udder problem

[dinahmite]

i have a jersey holstein cross.very much a pet cow(only have 3 for small farm).wanted to breed her once-did that.i expected her to have a good bag but she started bagging at 6 mo and didn't stop.she delivered fine(4 days ago) and has a huge,i mean huge bag.she has not been fed anything but pasture since april.the calf only nurses the front two teats as the back one are so low to the ground.she is not wanting to take foster calves and she stresses.my question is what to do about the back two quarters.i don't plan on breeding her back.i have not milked out the back ones because i want them to dry up,however,they are dripping milk and the skin up on the quarter itself is starting to split and oose clear fluid.should i leave them alone,inject something,or what?please help!
i really like this cow,not really concerned about milk production or breeding again.just her health.thanks

 

[GMN]

You will have to milk those 2 quarters out by hand, a fresh cow like her will not just dry herself out, and you will create more problems for yourself with mastitis, and or worse if you do not strip that milk out of those 2 quarters. If you do this every day her bag will go down some, and the calf may suck on those 2 quarters then. There is also a medicine called Lasix for edema in the bag, I sure would give her some of that, need to go to the vet for it though, will take the swelling out of her bag.

Don't delay strip those quarters out!

GMN

 

[bigbull338]

start milking those back 2 teats out now.because if you dont she will have mastitis big time.an then youll have to dr her.her bag is prolly sore.an that maybe the reason she wont take nurse calves.

 

[milkmaid]

Strip 'em out, get several more calves for her and make her take them, and then give her time. Fresh cows have a lot of edema in their udder and it takes awhile to go down. With it being 5 days now since calving, there's not really anything you can give her that will effectively reduce the swelling. Jerseys sometimes have poor udder structure anyway, so just wait it out; there really isn't anything you can do other than strip those quarters now, and then put calves on.

In all honesty, a lactating Holstein/Jersey cross has no business being a "pet" cow. A cow like that belongs on a dairy or in the hands of someone who's used to dealing with nurse cows. JMO.

 

[dinahmite]

thanks to everyone for their advice.i went and got 2 more calves and will try her again tonite.i did strip some out of each quarter this morning.the milk looks good.the oozing is still there so i gave her some lasix.maybe it will help.i did see her little calf nursing the good back teat while the mother was laying down,i haven't seen her lay with the bad side up yet.thanks again to everyone.


ps.if the calf manages to nurse on all 4 teats do i still need foster calves?

 

[bigbull338]

yes you still need extra calves on her.because she will milk heavy for 3 or 4 months.