Signs Your Cow Could Have Mastitis

Daisy is beautifully pregnant and it is the most exciting time on a farm.  I can not tell you how much fun it is to anticipate and participate in the arrival of new life.

Thrilling

It is one of those things that must be experienced to truly understand.  Most folks give me the side-eye and shrug,  “another cow, a little one, nice.”

They do not understand.  Those of you who have made the trip to the country life know how much preparation, how much anticipation, and how much concern surrounds this sort of delivery.

Most of the time the animals do just fine, but sometimes along with birth comes adventures.  Often, these little escapades are ones we wish we could have avoided.

One of the most common complaints when cows freshen [freshening is the process of beginning to produce milk, which happens after birth], is the udder condition.

You see, there are sorts of exciting things happening to an udder during the last trimester of pregnancy and directly following birth.

Sometimes these are complications that should be dealt with, sometimes they are just normal.

What You Can Expect

• During the last 6 weeks of pregnancy, the cow will ‘bag up.”  This means her udders will fill out and get huge.
• Once she delivers the calf, she will produce colostrum.  This is the first milk, it is rich in antibodies and very essential for the calf’s health.
• The udder will have edema.  This condition is caused by excess fluid in the udder.  Edema causes the udder to swell and become incredible tight and hard.  During edema, it is nearly impossible to get any milk to flow out of the udder. I have never had an udder turn soft and pliable during the first days after birth.  After a couple of days, the edema will subside and you will begin to see milk flow.
• For the first two weeks (give or take) the milk will change from colostrum to milk.  

If your cow recently freshened and you are struggling with a hard tight udder that won’t milk, it is probably the edema, not mastitis.

Mastitis generally affects one (or more) quarters of the udder, not the entire memory system.

Signs Your Cow Could Have Mastitis

1. Hard, swollen section of her udder
2. Milk not flowing from one or more quarters
3. Sensitivity, the cow may stomp or show her displeasure while you attempt to milk
4. Fever
5. Problematic milk:  yellow, thin, watery, or presenting globs
6. Milk will not strain
7. Milk sours quickly
8. Off tasting milk (could taste salty, sour or gamey)

I am sure there are even more signs to look for, but these are the ones I have experienced.

HOW TO DIAGNOSE MASTITIS

First, you must determine if your cow indeed has an infection and which quarters of her udder are infected.  I use the California Mastitis Test (CMT).

To Administer a California Mastitis Test:

Wash and dry the udder. Squirt a couple of streams of milk in a bucket, or onto the ground.  Those first squirts will be highly likely to contain bacteria even if she doesn’t have mastitis.

The goal here is to get a very clean sample of milk from each teat.

Tilt the paddle until the milk in the sample wells are filled to the indicator lines.

This is the California Mastitis Test Liquid Concentrate.  It is very simple to use.

The directions tell you a precise amount of the CMT liquid to add to each milk sample.  I just use about a capful.  

Now, just swirl the paddle around to combine the CMT liquid with the milk samples.  If you look closely at this you can see all the samples are looking clean except the one on the top left.  It has a glob.  This means my cow has mastitis in this one quarter.

This is Pirsue.  It is a prescription teat infusion for mastitis.   You will need to talk to your vet to determine the best route for your situation.   The period of treatment should also be determined by your vet.

HOW TO GIVE INFUSIONS

Giving a cow a teat infusion for mastitis is the easiest thing.

First, you must milk your cow completely.  Strip her out very well. Be sure there is no milk left, especially in the infected quarter.  If the medicine is added to a bunch of milk it will be diluted and not as effective.  Get all that milk out so the only thing that will be in that quarter is the medicine.

Clean the infected teat well with the alcohol pad included with the medication.

Shake up the tube of medicine.

Take the protective tip off the injector.  It just looks like a big plastic shot.

Gently insert the end of the shot (injector) into the orifice (hole) in the cow’s teat.  Yes, you are just sticking this plastic thingy into the hole where the milk comes out.  Then press the plunger.  The medication will go into the quarter.

Last, you pinch the end of the teat closed so the medicine you just injected won’t come running out.  Now, while pinching the end of her teat closed – milk the cow backward.  You are milking the medicine up into the infected quarter.

You only treat the infected quarter.

After you have administered the medicine you will need to keep the calf (if your cow has a calf) away from her for 12 hours.  If the calf suckles all the medicine out – it can’t work.

We give our cow the Pirsue at night after we milk her.

During treatment, we continue to milk our cow at 12-hour intervals. We still let the calf run with her all day while being treated.

While treating, do not drink the milk.  Our vet advised us that the milk is safe for pigs & calves, just not humans while she is on the medicine.

Treatment Schedule

1.  Evening – milk the cow – be sure to strip her out completely.
2.  Inject the medicine into the infected quarter(s).
3.  Keep cow separated from calf 12 hours.
4.  Morning – milk the cow.
5.  Turn cow out with calf for the next 12 hours

Repeat this as many days as directed by your vet.

My understanding is, even though you milk your cow in the morning, the Pirsue continues to work for 24 hours.  Some of the medication hangs in there to help make her better.

Pirsue has a 36 hour withdrawal period.  This means that for 36 hours after your last treatment you need to discard the milk (or give it to the pigs).

Do I have to use antibiotics?

I have been told that treating a strep infection without the use of antibiotics is possible, but I do not have experience with it.

Treating a staph infection without antibiotics would be difficult.  Considering that 1% of staph infections are cured WITH antibiotics – a natural approach is unlikely to work.

If you are a holistic gal (or guy)- feel free to use natural treatments.  The great thing about using natural remedies is that they can’t hurt.  Give it a try and if the cow doesn’t get better you can always call the vet for other options.  Just don’t delay too long.  Mastitis is most curable when caught and dealt with early.

XO,

Candi