Do I have to treat mastitis before I dry a cow up?

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I sole milk cow has developed mastitis AGAIN! I just treated her successfully in August for it and it was very expensive. From what some local dairy people have told me, that is when they cull a cow. I don't know it I want to cull her (she's my only one and milk cows are hard to find).

My question: since the mastitis treatment is so expensive and mastitis, as far as I know, is confined to the cow's udder, can I just dry her up and wait until the next calf is born to start milking again? Or will it harm her health for the mastitis to go untreated? Also, if I dry her up, will the mastitis still be present when the next calf is born (which is many months away)?

Thanks for all your help!

-- Janie Dye (godsfarmgirl@yahoo.com), November 30, 2000

Answers

If you got a problem now, just wait until she is fresh. When you stop taking out milk twice a day is when it will get bad. I'd give here dry cow treatment in each quarter, maybe a double dose. Then hope for the best. Some I treat come in OK, some don't. Even you do loose a quarter you may still have more milk than you need. I have a bunch of 3 teaters that give as much as a 4. Don

-- Don (dairyagri@yahoo.com), November 30, 2000.

Janie, any form of mastitis will just worsen when you dry her and staph types of mastitis can kill her calf as it drinks mastitic colostrum and milk next freshening. What kind of mastitis did you have last time? Do you have the same thing again? Did you have another culture taken after you thought she had cleared last time? You need to have the udder cultured, find out what you are dealing with an find out why. Most mastitis is from just not understanding the mechanics of the udder, filth, or in some cases of staph, she got it from her dam also. Find out what you have, treat it with systemic antibiotics and wet cow infusions, dry her up after you have the problem cured and then infuse her udder, after she is dry, for staying in the udder until she freshens again. Go over your feeding program, your vitamins and minerals, your management of her living area and stall, your milking protocol, you are missing something somewhere. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), November 30, 2000.

Please read Folk medicine by DR. D.C.Jarvis from Vermont. He says to feed apple cider vinegar daily in her feed ,I think 2oz twice a day and it should get rid of mastitis. Most health food stores sell this book for a couple bucks. Good Luck Jay Vance central N.C.

-- Jay vance (jay.l.vance@worldnet.att.net), November 30, 2000.

I tried the apple cider on my cow maude when she had mastistis and it worked. I put 3.oz's in her feed twice a day and then washed her udder real good with pretty warm water. And then after milking her i rubbed her udder real good with udder balm. Hope it works for you.

-- myra gail akins (dakins@cottoninternet.net), December 05, 2000.

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