Mastitis pis.... me off!

[goodebros]

I do not have a lot of experience in dealing with mastitis being a beef producer. This is my first case. Here is how the story goes:

1. We started with one rear quarter, redish/pink fluid with chunks, quarter swollen and hard. The vet did not culture it so we don't know what it is. The case contiues to get worse after treating with Today and pen at first then Persue and pen, both along with stripping twice daily.

2. Rear Quarter begins to soften and become more flexible fluid still the same then starting to decline in quantity.

3. Felling the two front quarters while stripping out notice lumps starting to form and milk decreasing. Got a sample to send in to get cultured. Waiting!!!

This case has been in progress for 2.5 weeks.

Some have told me that it is ecoli and I am lucky she is not dead. Others tell me to leave it alone. The problem is she is my best cow, if you can belive that or not and I don't want to just let her go without doing what I can for her/me.

What do you sudjest for treatment now? I have been told to try mycotil in the quarter, baytril IV + SC, LA200, Persue again. Other said the calve would just suck the IMM right back out?

I am at a crossroad now, am I to far in to quite or cut my losses and run?

 

[TexasBred]

I always had good luck with Quartermaster dry cow treatment. Don't know now but use to have to get it from the vet. Infuse a tube into each quarter and watch and wait for a week..Give the medicine time to work. Check it again and infuse again after milking her out completely. Never used Micotil on mastitis. Use to use some Gentacin "extra lable" but the stuff has a witholding time of something like "Forever plus one day". Good luck.

 

[regolith]

She's not your best cow now. A case this serious means the cow no longer breeds replacement heifers for me - though she may appear to recover fully.

The vet can still culture a treated case that hasn't responded, provided there's a sufficient time delay between last treatment and taking the culture (I usually work with around a week to ten days). But you've got that covered with the new infection - chances are it's the same bug.

In the past I've found culturing disappointing. If the vet comes back to me with the name of the infectious agent but hasn't done the antibiotic sensitivity test I asked for, it's pretty much a waste of time. If they have done the antibiotic sensitivity test, as often as not the recommended drug is one I've already used, or is ineffective. What happens on the test plate in the lab just isn't always replicated in the udder, especially if the infection has been raging for a while.

I can't help with the drugs, but 2.5 weeks isn't that far out of the ordinary for a non-responder. I had one this year, one three years ago, cleared up after around a month and multiple drug treatments.
Give her time.
It doesn't sound like e. coli to me, but can't really tell without the culture and the cow not being horribly sick.

 

[GMN]

I do not have a lot of experience in dealing with mastitis being a beef producer. This is my first case. Here is how the story goes:

1. We started with one rear quarter, redish/pink fluid with chunks, quarter swollen and hard. The vet did not culture it so we don't know what it is. The case contiues to get worse after treating with Today and pen at first then Persue and pen, both along with stripping twice daily.

2. Rear Quarter begins to soften and become more flexible fluid still the same then starting to decline in quantity.

3. Felling the two front quarters while stripping out notice lumps starting to form and milk decreasing. Got a sample to send in to get cultured. Waiting!!!

This case has been in progress for 2.5 weeks.

Some have told me that it is ecoli and I am lucky she is not dead. Others tell me to leave it alone. The problem is she is my best cow, if you can belive that or not and I don't want to just let her go without doing what I can for her/me.

What do you sudjest for treatment now? I have been told to try mycotil in the quarter, baytril IV + SC, LA200, Persue again. Other said the calve would just suck the IMM right back out?

I am at a crossroad now, am I to far in to quite or cut my losses and run?

E.coli(coliform) mastitis could have turned her bag blue or gangrenous, and she would have been dead fairly quickly. Acute mastitis can go into the bloodstream, usually IV antibiotics work to solve that.

Is this a beef cow? Is she close to calving or did this just happen out of the blue?

GMN

 

[goodebros]

Thanks for the advice guys,

We should here back with the culture monday but everyone has the same opinion...ecoli.

This is a beef cow and she calved about a month ago in pasture. I noticed she was not hanging with the rest of the herd after calving and thought maybe she might have a twine still in her. She was milking and caring for her calve fine though. I pulled her out of the pasture and found the mastitis.

I guess it is the weather whe have been having this winter. It is a mud pit where ever you go and no real signs of drying up yet.

The vet came up yesterday morning and treated her IV and SC with antibiotics and IMM in the rear quarter that is already bad. He said it looked like we could save the quarter for next calving. He also said that the calve would just suck the IMM's out of the other quarters while nursing?

 

[hillsdown]

I had this conversation with my dairy neighbor the other day and he had a cow with mastitis very bad ,nothing touched it so he stripped her out and injected 50 cc's of nuflor in the teat. He said the mastitis cleared up immediately and he saved the quarter. I have no clue as to what the withdrawal time would be for that.

Keep an eye on your calf and make sure that is does not get sick from whatever crap she has in her udder.


Also add...... That a long time ago some dairy farmers thought that if you injected micotil in the teat it would cure staph infection..It didn't do diddly squat.

 

[bigbull338]

your cow has a bad case of mastitis.an pirsue wont touch it.your better off infusing the infected quarters with today twice a day for 3 or 4 days.an hitt her with tomorrow in both quarters.an then stripp her out in 3 days.