E Coli Mastitis - Help

Farfield

Out of 15 new heifers i have now had 4 with mastitis - straight off. 2 of them cleared up and 1 dead and another v seriously ill - all treated with everything going. Vet says e coli - very vicious. All in parlour is pristinely clean (new parlour), cubicles scraped twice a day and done with bacterial powder every day and bedded and all pre dipped and wiped with paper towels - am at a total loss. 1 yesterday came in for first milking with it in 1 quarter, nuked with jeg and tubed and came in dis morn with it in 2 quarters. It ends up infecting the blood and animal gets seriously ill.
The hygiene is at the highest standards - anybody any ideas? My only thought could be the calving pen, but it is also cleared out after each milking powdered and bedded? Am at a total loss.

whelan1

get vet to send sample away to see what you are dealing with... get the animals out to grass, much cleaner and less infections... keep the infected quarters strigged out as many times as possible... hardship but worth it... is your milking machine working 100%... what is the scc like?

pakalasa

Anyone remember that episode on "All creatures great and small", about the Vet James Herriot. There was this farmer with a cow with E-Coli mastisis. He spent all night strigging out the cow and the next day, she was fine. Poor famer was exhausted though.
Funny the things you remember.

whelan1

yup our vet always says strig as often aspossible "for your sins":D have often gotten up during the night to an ecoli cow, your efforts will be rewarded... what is the vet giving them?

bob charles

It usually the toxins left after the infection is in decline that hit the blood that cause the biggest problems for the animal staying alive. As much anti inflammatory as possible into the animal, probably metacam is best for e coli mastitis but are milkers allowed that. I would also be checking bloods for a strait of pneumonia, what are temperatures like?

mcgyvor

had this problem about 4yrs ago brought heifers not yet calved up to the parlour
and put a milking cow tube into each quarter problem solved.now every year i do
all heifers with dry cow tubes & sealer really worth it nothing worse than rearing
heifers and losing quarters plus scc problems down the line

Farfield

Vet been out and done his bit. he reckons its the calving pen. It is cleaned after each cow & new bedding put in, but not sprayed for all other baddies. Dont know?. Its a total balls. Never put dry tubes in a heifer before she calves? how long before they calve??

blue5000

OP are you feeding anything like mouldy maize silage/ fodder beet. They can get a right dose from mouldy beet pulp that doesn't respond to antibiotics.

Get them out would be good as someone said above.

stanflt

have had 8cases in the last two years since i did up my milking parlour- was getting a case every time i agitated the slurry tank- when we upgraded we had to shorten the pit to fit extra cubicles and vet recond that we disturbed all kinds of infection at the bottom of the tank.

how are you treating them?

we lost a quarter on the first cow for last year-however she got it back when she calved again(since classified ex91) its not like normal mastitis in this way

the biggest problem is dyhration. at onset i stomach tube them with chanadol and 50lt water after every milking and inject them with either marbycil of cobactin. dont bother getting the vet anymore

stomach pump cost 400 euro but its used on every sick cow

mcgyvor

Farfield wrote: »

Vet been out and done his bit. he reckons its the calving pen. It is cleaned after each cow & new bedding put in, but not sprayed for all other baddies. Dont know?. Its a total balls. Never put dry tubes in a heifer before she calves? how long before they calve??

too late to use dry cow now but you could tube heifers 10days or so before calving with milking cow tubes as a .prevention .i used synulox this way and i had no further cases at
calving time.use dry cow now on all heifers at 6weeks pre calving no more mastitis .hope this helps

snowman707

I think it was the fifth reply before getting fluids in the cow was mentioned which I could count as No1 priority

every farm has e coli but some animals have more resistance than others, cows that endured a difficult calving or are under some form of stress are more susceptible (pneumonia was mentioned) but also look are the cows standing in draughts etc ( was -1 here this morning but wind chill felt -10 ) or maybe thier diet is not agreeing with them

Noroclav and Framycetin would my choice of antibiotics

whelan1

snowman707 wrote: »

I think it was the fifth reply before getting fluids in the cow was mentioned which I could count as No1 priority

every farm has e coli but some animals have more resistance than others, cows that endured a difficult calving or are under some form of stress are more susceptible (pneumonia was mentioned) but also look are the cows standing in draughts etc ( was -1 here this morning but wind chill felt -10 ) or maybe thier diet is not agreeing with them

Noroclav and Framycetin would my choice of antibiotics

i think framomycin has been taken off the market, always worked well here:mad:

pakalasa

If I remember right, these are all heifers you bought in, right?

bob charles

snowman707 wrote: »

I think it was the fifth reply before getting fluids in the cow was mentioned which I could count as No1 priority

I take rehydration as a given, but I wouldnt go over 20l when stomach pumping. I always include multi vitamins and a stomach aid when pumping, only in serious cases would I use rehydration powders

John_F

had two cases this year. vet reckons it affects cows with low scc more. he said 3 things to do in this order: 1. give anti-inflamatory, 2. keep the cow milked out, 3. give antibiotics.

antibiotics come last cos the bug enters the cow, does its damage without clots, then after the bugs die they release toxins into the cows system making her sick, not eating, drop milk etc.

John_F

as for shoving dry cow tubes up, probably a no no seeing as there is nothing there to cure and not much mammary gland tissue. be better off to put up sealer but could risk introducing infection doing this

keep going

a tip that may help especially in heifers that have big springing is to spray them with teat dip when ever you look at them-just put some in a spray can as you walk through the cubicle house checking them.to be honest some one like you starting off always seems to get a burning from something,i think its just sorting out the men from the boys:p

Birdnuts

whelan1 wrote: »

i think framomycin has been taken off the market, always worked well here:mad:

I've heard theres increasing problems with disease "resistance" in regards to an increasing number of vetinery products - its an even bigger problem on the continent, especcially among large feedlots.

bob charles

Birdnuts wrote: »

I've heard theres increasing problems with disease "resistance" in regards to an increasing number of vetinery products - its an even bigger problem on the continent, especcially among large feedlots.

unfortunately you dont have to leave this country and some of the treatments (dose rates and time lags between re treating) that I have heard been used are scary

Birdnuts

bob charles wrote: »

unfortunately you dont have to leave this country and some of the treatments (dose rates and time lags between re treating) that I have heard been used are scary

Seems to be going down the same route as human medicien - and thats not going to end happily eithier with people taking antibiotics like smarties:(

whelan1

John_F wrote: »

as for shoving dry cow tubes up, probably a no no seeing as there is nothing there to cure and not much mammary gland tissue. be better off to put up sealer but could risk introducing infection doing this

i was thinking the same , especially on a heifer ... would want to be using a disenfectant wipe or similar when tubing

mcgyvor

John_F wrote: »

as for shoving dry cow tubes up, probably a no no seeing as there is nothing there to cure and not much mammary gland tissue. be better off to put up sealer but could risk introducing infection doing this

i am using dry cow tubes +sealer for 3years as a preventative i feel it helps to
have antibiotic in there before the time of highest risk ie.last few days before
calving .

Farfield

Thanks Keep Going - well sorting the men from the boys, the men/ man will keep going - in for the long haul - just a baptism of fire!!!

pakalasa

Chances are you won't have any problems like this next year. Young bought in heifers are under a lot of stress, everything new to them, so thier natural immunity will be reduced. They should be a lot hardier next year.