I would just watch the cows. If the udder turns red, becomes hot to the touch, you should definitely see your veterinarian. If there is nothing like that, then you should not torture the animal with all sorts of unnecessary procedures.
Cattle Udder/Large Teat
- Thread starter MIZEGFZOU
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
BigBear56
Well-known member
Jan's insight would be good here. Growing up ona dairy, heat in the tit was tell tale mastitis. It can be treated but bad udder/tit conformation cannot
76 Bar
Well-known member
Good place to start re: udder/teat evaluation. Lots more on the web.
http://www.angusjournal.com/articlepdf/udders 08_11 aj.pdf
http://guidelines.beefimprovement.org/index.php/Teat_and_Udder_Scores
http://www.angusjournal.com/articlepdf/udders 08_11 aj.pdf
http://guidelines.beefimprovement.org/index.php/Teat_and_Udder_Scores
Thanks for the link, Bar. My old swing bag looks like a 4. Hmmmm.
farmerjan
Well-known member
I don't know how much help I will be. But if the animal has one bigger teat, and it is not hot or swollen, then mastitis is not the likely problem. There are certain families and groups of cows that seem to have bigger udders and bigger teats. The bull studs definitely list teat length and size in the sire evaluations. The old cows, used to have big teats. They were also made more for hand milking. Then when it got to where nearly all cows were machine milked, they actually started to breed for the smaller teat size. To the point that there are ALOT of cows with teats so small and short that they have trouble keeping the milker on the cow. Now they are going back a bit to more moderate to small teats, not the little tiny micro ones.
Are the heifers related? It could be that the sire is from a family that has less than desireable teats and is passing it down to these daughters.
The big thing is, watch and make sure the calf is getting on all the teats. If you have a chute, check to make sure there is good milk in the large teat...squirt some out and make sure the teat end "plug" is out and that the milk is flowing. If it is chunky or watery, then it is mastitis. Some will just dry up, some can be treated. The problem with beef calves is they are going to try all the teats after a few days so you can't get the mastitis medicine up the quarter and let it work for 12 hours like a dairy cow.
I don't worry so much about bigger bags as I do watch the teats. I have taken and stripped out a large oversized teat, and then the calf has been able to get it sucked and it has been okay. It also depends on where the cattle are and if you can get them in to work them easily.
And then if the teat is a problem throughout, they are on the short list to go. I am more forgiving of a large bag on older cows too as long as the calf is eating good and active.
I think at this point to just make sure the calves are eating and looking and acting good. Then, see if the ones with the big teats came from the same place. If so I would suspect genetic.
It has been proven that flies can and will cause problems in heifers when they calve; mastitis and such. But not usually one "larger sized teat". Also, heifers sucking each other when younger, will damage the udders too.
I am thinking it might be a genetic thing since you mentioned these are bought heifers. Just watch them, and cull any that seem to have any problems down the road. If no apparent problems, don't get too worried about it right off.
One of the reasons I often buy older cows at bred sales.... they are older for a reason. They have done their job for years. Sometimes they are a one and done, and I will get that calf and sell both... sometimes they do a good job and I will breed them back again. If you get a nice heifer calf out of a cow like that, she is often worth raising up. Longevity is something to be appreciated. Knew a farmer that would sell most anything that got over 8-9 years old. Often would buy some of his cows and get 3-5 more calves out of them and not have the up front costs like a young heifer or cow.
You ought to be able to post pictures after either 5 or 10 posts. Hopefully we will see some pics soon.
Are the heifers related? It could be that the sire is from a family that has less than desireable teats and is passing it down to these daughters.
The big thing is, watch and make sure the calf is getting on all the teats. If you have a chute, check to make sure there is good milk in the large teat...squirt some out and make sure the teat end "plug" is out and that the milk is flowing. If it is chunky or watery, then it is mastitis. Some will just dry up, some can be treated. The problem with beef calves is they are going to try all the teats after a few days so you can't get the mastitis medicine up the quarter and let it work for 12 hours like a dairy cow.
I don't worry so much about bigger bags as I do watch the teats. I have taken and stripped out a large oversized teat, and then the calf has been able to get it sucked and it has been okay. It also depends on where the cattle are and if you can get them in to work them easily.
And then if the teat is a problem throughout, they are on the short list to go. I am more forgiving of a large bag on older cows too as long as the calf is eating good and active.
I think at this point to just make sure the calves are eating and looking and acting good. Then, see if the ones with the big teats came from the same place. If so I would suspect genetic.
It has been proven that flies can and will cause problems in heifers when they calve; mastitis and such. But not usually one "larger sized teat". Also, heifers sucking each other when younger, will damage the udders too.
I am thinking it might be a genetic thing since you mentioned these are bought heifers. Just watch them, and cull any that seem to have any problems down the road. If no apparent problems, don't get too worried about it right off.
One of the reasons I often buy older cows at bred sales.... they are older for a reason. They have done their job for years. Sometimes they are a one and done, and I will get that calf and sell both... sometimes they do a good job and I will breed them back again. If you get a nice heifer calf out of a cow like that, she is often worth raising up. Longevity is something to be appreciated. Knew a farmer that would sell most anything that got over 8-9 years old. Often would buy some of his cows and get 3-5 more calves out of them and not have the up front costs like a young heifer or cow.
You ought to be able to post pictures after either 5 or 10 posts. Hopefully we will see some pics soon.
