing it for almost two days.

Nonetheless he felt that both Naxcel injections and Today infusions were necessary. We still do not have the culture results back but I did find a fair size cut in btwn quarters that maybe the culprit - we'll see.

He was very concerned about Shasta's loss of condition, obviously the mastitis; as well as his sense that she was carrying a large calf. He was also concerned about the calf's gut with the antibiotics given, and he was concerned that the need to milk might cause a colostrum issue depending on the timing of healing and freshening. Needless to say I hope to never ever repeat the last five days but I do have a darling heifer who seems ok and a Shasta who is as perky as can be though too thin.

I need my DD to come post pics for me but we'll get them up asap.

KellyJ

[kellyj]

I need to reconfigure my barn layout. When I first bought Shasta a much more experienced farmer friend had commented that she would never want her cow in my barn for birthing because of the exact tight space that Shasta did choose for birthing. Of course I assumed 'that' would never happen and it came darn close.

Milking is going pretty well. I am stripping the infected teats a few times a day and getting good-looking milk out with no clumps etc. No more signs of heat or redness though one quarter still has a hard feel to some tissue. I haven't heard the lab results but should today.

Baby is much more alert and stable than yesterday but the poor girl's hooves are really soft and pieces have broken off. I really don't know if any thing can be done about that.

I am rooting for you and Nellie Mitra - I hope her mastitis issues clear quickly.

KellyJ

[Joann]

Kelly, you forgot to tell about how impressed your vet of mature years was with your cowmanship and by the fact that you had frozen colostrum avvailable.

Joann

[kellyj]

My mind is so full of Shasta and her baby - Jemima - it's hard to get my thoughts organized but you are right Joann - it is well worth telling about this change in my relationship with the vet because I think it's a real tribute to this board. Everything I know is from this forum, the book KFC, Joann and my Dad.

For the first time in the last three years of owning Shasta the vet, a man I respect very much, made me feel like he respected my cowmanship. He had recently seen a cow die from a problem similiar to Shasta's issues and was astounded that not only was Shasta up and ok but that she had no fever remaining and that the local infection had begun to clear so rapidly. He is a man of few words but he made it clear that I had earned a badge. And when he found out that I had frozen colostrum that cinched it!

He doesn't like antibiotics but will use them and felt he had to this time but he was concerned that the calf was taking a hit to it's gut with the doses we gave Shasta and he was concerned that if she took a turn for the worse there might be nothing for the calf - just about floored him when I said I had frozen colostrum from her last freshening!

I have to say his newly found confidence in me was just the boost I needed after the hours I had put in down at the barn! He and his sister are both vets, they took over their father's practice, he cares for the cows, she does the horses. He must be around 70 and mostly works with commercial farmers - he has said all along that my cow is in the ideal environment but has reserved judgement of me as a owner - fair enough as he knew nothing about me and when I got Shasta I knew nothing about cows!

Now if we can just stay healthy - I've got to get some weight on Shasta it hurts everytime I see her. And somehow I've got to get the calf through this heatwave. The little bugger is having a ball getting herself into trouble - I'd have bet a hundred bucks that she couldn't get out my pasture or barn and she did twice yesterday in this horrid heat.

KellyJ

[kellyj]

I just got the results of Shasta's milk culture and she has a yeast issue. We have been struggling with mastitis for a stretch here. He recommends that we do not drink the milk until we test it again and see improvement. It seems that it is something that tends to be a chronic issue.

I used The Yeast Syndrome diet to reverse my own yeast issues years ago. I am wondering if the same principles would apply here. Basically withdrawal of sugars from the diet and add lots of good probiotics.

I have been given her powdered probiotics for weeks. Her condition is poor but I wonder if I should decrease grain as that may not help the yeast issue.

I'd love any ideas.

KellyJ

[jerseylovinliz]

I'm not a whole lot of help but my s-i-l had chronic yeast infections & she started eating LOTS of garlic, taking garlic pills & even put a broken clove of garlic... there... The clove helped w/the physical discomfort from the yeast infections. She did eliminate sugar/s from her diet. Can you give her garlic w/her food?

Another thought- A yeast infection can not grow in an alkaline environment, only acidic. I have no idea what the doseage would be for a cow but what about giving her lots of baking soda to try & bring her PH up?

Just a couple thoughts on things that have worked in humans... - Liz

[Lannie]

Also, check the ingredients of your probiotics. Not all are created equal. And are the probiotics refrigerated? If not, they only have a shelf life of weeks (which might have expired on the shelf in the store...).

~Lannie

[kellyj]

Good point Lannie, I had forgotten about that stuff expiring. I wonder if she would eat yogurt.

I added garlic to her dinner tonight and she wolfed it right down.

KellyJ

[kellyj]

I've wondered about tea tree oil but is it toxic for cows? And neem oil?

KellyJ

[Joann]

Both neem oil an d tea treee oil are pretty toxic. Are they known to kill yeast?

Joann

[kellyj]

I'll admit I am reaching here. Milking out my poor girl in 80plus temps, humidity of about 80% and getting eaten alive by the famous greenheads we have and then DUMPING out the milk has me looking at all avenues of defense!!

Both neem and tea tree oil are toxic - but man oh man do I want this problem to disappear! And at this point toxic doesn't sound like such a bad idea!

The good news is that tonight I had the best milking in the last week. The most infected quarter is noticeably less dense overall, and the quarter color is better.

Also Shasta's general demeanor is glistening and her head higher. She is in pasture much of the day. Interestingly tonight is the first night that she hasn't gobbled down the assortment of herbs that I am giving to her(comfrey, thyme, basil, oregano, grape leaves, raspberry leaves and mint - thank god I put in a large herb garden this spring!). Her bowels are loose - would the pectin from June drop apples help? - but I am not going to worry about that too much, her condition is noticeably improved.

Also interesting is that I moved her out the barn last Thursday and have her outside and/or in the leanto. Today I went in the barn and found a poop of her's from last week that had developed a white powder to it's entire surface. I've never seen that before and don't know if it is mold from the humidity or related to the yeast. Curious about this.

And curiously my chickens won't touch the milk - I've never had them not drink milk even when I've had mastitis issues before they drank it but this stuff is a no go so far.

And another note is that the milk won't clabber.

KellyJ

[ConnieG]

I know that with yeasty infections from breast feeding and heat (temperature here, ladies) related issues, my midwife had me wipe with vinegar. I've heard of it for thrush too. I'm wondering about apple cider vinegar in her water and even topically?

I think it's very interesting the chickens won't touch the milk!!

[wyomama]

Jul 8, 2010 18:13:55 GMT -5 kellyj said:

Good point Lannie, I had forgotten about that stuff expiring. I wonder if she would eat yogurt.

I added garlic to her dinner tonight and she wolfed it right down.

KellyJ

She might not eat the yogurt plain, but if you mix it with some molasses and put it on her grain, I bet she would. Kefir might be even better, if you can get some.

Have you offered her baking soda? Mine won't eat it on their own, but will eat grain with baking soda infused molasses added.

Just a word of warning, I fed my cows a bunch of garlic I had in the freezer, probably 6 or 7 cloves a day, and the milk got pretty strong!

[kellyj]

Just a word of warning, I fed my cows a bunch of garlic I had in the freezer, probably 6 or 7 cloves a day, and the milk got pretty strong!

LOL! You are so right the milk tastes horrid! We're not supposed to be drinking it but I tasted it just to see and yuck!

Joann suggests that might be why the chickens won't drink it!

Please talk to me about baking soda versus vinegar and how they impact the growth of yeast. I am hearing different things on that point.

KellyJ

[Lannie]

Both baking soda and vinegar alkalize your system, making the environment more hostile to yeast. It's not a cure-all, but it will help.

Regarding the kefir, I'm not sure I'd want to use that with a yeast problem, because there's live yeast in the kefir. I have no science to back this up - this is my "feeling" only - but it seems that putting live yeast into a system that's already overloaded with yeast is counterintuitive. I realize the yeasts are different strains, but still. For myself, because I've had systemic yeast problems most of my life (and still battle it), I don't consume anything with live yeast, or even if I suspect it has live yeast. So no kefir, no kombucha, no beer, no wine... (NO WINE!!!!! AUGH!!!!!) Maybe I'm being overcautious, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

~Lannie

[kellyj]

No wine... that's horrible! I have to watch it if I have antibiotics and really had problems when I had babies but to never have wine or bread etc...so not fun.

In the Yeast Syndrome diet that I followed I couldn't have vinegar. I had stopped giving it to Shasta because of the yeast thing - I offered it to her tonight but she wouldn't touch it - not even mixed with molasses.

She has been very grouchy today - some protective instinct kicked in that hadn't until now. Poor Annabelle is being shoved out of the picture. I am hoping this is another sign of improved spirits. But good grief does she ever need to gain weight. She was so on top of baby today she hardly grazed.

KellyJ

[Rhein-O-Ranch]

I have to disagree with Lannie on the vinegar thing....Vinegar is acid....so there is no way that it will make anything alkali....Or at least that is what the college chemistry course taught me....
I just visited a web site and it says that boric acid topically for vaginal yeast infections is effective. So I would make an assumption that making the blood acidic would tend to kill the yeast. I use a product called Bio0-Chlor to prevent milk fever. The whole premise behind it is that it makes the blood and urine acidic so that the calcium can be leached from the bones. So it seems that making the blood acidic might be a way to get rid of yeast. I am sure that this will not be proven anywhere. So it is just speculation on my part. But I know that Apple Cider vinegar doesn't hurt to feed to a cow and it might accomplish the same thing.
Also it says that tea tree oil is effective. Some of the herbalists on here can tell you how you might administer that.

[Janene]

Tea Tree Oil (TTO) is to be used externally. But it can "heat" up an area, and don't cover it. It has anti-fungal, and antibacterial properties. I use it for ear aches, (with NO cotton ball--it gets HOT! Lesson learned....) Anyhow, I'd put some on a small rag and wipe it on, but you'll go thru it fast. Maybe using a cotton ball would be better (dab it on), but you'll go thru those, too.
Janene

[Lannie]

Vinegar IS acidic, by itself. But once it reacts with stomach acid, it changes. Like everything in chemistry. So it actually has an alkalizing effect on your system if you take it internally, an acidic effect if you just wipe it on something. But what do I know? I never went to college - I'm just a dumb self-taught hick from the sticks.

Disregard my previous post, please.

~Lannie

[kellyj]

Lannie - don't say that!!!

I'd vote for personal experience over textbook experience nine times out of ten.

I have litmus paper and thought about testing the milk to see what the alkaline/acid element in the milk tested but don't know what exactly to compare too - etc...

This morning I did the CMT for the first time in a week and three quarters test 'suspicious leaning towards positive'. According to one article I read about yeast mastitis the CMT does pick it up.

What about drinking the milk? I could boil and drink/use I suppose. I've been dumping - either my cukes are going to huge or be loaves of bread!

I do worry about the calf getting a yeast overload. She is as healthy as can be but long term I wonder.

KellyJ