Maryann Schnur

The calf is still on the mama 24/7 and we are still fighting mastitis. I haven't seen the mastitis jump quarters yet but I have noticed the cow stomping when I strip her teat before milking. I'm just keeping an eye on things. I sure wish we could get rid of this mastitis.

our cow contracted mastitis within the first 36 hours of calving. The vet came out and treated the cow with Today and I followed up with three more treatments at 12 hour intervals. The quarter cleared up right away but the milk from that quarter was discarded for 96 hours after the last treatment. The milk in that quarter looked good for about three days then it started getting thick again. I did not retreat immediately but rather milked the quarter out by hand at each 12 hour cycle of milkings. The calf is also on the momma 24/7. This morning the milk looked quit thick so I milked it out and retreated with Today which I will do an additional three times every 12 hours.. My biggest concern is will the calf spread the mastitis to the other quarters. Any knowledgeable advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

I appreciate your input and taking tome to write. Thanks

I had observered her udders being extremely full and went ahead and scheduled a vet visit. I figured it wouldn't hurt to get her and the calf checked anyway. But then a couple hours before he got there her front quarter looked red and swollen on the udder just above the teat. Her teat was swollen too but it was the swelling on the udder that really concerned me. Then the vet confirmed. Also he had me milk her out in that quarter and the milk was thick and clumpy. The teat and udder have looked fine for a couple of days now and when I milk her into the strip cup I don't see anything. Does the vet do your testing or do you do that yourself somehow? What do you treat your cows with if they get mastitis. I'm a newby. My only experience was my own 4 kids and my own bout or two with mastitis while nursing. Very painful and makes you really sick. I didn't know cows but I knew humans and wanted to treat her quickly.

Update, the calf is doing great. She is still with momma 24/7 but we are planning to pen her at night where momma can see her (I think). I have one more question, are you familiar with the medicine called Today for mastitis treatment? The vet and I together gave the cow four treatments of this medicine at 12 hour intervals. I milked this quarter by hand but didn't get very much milk out of it each time. I put this quarter on the machine last night after 84 hours from the last dose. The milk shows now sign of infection. I was worried the quarter was drying up because I wasn't able to milk it out very well by hand. I'm going to give that milk to the pig as the milk has a 96 hour withdrawal for human consumption. Should I hold the milk another 96 hours now that she is being machine milked? Thanks in advance.

Okay thank you for your thoughts on this. I'll consider each of these options.

Yes the calf is with momma 24/7. Momma is six years old and this is her 4th calf but this is the first time she has keep a calf longer than one day. The prior owner took the calves away within 24 hours and bottle fed them. I am getting about 1 1/4 gallons with each milking. The calf is growing like a weed but it's poo is a little soft and yellow which worried me some. It runs and jumps around a lot though. It seems healthy and happy.

Hi all, I am new to cows and could use some help. We bought a Jersey about 6 weeks ago and she calved last Thursday. Momma's udders were so big before calving I worried about mastitis prior to milking as she would squirt milk out every time I brought her into the stanchion to feed for over a week before she calved. I was told not to milk her out completely for the first three milkings after calving but by about 36 hours after calving I could see sign of mastitis in one quarter and called the vet. He treated that quarter and told me to milk her out on the other three due to so much milk in her udders to avoid further mastitis. I did that and treated her sick quarter three more times with Today. This is the sixth day since the calf arrived and I have been milking her twice a day since. I milk the treated quarter by hand and the other three with a machine. My concern is now that I am milking too much and not leaving enough for the calf. How do I know if the calf is getting enough to eat? Any help is appreciated. Thanks