Udder diseases in cows: 16 common ailments and their treatment

Udder diseases occur in cows due to microtraumas and non-observance of hygiene rules during milking. The main reason is infection with an infection that penetrates into damaged tissues. Diseases are recognized by external changes in the udder. The amount of milk is also reduced, it is difficult to express, and milking becomes painful for the cow. It is important to start treatment at the first sign of symptoms to maintain milk yield and animal he alth.

The Importance of Breasts

The udder consists of three tissues, each of which has an important function:

Provides thermoregulation and protection

Udder tissue	Function
Glandular	Produces milk
Connective	Protects glandular tissue from mechanical damage
Adipose

Glandular tissue consists of cavities - alveoli. From them, milk enters the wide ducts - tanks, and then is excreted through the channels and holes in the nipples.

Common diseases

Cows most often develop skin lesions, inflammation of internal tissues, and problems with pumping milk. Congenital pathologies are less common.

Mastitis (inflammation)

Breasts become inflamed as a result of a bacterial infection. Mastitis develops in cows after cuts, bruises, hypothermia and overheating in the sun. The disease affects one or more quarters of the udder.

Symptoms:

• temperature increase;
• edema;
• redness;
• purulent and bloody discharge from the nipples.

Mastitis is treated with antibiotics and topical antiseptic ointments.

Milk stones in the udder

Violation of substances, incomplete emptying of the udder, inflammation of the walls of the canals lead to clogging of the teats with deposits of phosphorus s alts and hardened casein flakes.

Small formations are squeezed out with light pressure. Large stones are crushed with a catheter, softened with a solution of potash or crushed with a massage. Severe cases require surgery.

Nipple cracks

The skin is cracked due to improper milking of cows, the accumulation of dried milk residues.

Signs:

• cracks along the nipples with hard edges;
• milk is hard to express;
• milking hurts.

Treatment:

• wash the udder with laundry soap, rinse with warm water;
• treat cracks with a weak solution of manganese, hydrogen peroxide or 2% soda solution;
• lubricate wounds with iodine;
• apply antibacterial ointment for suppuration.

Purulent cracks without treatment will lead to the development of mastitis, phlegmon.

Bruised

Udder bruising causes:

• accidental strike while grazing in a forest belt;
• skirmishes between cows.

From the impact, the blood vessels in the internal tissues of the udder are torn, there is swelling, blueness and a bump. With severe damage, blood enters the milk. It is poorly expressed from a bruised nipple due to a hematoma.

How to treat a lump in a cow:

• treat with iodine;
• apply ice or clay mixed with vinegar for two days;
• on the third day, lubricate with heparin ointment and lightly massage;
• to clean the nipple from clotted blood, inject a solution of soda through the catheter, massage and express after half an hour.

For painful bruises, novocaine blockade is put in, the udder is surgically cleaned of hematomas and antibiotics are administered.

udder induration

Pathology occurs due to prolonged swelling or after inflammation. The glands are gradually compacted, only flakes can be seen in the milk. Induration develops painlessly and is not treated.

FMD

Viral disease is transmitted through the saliva of sick animals, clothes, food.

Signs:

• on the skin of the udder, on the mucous membrane of the mouth and nose, round yellowish-gray ulcers - aphthae are formed;
• temperature rises to forty degrees and above;
• yield decreases, milk tastes bitter.

Nipples become clogged with fibrous and casein plugs, causing mastitis. There is no cure for foot-and-mouth disease, so sick cows only get better symptoms.

Abscess

Inflammation in tissues develops as a result of infection of scratches and cracks with an infection. An abscess is accompanied by high fever and swollen lymph nodes. A cavity with pus forms in the wound. The abscesses are opened, cleaned with hydrogen peroxide, smeared with iodine and ichthyol ointment. Antibiotics are prescribed against the infection. With abscesses, massage should not be done, otherwise the inflammation in the blood vessels will cover the entire udder.

Warts (papillomas on the udder)

Benign tumors appear on the skin and mucous membranes. Papillomatosis is dangerous because it is transmitted to humans.

Treatment:

• single warts are tightly tied at the base with cow hair from the tail, the growths dry out and fall off;
• when a large area of the skin is affected for ten days, the cow is given magnesia with food - 30 grams per day, external agents are used.

Cow warts are lubricated with liquid nitrogen, lapis pencil, salicylic collodion, Anti-Wart ointment.

Dermatitis

Symptoms:

• nipples and udders turn red;
• deep ulcers appear;
• a seal forms between the udder lobes, which cracks and fester;
• the skin is covered with small and large ulcers.

How to cure milking cows:

• wash udders with laundry soap or soda solution;
• clean and dried skin is smeared with ichthyol and glycerin, mixed in the same amount, or zinc ointment, cauterized with lapis or put compresses from a solution of silver nitrate;
• weeping dermatitis is sprinkled with a mixture of equal parts xeroform, zinc oxide, tannin and talc;
• washing with hydrogen peroxide and applying antibacterial ointments helps with suppuration.

To relieve pain, novocaine powder is added to the ointment.

Furunculosis

The disease is caused by staphylococci or streptococci. Furunculosis often manifests itself during lactation. The infection spreads in unsanitary conditions.

Symptoms:

• appearance of cone-shaped swellings on the udder;
• red inflammations are replaced by white caps of suppuration.

Treatment:

• wipe fresh boils with camphor, salicylic alcohol or iodine;
• spread with ichthyol ointment.

With bursting boils, antibiotics are prescribed and novocaine blockade is put. Vitamins are added to the diet of cows. The udder is also heated under an ultraviolet lamp.

Edema after calving

Swollen udder after birth of a calf is normal in first heifers. Puffiness disappears after a few days.

If the edema does not subside for a long time, and the cow's udder hurts, start treatment:

• give less succulent food and water;
• milk 8 times a day;
• massage the udder from the nipples to the base;
• administer calcium supplements;
• apply an ointment against inflammation and swelling.

In addition to the main treatment, washing with a decoction of juniper or birch buds is used.

Smallpox

Sores appear on the udders of young cows. Smallpox presents with clear symptoms:

• a yellow spot with a red rim forms on the skin;
• a speck is inflated into a vial of liquid;
• pus forms inside;
• the bubble bursts and the sore remains;
• wounds crust and scar.

From the appearance of spots to the formation of scars, it takes from three weeks to three months. Smallpox is treated with external preparations: synthomycin, zinc, streptocid or xeroform ointment. During treatment, the cleanliness of the udder is carefully monitored.

Milk incontinence

Reasons:

• udder muscle paralysis;
• nipple scar;
• stress;
• cold, hot.

Milk flows spontaneously when the cow is standing still and during cleaning before milking.

Treatment for stress incontinence:

• nipples are massaged after milking;
• dipped in collodion, which dries and forms a protective film.

To stimulate paralyzed sphincters, the following measures should be taken:

• the skin around the nipple is stitched with a medical thread moistened with a 5% iodine solution;
• a milk catheter is inserted into the canal;
• tighten the thread;
• Threads are removed after 10 days.

The work of the healed nipple is restored with the help of plastic surgery.

Milk retention

Muscle contraction, vasoconstriction as a result of stress leads to partial or complete clogging of the excretory channels in the nipples.

Detention treatment:

• massage the udder before milking;
• take a massage break during milking;
• eliminate annoying factors;
• Bromide s alts are used for prolonged detention without primary diseases.

Lactation disorders are characterized by a sharp reduction in milk yield and frequency.

Narrowing of the nipple canal (stiffness)

Milk is poorly milked due to congenital pathology, injury or illness, as a result of which the nipple is overgrown with scar tissue. The normal diameter of the excretory channel is 2.5-4 mm. With stiffness, it narrows to two millimeters or less. The nipple hardens, and the top is covered with a scar. To squeeze a thin jet, you have to make an effort. Such milking harms the cow: under pressure, the mucous membrane is torn, inflammation occurs.

Permeability is restored only by surgery.

Congenital absence of the nipple canal

Pathology is detected during the first lactation. The nipple completely lacks an excretory canal or opening. When milk is squeezed out, a thin skin is inflated at the end. A quarter of the udder will gradually atrophy if not emptied. You can punch a hole yourself: pierce the skin stretched under the pressure of milk with a sterile needle, cauterize with a hot knitting needle or cut with scissors.

To prevent the hole from becoming overgrown, the cow is often milked, a catheter is inserted into the nipple, and Vaseline is smeared between milkings. The channel is pierced under sterile conditions with a surgical instrument - a trocar.

Udder Disease Prevention

How to prevent the spread and recurrence of diseases:

• milk with three fingers, wash and dry the udder before and after milking, grease or cream;
• milk with clean hands;
• to prevent furunculosis, the udder is washed with tar soap and the cow is given multivitamins;
• vaccinate against FMD;
• keep cows safe from injury;
• gradually stop milking before calving.

Cows with infectious diseases are milked last. Their milk is expressed into separate containers, preventing drops from falling on the floor. With unilateral mastitis, the he althy portion of the udder is emptied first. Milk from the affected portion is destroyed.

Recommended