Help, Mastitis in one quarter of Betsy, our Jersey cow

[msitework]

I'm almost sure Betsy, our Jersey cow, has mastitis in one quarter. It is a little harder & no milk will come out of it. Can someone tell me how to treat this, I can't get ahold of a vet around here because it's saturday. I have penicilin, LA200, or Vetrimycin 200 but don't know which one to use & how long. Should I keep trying to milk that quarter, should I pull the calves that she is nursing? I'm new to this & don't know where to start, thanks in advance.

 

[lorieMN]

if you have a farm store around they should have mastitis treatment in a tube with a long nipple,just get out all the mastitis you can and treat with medicine for as long as the tube says,

 

[SoccerMomof7]

I would give her penicillian, I know this is different but I got mastits and my fever shot up to 106 within 2 hours, doctors put me on penicillan right away. Hopefully that helps.

 

[wynedot55]

milk that teat out.does the milk have clumps or lumps in it.is it off colored or yellow.is the teat kinda hard.or is it nice an soft.you may need to treat it a time or 2 with mastitis meds.but know this you must throw the milk away for 36 to 72hrs.thats 3 to 6 milkings from the last treatment.when the milk is white she is clear.

 

[msitework]

Wynedot,
I tried to milk it and she kicks when i touch it, but i wasn't able to get any milk out of it. It is kind of hard & shriveled almost, still huge but the skin is almost shriveled. One of the guys around here with a dairy said to stick a needle in the teat to drain all the puss & blood, is that what I need to do, & how? She wouldn't like that very much, so how do you restrain her enough to do it.

 

[Badhbh]

I don't know about cows, but I know how to treat it in humans.. warm washcloths, gentle massage, and cabbage leaves in the bra

Is there any way you can rig something up for her teats that would hold some cabbage leaves? Sounds silly, but it does work.

 

[GlacierNan]

I don't know about the new vets but the old ones say to milk and milk and milk whether anything comes out or not.It's the massaging action that breaks it up. Lots and lots of massaging.

 

[KellyGwen]

Do warm compresses on that quarter (the hard part of the bag) as often as you can (4 times a day if poss!) and try to strip her out completely (if you have to hobble her or have someone hold up her hind foot with a rope around the ankle do that). It is really important to get anything that is in there out. It should get easier to get something out after a few rounds of compresses. Throw all the milk away!

I don't know about sticking a needle in! I would do the compresses today and see if you can get a hold of your vet or can find an experienced dairy farmer nearby to help you. I'm also not too sure about what AB you should use.

Just make sure (once this is over) that all four quarters get milked out completely twice a day - even if she has a calf on her - because of how they've been bred cows produce way more milk than a baby needs!

To make her easier to milk I would take the calf away and bottle feed it. (Out of sight and possibly out of sound range of her mom!). Once a new cow has a baby and you let it nurse naturally it is much harder to milk her... especially a jersey!! They can be ornery!

You might have known all this... but once I start talking about animals I can't stop babbling!!

Good luck! Keep us posted!!!

 

[wynedot55]

ok your cow has a real bad case of mastitis.from what your saying it sounds like the teat is dieing.meaning that teat will no longer give any milk.an she will be a 3 teater.the best thing todo is have the vet cheack her teat.from her kicking everytime you touch it id say its very sore.

 

[chicknmania]

I have read the same thing about the milking, you have to milk and milk, all the time. I have also read the warm compresses help and you can also use warm bag balm or even any kind of grease like shortening. .