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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Jul 30, 2011 19:52:29 GMT -5
Went out to milk Madi yesterday evening and her left front teat was sliced deeply. It wasn't like this yesterday morning, so it had happened with in the past 12 hours. She will not let me touch it at all. Nearly landed a blow to the face, even with the flank rope on. I poured some hydrogen peroxide on it and sprayed it good with wound dressing last night and this morning, and again this evening. We will take her in to the vet on Monday morning. These are pics before I cleaned it tonight. Any other thoughts or advise?   |
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Post by gulfcapt on Jul 30, 2011 20:05:12 GMT -5
Kim this is just a thought, if she won't let you get close to touch it take a small cup and tape it to a 4 to 5 ft stick put what ever meds/cream inside the cup and lift it up to her teat and let it soak or cream on it that way.. good luck
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Jul 30, 2011 20:36:33 GMT -5
Good idea, gulfcapt!
I also started her on Agricillin tonight.
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Post by legendrockranch on Jul 30, 2011 21:27:01 GMT -5
Kim,
Ouch, ouch, ouch, poor girl. Sent you a pm from another forum.
Barb
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Post by ctownson on Jul 31, 2011 4:47:55 GMT -5
My only other suggestion is to use some spray to keep the flies off it as well.
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Post by laughingllama75 on Jul 31, 2011 9:19:43 GMT -5
Oh, poor girl! I can only imagine how sore she is......ugh! The cup on the end of the stick idea is a good one, and I would def. use fly spray. Good luck, let us know what the vet says.
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Aug 1, 2011 11:41:14 GMT -5
Got back from the vet this morning. They could do nothing. Tried to milk her and can't get any milk out of the teat. Vet said it could be from swelling, could be that the milk duct was cut through. Can't treat for mastitis, because there's no duct to go in through. He said to watch it, keep treating it how I have been, and hopefully it will heal on it's own, other wise cull her.
This is a huge "if" for us. We have invested so much time in Madi. She is such a good cow. And she was not a cheap addition to our herd.
I am so frustrated right now.
I guess we will see with time what happens. I am really hoping the teat re-opens. Even if I just use her to raise a calf every year, it will be worth it.
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Post by laughingllama75 on Aug 1, 2011 17:42:03 GMT -5
Cull her? cant the vet kill that quarter, and she can still be ok on the other 3?
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Aug 1, 2011 18:10:50 GMT -5
You know, that's what I thought too. I will say this is not my normal vet, he was new to the practice and NEW period, as in looked like he was fresh out of school. But he told me that to kill the quarter it would be a major surgery that he didn't feel confident doing.  ? I thought it was a shot? Anyone have experience with this? |
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Post by kansasdexters on Aug 1, 2011 18:15:37 GMT -5
Kimberly, If you have any dairy near you, contact them and get a vet reference. You need a vet that has experience with this. We have one, and he has been able to repair teats with far more damage than what you have on this cow. Gracious Muirstead slit her left rear teat from the bag to near the tip. It took more than 15 stitches to do the repair. First our vet repaired the teat canal (internally) and then he repaired the external portion (two sets of stitches). We had to keep the calf from nursing on the injured teat while it healed. We did that by separating the calf from the cow and putting the calf on halter while he nursed three times a day. We only allowed him to nurse the three good quarters, because the fourth needed time to heal. He soon learned to nurse only the three and we could turn them out together after the first month (after the vet removed the external stitches). The teat healed very well. When Gracious calved the following year, she was milked every day on all four quarters for 8 months -- and all four teats worked. If you look at her udder today, you would never know that she had such a damaged teat two years ago. Here's what it looked liked 1 day after the vet put the stitches in:  9 days later:  3 weeks later:  When her 2010 calf was born:    I credit my vet, Dr. Nottingham, for coming out on a Sunday (Mother's Day) to perform the repairs that were needed and his great skill with fine needlework. We flushed the wounded teat with iodine/water (filled a squeeze bottle with a mixture of iodine solution and warm water) several times a day for more than a month, we kept it soft and supple with udder balm and antibiotic ointment, and Gracious is a cow that is gentle and cooperative. She knew we were trying to help her, even when it hurt a bit. Patti |
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Aug 1, 2011 21:41:44 GMT -5
Thank you for the info, Patti. It's too late for stitches for Madi. But I am going to consult my normal vet, who was out of town last weekend and today. He is very experienced and I trust him.
For now we are keeping the teat as clean as possible and treated externally. She is on Agricillon and Bantimine injected.
It doesn't look worse. I think the inflamation and engorgement has actually gone down some.
I have been reading about dilators and cannulas helping the teat heal with out scar tissue forming and closing off the teat. I am really wanting to talk with my vet about this.
I'll keep ya'll posted. Any info or ideas you have are much appreciated!
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Post by legendrockranch on Aug 1, 2011 23:24:28 GMT -5
Kim, How far away are you from Texas A&M? I'd be more than happy to give you the name of our vet who I think can do no wrong  the only problem is that he's in Fredericksburg. We will haul our animals 1 1/2 hours one way to use him on certain cases. I'd call him and see what he has to say. I've heard he works around the state on large dairy herds. Barb |
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Aug 2, 2011 6:46:02 GMT -5
Yes, thank you, Barb! I want to do anything I can to get this to heal.
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Post by marion on Aug 2, 2011 7:49:12 GMT -5
Only a guess of course , but I would be hopeful about that teat/quarter. Because you have not seen milk coming out of the cut (yes, could be because of the swelling...but) I predict ;D that it has a good chance of healing, and when the swelling is down it will function normally..marion |
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Post by kansasdexters on Aug 2, 2011 13:30:09 GMT -5
If you've ever wondered how a Dexter cow can injure her teats (like mine did), please watch this YouTube video of "Vache d'Herens": www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp_jRCIF46w&NR=1The Herens breed is a very close relative of the Dexter (and the Kerry). The Herens are known as "Fighting Cows". Our cows behave exactly like the cows in this video, anytime we introduce a new female to the herd, or put a mature female that has been away from the herd back into the herd. The highest ranking female (and then each one in turn) will challenge and push the newcomer until everyone knows where they rank and then peace returns to the herd. Kerry cattle do this also and I suspect that other breeds do too. When the Dexter cows fight, they really shove each other around, and if an unfortunate one gets shoved into the barb wire fence or other sharp object, the result can be a damaged udder and/or a slit teat. It's happened twice in 6 years at our place. Both times it happened because we put a cow that we'd been working with at the barn for several months (and quarantined after returning from the Fair) back into the main herd. That cow had lost her "position" within the hierarchy and she was fighting to regain her status. The teat injury was what it cost her (and us). Patti |
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? I thought it was a shot? Anyone have experience with this?
the only problem is that he's in Fredericksburg. We will haul our animals 1 1/2 hours one way to use him on certain cases. I'd call him and see what he has to say. I've heard he works around the state on large dairy herds.
