mastitis in drying off cow (Cattle - Health/Treatment)

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I have been drying off my cow for the past three weeks one week of once a day milking the second week of every other day milking and the third once a day every three days. I was done and everything seemed to look fine. Today I noticed her walking funny and went to feel her udder and she kicked me . I had my husband hold her tail up so I could feel again and it was hot and hard. I milked her out and gave her the "today" mastitis treatment in the infected quarter. Tonight when I went out she was wet with sweat and looking abnormal. She is eating hay but it is chilly tonight and I was wondering if her sweating is going to give her pneumonia since it is so cold . I closed her in and gave her deep bedding. Should I give her antibiotics or wait to see if milking her out will do the trick? If so would anyone reccomend the "dry cow " treatment. This is straying far from my natural method way of life but I have been nervous enough knowing she is going to calve soon I wasn't anticipating any other problems. I guess I will wait it out . Anybody give their cows aspirin for fevers? I have horse aspirin boluses and was wondering if these would work? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks !! cara lewis

-- cara lewis (cnllewis@email.com), April 19, 2001

Answers

Dont know anything about cows but wondering if she is doing better today?

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), April 20, 2001.

She is doing better today. I have been milking her out all day and the thick nasty stuff if getting sparser(sp) I gave her "TODAY" treatment and milked her out (in the reverse order) and she is seeming to get better she is eating and no sign of a fever tonight yet! I was told to use the "TOMMOROW" treatment to totally dry her off after her mastitis clears up. She is dry in three quarters and was wondering if this is neccessary inthe other three quarters as they are dry and do not have mastitis. Thanks in advance!! cara lewis

-- cara lewis (cnllewis@email.com), April 20, 2001.

Sorry, this is a question. What is the TODAY and TOMORROW treatment? I have a miniature cow that had her first calf in December. The calf did not make it and I bought a bottle calf for her, but he is of course as big as her now and he was born the end of December. He is Jersey and Holstein. I don't think she would be able to wean him in the normal sense, as he is bigger than her and I've seen him paw at her until she gets up so he can eat! I will be having the vet out this week to turn him into a steer and take care of the horn situation and thought I would seperate them soon after. I am wondering about drying her off, if I had to do anything special. Thanks for the advise.

-- phyllis a. warman (phyllis.warman@twcable.com), April 24, 2001.

Today and Tommorrow are brand names of mastitis infusions. Today is given to a cow or goat that is in milk as part of a mastitis treatment, usually along with injections of antibiotics. Tommorrow is given to a cow or goat at the time she is dry. The only real difference between the wet and dry forms of each of the infusions is that the wet has a water base carrier so it milks out eaisly each time you use it, and the dry has an oil base so it stays up in the udder longer.

We only use the wet infusions when we have mastitis. Though we do routinely dry off our does with infusions we don't choose to use this brand. Goats are prone to staph mastitis, which unlike in cattle, has very few or no symptoms, and it is cheaper to just use the infusion at drying rather than go to the much larger expense of milk sampling, sending it by mail, and then paying for the test.

Unless your cow has had trouble during this lactation with abnormal milk, there isn't any reason to dry treat her. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 24, 2001.


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