Mastitis in cows with calves

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I have a cow that has a 10 day old calf. She is producing more milk than the calf consumes therefore some of her quarters are sore and large <br>and the calf doesn't nurse and the teats get large and red and scaley. I can drain these quarters but she is in the pasture and the vet said the calf would catch up. Can anyone give me <br>help on this question. Thanks in advance.<p>Harry<br>
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Harry,<br>What kind of cow is she? if you don't want to milk her, you might consider putting another calf on her. I have a jersey that calved in jan. she had a huge udder and her calf couldn't keep it clean. i milked her for awhile until he was about 3 weeks old. now he keeps her clean enough that i don't worry about too much mastitis. (i still keep an eye on her, tho.) i did treat her for a couple of days for mastitis in her 2 back quarters cause he only nursed on the front quarters. (vets advice)<br> I'd watch her closely..I think one of the signs of mastitis other than the red bag would be diahrea. I'm definately no expert. others on this board will be lots more help than me.
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(User Above)":2gipscla said:
: Harry,<br>: What kind of cow is she? if you don't want to milk her, you might consider putting another calf on her. I have a jersey that calved in jan. she had a huge udder and her calf couldn't keep it clean. i milked her for awhile until he was about 3 weeks old. now he keeps her clean enough that i don't worry about too much mastitis. (i still keep an eye on her, tho.) i did treat her for a couple of days for mastitis in her 2 back quarters cause he only nursed on the front quarters. (vets advice)<br>: I'd watch her closely..I think one of the signs of mastitis other than the red bag would be diahrea. I'm definately no expert. others on this board will be lots more help than me. <p>Tim, She is a Polled Hereford. The vet told me the same thing as you, to milk her,which I did, but the calf goes to the same quarter every time<br>the left front. I move the cow around and get her<br>to nurse off the right front quarter, but I have tocontinue to milk the two back quarters. Another<br>calf might be the answer as they would be in competition.
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Hi Harry,<br>I would just milk out the quarters that the calf isn't cleaning until it starts to nurse all quarters. It shouldn't take long. She still has some of the colostrum so until that is all removed her udder will stay tight. Another calf may be a problem when and if pastures start to dry. Then you would probably have to supplement her to keep her milk production up to feed both calves. She may not take the new calf so you would have a bottle calf.<br>Just my suggestion.<br>Good luck.<br>Darla *.~
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Harry,<br>see, I told you others would be much better at this than me LOL. Darla's right, you could end up with more problems than you had to begin with if you get another calf...unless you're like me, enjoy bottle feeding babies. i've raised 4 and have the fever again LOL. Good luck with your cow.<br>
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Hi Tim,<br>Let's face it, you are a soft touch when it comes to those little cuties. (Been there, Done that!!) LOL.<br>Darla *.~<p>: Harry,<br>: see, I told you others would be much better at this than me LOL. Darla's right, you could end up with more problems than you had to begin with if you get another calf...unless you're like me, enjoy bottle feeding babies. i've raised 4 and have the fever again LOL. Good luck with your cow.<p>
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Darla,<br>You know me too well LOL..but hey, my twins are a year old now and my jersey's new baby doesn't lke me LOL. little does he know that he's bout talked me into putting him in the freezer later on down the road LOL.<p>: Hi Tim,<br>: Let's face it, you are a soft touch when it comes to those little cuties. (Been there, Done that!!) LOL.<br>: Darla *.~<p>: : Harry,<br>: : see, I told you others would be much better at this than me LOL. Darla's right, you could end up with more problems than you had to begin with if you get another calf...unless you're like me, enjoy bottle feeding babies. i've raised 4 and have the fever again LOL. Good luck with your cow.<p>
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Tim,<br>I think being friendly would have been smarter for your Jersey boy. LOL<br>We just had our first heifer calf. Can't weigh her till my husband gets home this weekend, but looks like around 70#.<br>I had a new experience, though. I went out to check the cow and found the calf up, but two older cows were trying to steal the calf.<br>I had to shut them up in the barn so the calf could nurse. Showgirl has cleaned and the calf is full and happy. I will get pictures if I can figure out how that *$#()@#*&($* digital camera works. LOL.<br>Have a good day.<br>Darla *.~
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<ul><li><a href="http://members2.clubphoto.com/darla207952">Star K Ranch Murray Grey Photo Albums (run the slide show)</a></ul>
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(User Above)":3tpedj49 said:
: I have a cow that has a 10 day old calf. She is producing more milk than the calf consumes therefore some of her quarters are sore and large <br>: and the calf doesn't nurse and the teats get large and red and scaley. I can drain these quarters but she is in the pasture and the vet said the calf would catch up. Can anyone give me <br>: help on this question. Thanks in advance.<p>: Harry<br>: <br> I have enjoyed this excellent exchange of ideas.<br>I will throw another idea in the pot. I have placed a collor around the cow's own calf and another one around the calf that I purchased to consume the extra milk, and joined them with a short chain or belt. When the natural calf nursed it was usually next to its mother and the other calf nursed from the outside. Steals the extra. Soon both are usually accepted and the collars can be taken off. Darla's comment that should pasture shortage occur you must be prepared to provide supplement. Mike<p>
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(User Above)":fjd4dc3h said:
: : Harry,<br>: : What kind of cow is she? if you don't want to milk her, you might consider putting another calf on her. I have a jersey that calved in jan. she had a huge udder and her calf couldn't keep it clean. i milked her for awhile until he was about 3 weeks old. now he keeps her clean enough that i don't worry about too much mastitis. (i still keep an eye on her, tho.) i did treat her for a couple of days for mastitis in her 2 back quarters cause he only nursed on the front quarters. (vets advice)<br>: : I'd watch her closely..I think one of the signs of mastitis other than the red bag would be diahrea. I'm definately no expert. others on this board will be lots more help than me. <p>: Tim, She is a Polled Hereford. The vet told me the same thing as you, to milk her,which I did, but the calf goes to the same quarter every time<br>: the left front. I move the cow around and get her<br>: to nurse off the right front quarter, but I have tocontinue to milk the two back quarters. Another<br>: calf might be the answer as they would be in competition.<p>Tim/Darla,<br> You have been most helpful, thanks a lot. I now have another question that you might be able to answer. I milked the cow and fed the milk to the calf, now the calf nurses from the same quarter and takes the other 3 quarters from a bottle. as Tim said, I now have a bottle baby, which I didn't want. Everyone tells me not to feed the calf but one time a day, and that being at night.<br>Is there any other way to get the calf to nurse the other quarters besides starvation? The cow is most obliging, but sometimes I think this is a game and I am the only one that don't know the rules.<p>Harry<br>
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Hi Harry,<br>LOL Cows can sometimes make you feel that way. <br>Since the calf is nursing the cow, I would milk the quarter it nurses completely out, then milk the other quarters about halfway out. Then put them together and see if when it gets hungry it won't try the other quarters. Milked partly out, the teats shouldn't be so big. Unless it just absolutely refuses to nurse the other quarters, I would withdraw the bottle feedings and force it to nurse the other quarters by keeping its favorite one milked out. It shouldn't be too long before the calf will take all the milk that the cow produces, but you may have to have a lot of patience with the baby and spend a little time getting this all worked out. Hopefully, it will figure out that the milk is the same in all quarters and take care of the problem.<br>Best of luck.<br>Darla *.~<p><br>
<br>
<ul><li><a href="http://members2.clubphoto.com/darla207952/">Star K Ranch Murray Greys Photo Albums (run the slide show)</a></ul>
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