Author: ksubci

Although mastitis (infection of the udder) is often considered a dairy cow problem rather than a beef cow problem, the disease does affect many beef herds. Most cases of mastitis only involve one quarter (one teat) of a cow’s udder and the other three quarters remain normal. Even though most cases of mastitis do not result in the complete loss of milk production, calves from affected cows have lighter weaning weights than if their dam had a normal udder. Occasionally, mastitis causes severe illness in the cow, but in most situations, the cow is not greatly affected other than having reduced milk production. Mastitis can occur at any stage of lactation or even when the cow is dry, but most commonly becomes a problem early in lactation shortly after a cow calves.  

Most cases of mastitis are caused by germs that are very common in the environment and on a cow’s skin. Occasionally, mastitis is caused by injury to the udder.  Lactating cows are by far the most commonly affected, but heifers and even bulls or steers can have infected udders. Severe cases of mastitis, when the udder becomes reddened, swollen, and hot to the touch and the cow shows signs of illness such as being off-feed and inactive, will result in severe weight loss in the calf and cow and occasionally the death of either the cow or calf. Often, a beef producer or veterinarian will not notice a cow with mastitis because beef cattle are not typically observed daily from a short distance and many cases do not result in visible swelling or other signs of udder infection. In situations when cases of mastitis are not detected, the cow is likely to remain infected throughout the lactation and possibly for the rest of her life.  

If mastitis is diagnosed, cows can be treated with special formulations of antibiotics that can be infused into the udder itself through the end of the teat. The veterinarian may also choose to treat cows with mastitis with antibiotics injected under the skin of the neck that then travel through the blood stream to the udder. Many cases of mastitis respond well to treatment, but some quarters never return to full milk production. If a cow with mastitis is severely ill, the veterinarian may recommend aggressive therapy with frequent milking out of the affected quarter, the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, and antibiotic therapy.  

Because beef cows are not handled frequently, the most common time to check cows for mastitis is when they are gathered for purposes of vaccination, fly control, or breeding early in lactation, or at the end of lactation when the cows are checked for pregnancy status and/or the calves are weaned. Some herds routinely check udders and treat any affected cows at the time the calves are weaned.  

Although it is probably not possible to prevent all cases of mastitis, heavy fly populations, calving in a drylot, and poor teat and udder confirmation are linked with situations with multiple cows being affected in the same herd. Older cows, particularly those with larger, low-slung udders and large teats are considered to be at greater risk for mastitis. Therefore, prevention focuses on calving cows on clean pasture and avoiding calving in wet or muddy environments, culling potential replacement heifers if their dam has poor udder or teat confirmation, and controlling flies by focusing on sanitation and appropriate use of insecticides.  

Cattle are an amazing animal species for many reasons. One of the most important reasons is because they can thrive when fed a wide variety of diets and feedstuffs. Because of the rumen, cattle are able to utilize forages that are not appropriate for simple-stomach animals; in addition, cattle can eat grains, by-products of grain processing, and waste from human food production. However, it is important to know that if diets are changed without an adaptation period or if cattle have sudden access to a new feedstuff, health problems can follow.  

Changing form one roughage source to another or from a high-grain, concentrate diet to a roughage diet is usually well-tolerated; in contrast, suddenly changing from a roughage diet to a concentrate diet can be accompanied by acidosis, a serious digestive problem in grain-fed animals. In cow-calf operations, cattle are rarely intentionally fed a diet consisting primarily of grains, but sometimes growing bulls or heifers are fed a high-grain diet, and cows may have the opportunity to consume more gain than the producer intends when grain is used to supplement low-quality, dormant forage.  

Acidosis can occur following a large meal of feed rich in readily fermentable carbohydrates that causes the rate of lactic acid production in the rumen to exceed how quickly it can be used. Cereal grains such as wheat, barley, corn, sorghum (and to a lesser extent oats) as well as high sugar or starch content fruit or root crops (apples, potatoes, sugar beets etc.) are associated with acidosis. Green, unripe corn, corn or milo stubble fields, and byproduct feeds such as bakery waste, elevator fines, and some brewer’s grains are also high in starch or simple sugars making cattle eating these feeds also at risk for acidosis. Feeds that are not likely to induce acidosis are hay and fiber-type byproduct feeds. Hay does not contribute to acidosis because the energy source is mostly cellulose rather than simple sugars and the physical properties (large particle size) resist rapid fermentation. Fiber-type byproduct feeds such as soy hulls, distillers grains, or corn gluten feed are similar to hay in that the energy source is primarily cellulose with little starch or simple sugar present. Fine grinding of grain, rapid changes in the amount of grain or other high-starch feeds in the diet, or cattle that become hungry and then eat a large meal of grain are often implicated in the disease.  

Cattle that are suffering from acidosis can look a lot like cattle with respiratory disease by showing a lack of appetite, slow movement, increased heart rate and breathing rate, and elevated body temperature. In mild cases of acidosis, cattle will appear to have a full rumen, they may act uncomfortable due to a sore belly, and will probably have grey-green pasty to soupy diarrhea. In more severe cases, dehydration is severe, the animal will usually be laying down, the abdomen is markedly distended, and the animal is noticeably uncomfortable (groaning and grinding of teeth). Diarrhea is profuse and yellow-green and then progresses to watery, often foamy with a pungent odor. Death commonly follows severe cases. Cattle that recover from acidosis may develop liver abscesses, laminitis, or other secondary diseases.  

Mild cases of acidosis are commonly treated by removing the feed causing the problem and possibly administering a buffer by stomach tube. Treatment of more serious cases may include siphoning off ruminal contents with a stomach tube or surgically opening the rumen and removing the rumen contents followed by re-inoculation of fresh rumen contents from a healthy animal. In addition, large volumes of intravenous (IV) fluids are given. In this disease process, IV fluids must be used because fluids given by mouth (via stomach tube) will not be absorbed from the rumen into the rest of the body.  

Acidosis is prevented through feeding management that avoids a sudden increase in intake of grain or other readily fermentable feeds, sufficient bunk space so that aggressive eaters don’t have access to feed amounts intended for several animals, and good bunk management so that cattle are not overly hungry. In addition, inclusion of an ionophore in the ration helps to decrease the incidence and severity of acidosis.