Does my cow have Mastitis? I have googled this a few times, and it isn’t fun. I didn’t find a ton of information, but having grown up on a small dairy farm, and growing up around large dairy farms, I had an idea that mastitis is what I was dealing with. Just like us moms who have nursed and gotten Mastitis, it is very painful and not fun to treat. But caught early, and with the proper care of your veterinarian, your cow should be happy and standing in that stanchion again.
Always seek advice from your vet, if you are unsure of what you are dealing with.
What is Mastitis?
Bovine mastitis is the persistent, inflammatory reaction of the udder tissue due to physical trauma or microorganisms infections. Mastitis, a potentially fatal mammary gland infection, is the most common disease in dairy cattle. Source Wikipedia.
Signs of Mastitis
Does my cow have Mastitis?
Does my cow have Mastitis? That is the question you are here for right? Well, you need to call your vet if you are unsure, please do this. I did the first time.
Her Behavior
A month after we got Buttercup, we had a rough night milking. She was so good from day one, but this night she kept kicking, especially when I tried milking her back teats. The next morning, she was not at the gate. She would always be up before me, waiting at the gate to get her treats and get milked. We found her in the barn, not wanting to go with us. After we finally got her in her stanchion I noticed her back teat was hard and red. Since I had not had any experience with cows for 40 years at this point, I called the vet. So keep an eye on your cow’s behavior. Just like a child, you can tell when something is not right.
Dairy Cows average temperature
The Veterinarian had me take her temperature. A cow’s average temperature is 101.5. Rectally. I did not have a cattle thermometer so I had to use the family thermometer. Needless to say, we didn’t bring that back into the house!! Her temperature was in the average range so that was good. Anything higher, you must seek a vet’s attention.
Is her Udder Hot and Red?
One of the first things I noticed was Buttercups udder was very hard, hot and red in the back quarters. If your cows udder feels unusually warm, and is red and streaky, she may have mastitis.
Clumpy Discharge
When you milk out the possibly infected teat, is clumpy, cottage cheese-like discharge coming out? This is a very good sign that your cow has mastitis. It will be hard to milk that teat out, and your cow will be very uncooperative. You may have to squeeze and get that glob to come out. It isn’t pretty, but it is a good sign that mastitis is what you’re dealing with.
Treatment for Mastitis
Completely Milk Her Out
I know, how am I going to milk her out when she is kicking and unhappy with me? Well, your just going to have to do it. That teat is going to have to be milked out completely. You can distract her with grain, try to get her secure so she can’t move around too much. But milk her out all the way.
Antibiotics
You will need to get antibiotics. Get antibiotics for your cow’s Mastitis at your vet’s office, a feed store, or any farm store. You want to look for an antibiotic called Today. Today is for lactating cows. Now if you are not milking your cow because she is dried up you will want an antibiotic called Tomorrow. I was so freaked out the first time giving this dose. It isn’t so bad, you just have to insert it into the teat, and push the antibiotic with the syringe into the infected teat. Then instead of pulling, massage upwards, getting all that medicine up into the udder.
Now if I can offer one piece of advice I hope you will take from all of this, get them ahead of time. Always have it on hand. It is best to treat right away, and if you discover your cow has mastitis and you have to wait to treat her till the next milking, you have wasted time on getting her help
Dispose of milk
Sadly you are going to have to dispose of the milk for the next 7 days. Ask your vet for what he/she recommends but that is what we were told.
Keep Udder Clean
Hopefully, you always are making sure her udder is nice and clean before milking. But when you are dealing with mastitis, you want to use separate cloths for each teat. You do not want to spread that infection any farther than it is already.
Preventative Care for Mastitis
Completely Milking her out.
Things were going along really well when we first got Buttercup. She had never been milked before and she was so easy and cooperative. I was hand milking and I just couldn’t do it anymore. She was doing 3 gallons a day, and my old hands were shot. So we bought a milk machine. Now I love the milk machine we have today, but the first two we bought were mistakes. They only had two milking cups, so you had to do front and back separately. (a great way to spread disease) . They would break, they didn’t have great suction and I think they were part of the problem. We then upgraded to the one we have now. Ultimate Ez Electric Milker for Goats, Cows, and Sheep. (2.6 Gallon Stainless Steel) I love it, we have had no problems since. If I could do it again, we would have invested in this one from the start.
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Fight Bac Mastitis Spray
This stuff is amazing! It is a little pricey up front, but it lasts forever! I have been using it for 5 months now and I have a lot left in the bottle. You spray it on after milking and your set. This is the bottle I got …. here
Contains chlorhexidine and glycerine to protect against infection and maintain good skin condition
Mineral Block or Free Minerals
One of the biggest mistakes I made and I felt terrible about was, we had moved pens for Buttercup. I had forgotten to move her mineral block with her. She got sick, and got Mastitis again! Well I didn’t realize till I was googling , that they are so important for them. I ran down there and moved her block back to her. She spent at least a hour licking it. It was a mistake, and we all make them, but make sure you have minerals, however you want to give them to your cow. I use a good block.
Always clean and dry teats
Always keep your cows’ teats clean and dry when milking. I bought a set of 24 blue washcloths that I use just for her. Keep her bedding area clean and fresh with straw.
Take it easy on yourself.
It happens, it happens to all of us. Don’t beat yourself up if it happens. Chances are it will. Just be prepared and take cautious measures to prevent it. Always call the vet if you are concerned and things don’t turn around in a day or two. If she has a temperature if you just have concerns of any kind.
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Fight BAC 22OZ 24-Pack White Washcloths - Premium Cotton Face Cloths Ultimate Ez Electric Milker for Goats, Cows, and Sheep. (2.6 Gallon Stainless Steel)
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