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?

[littledoggie]

grassfarmer, I don't understand how you can equate using less mineral to lower calf losses. We participated in the Western Canada Beef Productivity study and it is was determined through calf post-mortems that Vit E deficiency was the culprit for "weak calf syndrome". Vit E deficiency was the most important finding from this area. We tend to feed longer in the north, and Vit E disappears from stored feed as time goes on. I would sure like to hear from the vets that comment on this forum if Vit E deficiency is also related to plugged teats.

[grassfarmer]

All I was saying was that I don't buy into the high
priced minerals being necessary. More often than not
minerals are not the weakest link despite what sellers
of minerals will tell you. I suppose we had "weak calf"
syndrome once about 20 years ago due to acute
Copper shortage but I don't find the mineral
challenges in western Canada to be significant.

We assist around 2% of cows a year for calving
difficulty/suckling issues combined. Very rarely do we
treat a calf for scours. Last year we treated a total of
1 calf with antibiotic from birth to weaning stage - it
had a knee joint infection, likely as a result of being
stood on.

At risk of waking up Monsanto Man I'll share my
theory on our mineral situation which isn't
scientifically proven. Because of the way we graze and
the type of cattle that are adapted to our system our
cows are probably accessing way more minerals than
the average cow that gets everything hauled to her.
My cows relish eating thistles, willow shoots and
numerous other "untraditional" species and through
that they are accessing minerals from a deeper zone.
This is a natural solution that comes about when your
cows are more balanced with their environment. You
can't keep cows hungry and force them to eat what
others consider weeds but if you keep cows in really
good forage conditions they will diversify their diet
and move their health to a higher level. Not sure how
sound science would explain that?

[littledoggie]

grassfarmer, I appreciate your comments although we are not in an environment that allows us to do what you do. We have way too many deer/elk in the area which has forced us to roll up our feed and put it in a protective compound. That leaves us with mineral supplementation.

We do not have scours. We do not vaccinate for scours. It's the management that makes this a non-issue for us.

The bottom line is we must all manage our herds in relation to the environment that we live in (soil type, weather conditions, type of operation - for example we have a "closed herd" aside from bulls, land base, etc.)

I still am curious though as to what causes plugged teats.

[wilagro]

GOOGLE "plugged teats in cows" and many answers will appear just like MAGIC.

[greybeard]

You can vitamin mix in 10 kg bags. 1000 cow days bag for less than $40.
Couple of bags will boost your cows thu caving.