Plugged teats

[littledoggie]

Does anyone know what causes teats to get plugged? We have some of this every year and sometimes the calf will never get on those quarters which can result in a ruined bag. Aside from bringing the cow in and manually opening them up we have no solution. We calve out in the field and it can be quite onerous to keep bringing them in. Especially when the calving is hot and heavy. Some years are worse for this then other years and we wondered if there was a reason for it?

[grassfarmer]

I've seen that maybe 3 times in my life - a cow with
teats sealed so completely that a calf couldn't open
them. It was always all 4 teats though. If they are
suckling some teats and not others that doesn't
sound like real plugging - more like calves just not
getting started on the others. It's usually big ugly
teats that keep calves from suckling all 4 right away.
We aim to breed for better udders genetically but cull
one or two a year with this problem. Had one this
year already that required bringing in and starting.
She will be culled as it's a PITA getting them in from a
calving pasture for that kind of nonsense.
I remember the last cow I had with properly plugged
teats - got it in, opened them up and suckled the calf
- she never did it again in subsequent years. I don't
know what causes that specific problem.

[Kathy]

I was just reading up on some mineral
deficiencies, and bag edema was noted with vit e
def. perhaps it contributes to sore teats and
momma cow kicking when calf is on swollen
quarters. One good thing about this cold, if I dare
say it, is the calves will have some time to grow
before the cows start milking heavy. Too much
milk for the little calves has caused us grief in the
past. But, we have more Limo now, and that's not
a Limo problem. Ha ha.

[ALLFARMER]

They can fix bad bag cows at the action mart.

[littledoggie]

We're very "religious" when it comes to minerals - buy the best (breeder classic). Not always the same cows that plug up. Could be something as simple as a cow not getting her fair share of minerals? A weak calf would definitely have problems opening up a plugged teat. But that is not always the case. We keep detailed records and can identify a "repeat offender". Always cull for bad bags and never keep replacements from cows with bad bags. Our herd is predominately red angus with Simmental. The mean age of our herd is under 7 years old. Sometimes the plug is so bad that even we have trouble opening it up. If it is a deficiency with Vit E I guess we can attribute it to so much bad weather that the mineral was either blowing away or getting covered up with snow.
BRING ON SPRING!

[grassfarmer]

I think it's more a "cult" than a "religion" buying
expensive minerals (or most other inputs)
littledoggie. You are having this issue despite feeding
expensive minerals, Allfarmer is having problems
despite his expensive minerals. I don't think minerals
are the problem. We feed cheap minerals ($17.50 a
bag) for 6 months then sub-$9 trace mineral salt
blocks only over winter and we get ZERO mineral
related issues. We get high fertility, high calf vigour,
everything is shiny coated and bright eyed.

As we have got things closer to nature the healthier
and more in balance the animals seems to get.
Grazing longer, grazing diverse forage species and
most importantly setting things up to minimize stress
at all times seem to resolve almost all of the
problems we ever had with animal health.

[forage]

Every one has probably had bad waxing problems in teats when the certain weather conditions exist. Most cows sleep with their bags tuck in but some well throw a leg out and fully expose the bag. I have kept track of some of these cows and they are the ones that seem to have a problem come time to calve. I also notice it is the same idots that don't sleep on beding piles.

[littledoggie]

The reason we buy the minerals that we do is mainly for the Vit E which has been identified as the culprit in "weak calf syndrome". It's interesting to think that perhaps it could be linked to plugged teats. We do everything we can to minimize problems and follow the science. Better to spend a little more on the minerals then to have more calf losses. Plugged teats are an annoyance that leads to more handling.

[littledoggie]

Oh and thanks for your insight, forage. We will take notice of "sloppy cow habits" and see if there is any relationship.

[grassfarmer]

I'd say its better still to spend way less on minerals
and have even less calf losses.
Same with the non-sleeping on bedding packs - is
that a problem or symptom?