Cow with hard quarter

[certherfbeef]

I have a cow with a low udder. She has a hard quarter and it is slightly warm. She has a early may calf on her. She is a 1992 model and has thrown some really gooduns in the past. She is also short bred (came in on her own, so I bred her last week) High $ semen. Don't want to lose her and don't want her to have to grow wheels until I wean next year's calf. I don't know if she got stung or has mastitus.

Finally, to the question~~ can I use a fresh cow treatment like she is a dairy cow? The kind that comes in a tube and it put right into the quarter. Or is there some other method used for a beef?

I grew up on a dairy farm, so it is not in my nature to let it run it's course like these locals suggest here. I do not want to lose the cow!

 

[dun]

I have a cow with a low udder. She has a hard quarter and it is slightly warm. She has a early may calf on her. She is a 1992 model and has thrown some really gooduns in the past. She is also short bred (came in on her own, so I bred her last week) High $ semen. Don't want to lose her and don't want her to have to grow wheels until I wean next year's calf. I don't know if she got stung or has mastitus.

Finally, to the question~~ can I use a fresh cow treatment like she is a dairy cow? The kind that comes in a tube and it put right into the quarter. Or is there some other method used for a beef?

I grew up on a dairy farm, so it is not in my nature to let it run it's course like these locals suggest here. I do not want to lose the cow!

You can either use a dry cow treatment or a fresh cow treatment. Doesn't really matter. Just keep an eye on it and do the intermammary infusions as required.

dun

 

[TheBullLady]

I'd use something like "Today".. although like dun suggested, I don't think there's a lot of difference between the "wet" or "dry" cow treatments. I've used them both, but I've never looked to see what the difference was.

I've had cows in the past (dairy crosses) that have lost quarters, and still gone on to be productive. If she's a good milker, she should still be able to raise a good calf. I'd watch for a temperature however.. you don't want her getting a severe case of mastitis.

 

[bwranch]

When we've seen this type of thing before we always try to milk out the quarter to 1) open up the channels and 2) check for "bad" milk which is either foul smelling, off color, or congealed. Then we use one of the cephapirin infusions like ToDay. Based on our experience and vet advice, it won't hurt the calf and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We've run into problems in the past using the "wait and see" approach. Just my two cents.

Lee

 

[Michelle Pankonien]

Read the LABEL, there is a difference between them, one has a higher conc. of drug than the other.

Always strip the milk out before using an intramamary infusion product, if quarter is hard, massage till it gets soft, some of these will for an infection that will cause the quarter to rupture and then it is too late, one less quarter to milk out of, your done, beef or dairy, makes no difference, still a cow in lactation

I treat aggressivley, if you are going to keep calf on cow do it 2x a day until milk from that quarter is normal for a minamum of 2 days, if pulling the calf, strip each time and do 1X per day stripping quarter before each treatment, continue till you are 2 days out with clear healthy looking fluid, no chunks, curds, foul smelling goo, or custardy yellow gunk, also check the other quarters and make sure they are not starting to develop mastitis as well

OH, sometimes if you have a grumpy cow it is easier to strip the quarter from the opposit side, so as not to get kicked in the head!

Some rank cows are smart and will still try to kick, but most are good for this

Also, clean teat before inserting intra-mamary infusion, you don't want to introduce more harmful bacteria to a really great growth media, milk has lots of sugars to grow bacteria.

 

[CattleAnnie]

Michelle's post regarding the grumpy cow. If the cow is acting up (and let's face it, with an inflamed quarter, it's got to hurt like h*ll) you might want to tie back one or both hind legs when she's in the head gate to strip her out. Had to do the same on one old girl here earlier this spring, and sure beats getting your head knocked off by a well place hoof. Just a suggestion.

Take care.