# Bad quarter?



## bulldog (Aug 17, 2008)

Hey all,
Got our first real milk cow, a registered 4 year old Jersey. The farmer we bought her from said last year she had bruised the end of her left rear quarter teat, so they had dried it off a bit early. He said it might come back, it may not. She freshened on 4-29-10. Nice heifer calf:thumb:easy birth. We had the vet out the next morning to open the teat since we couldn't get the milk out even with large very clean needles. She opened the teat and we got a great big stream of milk. That night it was scabbed over, picked it off and got good milk flow. Its been a struggle since then to keep that teat open. We leave her calf on her during the day, but she wont nurse that quarter. We have an extra beef bull we were hoping to graft onto her, but she hates him:hammer:, so we put him on that quarter morning and night. I should mention that we milk in the morning with a surge milker then put the calves on her, the beef bull goes on again at night, but we only milk in the morning. Anyway, we resorted to keeping a teat dilator in that quarter at night, otherwise we only get a very slow stream of milk, and the milker does strip that quarter. So, yesterday we pulled the dilator out and got a long sting of thick puss. That quarter contued to put out clean milk then strings of puss the whole milking. And again this morning. So we put a tube of Today in that quarter this morning and will again after hand milking it tonight. Hubby built a quarter milker, but can we still drink the milk from the other three quarter? Are we doing the right thing? I really don't want to give her any injections, and hate to you the Today, but.... Please help.


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

The udders as I understand it are all independant of one another. I don't personally use milk from a medicated cow because I've got so many farm critters begging for any excess milk and I have other cows to supply milk for the family. 

As far as the problem quarter, keep it milked out at all costs if you want to save it. Once a day milking to solve a quarter problem isn't adequate. If you want to save it then you're gonna have to pay special attention to that teat at least twice a day if not more. Milk flow and production will help to cleanse out any infection that's there. 24 hours between milkings if the calf won't take that quarter is plenty of time for puss to develop. 

If she's just for family milk use, you might just consider using a Tomorrow infusion and letting that quarter go dry. Otherwise, handmilk the three quarters to the point that you're forcing her calf to take that quarter. Natural calf nursing is the best therapy God ever invented for the mama cow to stay lined out. Good luck to you.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

You might consider milking the three good quarters twice a day and leaving the bad quarter for her calf. If that is the only quarter with milk, then the calf will nurse it out. You will have to keep the cow and calf separated in order to do this.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I second the idea to dry that quarter off if that infection doesn't clear up right away.
Is that quarter oddly mishapen in any other way, besides the orifice end? Chances are she has carried that infection in there since shortly after the injury. Nothing like a mashed teat end to invite bacteria. 

Calves can spread mastitis to the other teats with their mouths too.
Just something to consider.


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## Farm 36 (Mar 21, 2009)

First stop using the dilator this will create mastitis. If the teat wants to close up during milkings the vet needs to open the teat more with a hook knife .If the vet open the teat with a reemer tool that pulled the muscle apart or out you are at a lost cause . You also need to milk this quarter out at least twice a day .When she lets down the quarter should be milked out and the last milk in that quarter should be stripped out not the calf and not a teat tube to finish .You can use a 3M or a teat dip glue to help stop bacteria from going up the teat .Remeber nothing should go up the teat end it is made to all go out the end .The stringy mastis is easy to get rid of but this can lead to a bad case of mastitis that will lead to water then a very sick cow then a dead cow .Your vet will need to be a good cow vet that does dairy for a living .My opinion if you get watery mastis cut the teat off to save the cow and stop a calf from drinking from this quarter . I know that this is cruel and not pleasent but neather is toxic mastitis .


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

You dont have to cut the teat off. Yikes. 
You simply remove the calves and feed them the milk separately, 
and nobody gets anything from that quarter. 

bulldog, if you really want to try to save the quarter, I recommend getting a 
milk sample from it tested in a lab. Then you will be able to treat it with the 
proper antibiotics. Might as well send samples from all 4 quarters in, find out what you are up against. 

The best of luck with her.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Well first of all I think the farmer was being a little less than honest with you about the injury to the teat. I think she may have gotten it stepped on or something. If some of you remember I had a heifer this spring lop off the end of her teat, I figured it was a lost cause but asked here for help, and that is what most of you concluded also. Well that little heifer is a three teated cow now and getting along just fine, the teat healed over and never gave a problem with mastitis, and she milks well for only three (four would have been better). Well I think your little cow has the same problem, should have left it alone. But it is to late now, and you need to fix it, milk out as much as possible. I have had the vet try and open plugged teat canals before, and used teat dialators and most of the time they don`t work. Sorry to say that , but it is going to be a long road ahead for you on this teat. Get addvise from your vet, they make the big bucks for a reason. I wish you nothing but the best, but I have a bad feeling you may end up with a three quartered cow. >Best of luck , Marc


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## bulldog (Aug 17, 2008)

Wow thank yo all for the advice. We do keep the calf on that bad quarter at night as much as possible. Never knew a calf could spread mastitis! We will be putting more effort into that quarter I guess. The thing is, that quarter looks normal even the teat, there is now sign of injury anywhere. Cows...:run:


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