udder edema in yearling

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alexfarms

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I have seen udder edema in yearling beef heifers many times. Usually, its been an indication the heifer is gonna milk heavy when she gets into production. Are there negatives to udder edema in yearling heifers? Should it just be ignored?
 
In a yearling I think what you are seeing isn;t edema, it's the beginning of the filling in of the mammary system. Mush like puberty in a human
 
dun":15db2qmz said:
In a yearling I think what you are seeing isn;t edema, it's the beginning of the filling in of the mammary system. Mush like puberty in a human

Maybe I'm using the wrong word. Maybe swelling would be a better word to use since I don't know what actually causes it. Sometimes I see yearling heifers show some uneven swelling of quarters or the entire udder. The udder doesn't really enlarge, it fills out. The reason I ask is, I saw one heifer show this while she was nursing the cow, just a couple months old. When she did calve, she had a bad quarter. Just made me curious if there was a connection. It's the only time I've seen a bad quarter on a heifer that showed udder swelling as a calf and I've seen several through the years.
 
yes ,if I have one that has one or more quarters swell up, I know they have some kind of infection & not to keep them as replacements as those will be blind
 
They can get mastitis as young heifers before ever having a calf. I have only had one, but treated her just the same. Antibiotics and infused that quarter and you can clear it up.
If you don't treat it, you will loose that quarter.
If it is the full udder, could you be seeing fat?
 
I had a long discussion with a vet assistant about this. She pretty much convinced me if it is anything, it is an infection and treat it with antibiotics and there isn't enough teat there to infuse. I procrastinated... I looked at the heifer today and the swelling is gone. Reminds me of something a physician's assistant once told me he was taught in med school, "95% of patients will recover on their own, don't mess it up".
 

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