Jersey with mastitis going to abort?

Help Support CattleToday:

Betsy

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
We have a 4-year-old Jersey cow who is not well..... she had a temperature of 105.3 this afternoon (now it has dropped to 102), she has mastitis and we are wondering if she is going to calve/abort.
We bought her last fall and have been milking her since. She calved May 30 last year.
About 5 days ago we noticed her milk tasting funny. Then two days ago we were shocked to realize that she was showing signs of getting close to calving - obviously swollen vulva, ligaments getting loose, bag filling much more than normal, etc.
Thinking that the strange-tasting milk was colostrum, we decided to dry her off (she was only giving about a half-gallon a day).
Yesterday she was acting a bit spacy - just standing around a little too much.
Today she has been standing with her back slightly humped up. Her tail-to-pin bone ligaments were definately looser than yesterday. She had a sring of clear-yellow goo hanging from her hind end this morning. We did a mastitis test, and yes, one quarter is affected. But would that alone cause a temperature of 105.3? We have been milking that quarter every hour or two as well as using a topical ointment. The biggest worry is that it is way too early for her to calve. We have never been able to feel the calf move, but just figured it was too young. How can we tell if she is carrying a dead calf and/or has a uterine infection because of it? Does a cow show the usual pre-calving signs if she is going to abort?
Something weird is going on here - any suggestions anyone?
 

Latest posts

Top