I was a bit later doing the cows yesterday morning, but immediately noticed Annie had a swollen right front quarter. Locked her in and sat down with a bucket and she was full of what looked like melted butter and white snot. Looking at the symptoms, including looking miserable, being off food and walking slowly, I figure we have e coli mastitis.
By the time the quarter blows up the bug is already dying off. It's the toxins from the die off that are making her feel crappy. So there's no point in antibiotics, it's all supportive care and making sure she eats.
So, I milked her out four times yesterday, offered a small square of grass hay, her normal chaff and grains, apples and milk arrowroot biscuits. She ate slowly and not much and all and didn't drink. She turned down the apple and the biscuits, though her udder was a little less swollen each time.
While at work last night I picked up kunzea cream, which is supposed to be good for pain relief and good against bacteria and inflammation. I rubbed that into her udder at the last milking.
This morning she came in voluntarily, still ate slowly but ate four times as much as last night. Still milking out fluid but there were no goobers today. I rubbed in more kunzea cream.
I offered her warm molasses water and she drank a bucket and half of that, and ate a packet of hobnob golden oat biscuits. She wanted back out with the herd so I let her out, and she went and ate some silage. I picked up a bale of lucerne hay from Scott Auton and offered it in afternoon when I brought her into the barn yard with Abe for the night.
In the afternoon she finally ate all of her meal, drank some more molasses water, snacked on the lucerne hay and settled on fine meadow hay. Milk is starting to come back in her bad quarter, it's all looking good.
This is all that's left in her feed tub
Tasting the lucerne hay
Sharing with her calf, Abe
Home grown hay is best
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