On Sunday morning I noticed that something was amiss with Hailey, the Jersey house cow. The most productive teat felt heavy with milk but once it was emptied of the usual amount that section of udder was still swollen and felt as if there was still plenty of milk in it. Could it be mastitis?
A talk to a friend who used to run a dairy confirmed that it needed to be dealt with. Our local vet recommended we stop drinking the milk and administer an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic.
That evening I massaged the teat and found the swelling smaller but much harder. The next morning
four doses of Ampiclox were dropped off for us, to be given every 12 hours. Then we were to refrain from drinking the milk for three more days in case any of us was allergic to the antibiotic.
When I came to apply the first dose Hailey seemed almost back to normal but it seemed best to follow through the course of treatment. Once the cap of the applicator was removed the nozzle was designed to fit inside the hole at the end of the teat. It felt strange to poke it into this hole but it fitted perfectly and I could hear the liquid being squirted up into the teat. Then I had to hold the teat closed while I pushed the liquid up into the teat - a sort of reverse milking.
Four applications later the treatment was completed. Hopefully we will be mastitis free for a while. Our friend recommends we spray the teats with an iodine solution after milking. This will not only reduce the chance of infection but will be healthy for both the calf and us.
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