udder cut almost off

[Anonymous]

just when you think you have had every problem there is with cows, along comes another...

i have a cow with a week old calf that nearly cut one of her udders off.. it is leaking milk slowly from the cut and looks nasty.. doctored it with aneseptic spray and salve and gave her shot of penicillin. it is not sore i dont guess because she let me handle it to put salve on it and didnt kick or jump.

will contact vet tomorrow, but was trying to get a heads up on what i am in store for...

any comments appreciated.

thanks

gene

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[Anonymous]

Unless it's a mutant, a cow only has one udder. It's divided into 4 quarters each with one functional teat. If it is a teat that is badly cut, unless it get's infected it's not that big of a deal. If she looses function in one quarter, normally when she freshens again she will make up for the loss in the other three quarters.

dun

> just when you think you have had
> every problem there is with cows,
> along comes another...

> i have a cow with a week old calf
> that nearly cut one of her udders
> off.. it is leaking milk slowly
> from the cut and looks nasty..
> doctored it with aneseptic spray
> and salve and gave her shot of
> penicillin. it is not sore i dont
> guess because she let me handle it
> to put salve on it and didnt kick
> or jump.

> will contact vet tomorrow, but was
> trying to get a heads up on what i
> am in store for...

> any comments appreciated.

> thanks

> gene

 

[Anonymous]

LOL yes i thought of the mistake i made on my way to church... i was in a big hurry to ask this question and then realized after i left i used the wrong word... i do mean teat...

ok.. you think the milk will stop flowing and it will heal ok? you can see just a touch of blood from the sore mixed with the milk every now and then... i put the salve on it thinking it might keep the calf from trying to nurse that teat... i am considering separating them and putting the cow in the squeeze chute a couple of times a day and making the calf suck the teats i want her to... i dont know how long ago she cut it, but i noticed the calf not being as strong as she should be so i checked them closer... probably the momma was not letting calf suck much because maybe calf kept getting the sore teat.. luckily the calf was easy to deal with and she took right to the bottle too... so i can feed her as i need to..

her teat is not infected right now.. and i gave her some penicillin to help fight that.. any other suggestions are greatly appreciated..

thanks for your response..

gene

> Unless it's a mutant, a cow only
> has one udder. It's divided into 4
> quarters each with one functional
> teat. If it is a teat that is
> badly cut, unless it get's
> infected it's not that big of a
> deal. If she looses function in
> one quarter, normally when she
> freshens again she will make up
> for the loss in the other three
> quarters.

> dun

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[Anonymous]

The chute idea is a good one.

dun

> LOL yes i thought of the mistake i
> made on my way to church... i was
> in a big hurry to ask this
> question and then realized after i
> left i used the wrong word... i do
> mean teat...

> ok.. you think the milk will stop
> flowing and it will heal ok? you
> can see just a touch of blood from
> the sore mixed with the milk every
> now and then... i put the salve on
> it thinking it might keep the calf
> from trying to nurse that teat...
> i am considering separating them
> and putting the cow in the squeeze
> chute a couple of times a day and
> making the calf suck the teats i
> want her to... i dont know how
> long ago she cut it, but i noticed
> the calf not being as strong as
> she should be so i checked them
> closer... probably the momma was
> not letting calf suck much because
> maybe calf kept getting the sore
> teat.. luckily the calf was easy
> to deal with and she took right to
> the bottle too... so i can feed
> her as i need to..

> her teat is not infected right
> now.. and i gave her some
> penicillin to help fight that..
> any other suggestions are greatly
> appreciated..

> thanks for your response..

> gene

 

[Anonymous]

> The chute idea is a good one.

> dun

dun,

the vet said basically the same thing you did... not much to do except keep it clean and antibiotics on it... he said it would most like heal up, but may take awhile.

maybe it will quit leaking milk pretty soon.. that would have to help.

gene

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[Anonymous]

We had a cow in the dairy barn last year get one of her teats stepped on and almost ripped off. The teat never really healed at all, it never got infected (we gave her antibiotics for any infections). She is a 3 quartered cow now, but yet when you still milk the other 3 quarters, the milk from the injured teat leaks out the cut on the side. She's been pretty lucky not to get any mastitus too. In your case, hopefully the calf will realize not to suck it and let the quarter dry up. If it does get mastitus in it, its best to cut the teat right off.

 

[Anonymous]

i went by my the vets office today and was going to talk to him a little more about this... but he is closed for the holidays... wont call him at home.. it is not that serious right now.. she is still leaking and i expect she will for a while... hadnt thought of cutting it off...

if he cuts it off, does he have to sew her up? havent heard of anyone doing that before.. so just wondering what all is involved with that. i wonder if dun or vicki have had experience with this?

hopefully she will heal on up enough...

thanks

gene

> We had a cow in the dairy barn
> last year get one of her teats
> stepped on and almost ripped off.
> The teat never really healed at
> all, it never got infected (we
> gave her antibiotics for any
> infections). She is a 3 quartered
> cow now, but yet when you still
> milk the other 3 quarters, the
> milk from the injured teat leaks
> out the cut on the side. She's
> been pretty lucky not to get any
> mastitus too. In your case,
> hopefully the calf will realize
> not to suck it and let the quarter
> dry up. If it does get mastitus in
> it, its best to cut the teat right
> off.

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[Anonymous]

I would just keep doing what you are doing right now. Its a good sign if the teat is draining. I would only cut the teat off if she gets mastitus in it (you will be able to see this by swelling of that quarter and the teat, it will also not drain). If the teat is cut off it usually doesn't need any stitching or anything. It heals on its own. We did that this summer with a holstein we bought for my farm from the dairy I work at. She was a 3 quartered cow, but as soon as the calf started sucking it again, the teat started to swell and couldn't drain. So we cut the teat off, gave her a shot of antibiotics, and that quarter dried up in no time and we haven't had a problem with it since. I think your cow will be fine as long as the quarter keeps draining until it dries up on its own.

 

[Anonymous]

I had one this year that cut two teats nearly half through when the calf was a week old...They healed fully before the calf was weaned...I weaned a 700lb calf in six months off her...withcreep of course..

> dun,

> the vet said basically the same
> thing you did... not much to do
> except keep it clean and
> antibiotics on it... he said it
> would most like heal up, but may
> take awhile.

> maybe it will quit leaking milk
> pretty soon.. that would have to
> help.

> gene

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[Anonymous]

i finally gave up... and let her out... this cow was going bananas in the pen.. just pacing constantly and mudding up the whole place... the calf will come to me if i need to feed her and i got her back to strength before turning them out... been out now 2-3 days and all seems fine...

havent noticed her leaking near as much now..

thanks

gene

> I had one this year that cut two
> teats nearly half through when the
> calf was a week old...They healed
> fully before the calf was
> weaned...I weaned a 700lb calf in
> six months off her...withcreep of
> course..

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