Post by Selden on Apr 22, 2010 16:15:36 GMT -5
I'm sorry this is so late! I've been at the barn most of the day.
Katika calved mid-morning. A nice bull calf. (Pictures later) She had seemed slightly dopey and off at morning chores, and her ears were icy (yesterday they were warm). I suddenly realized my caulking gun wouldn't fit the CMPK gel, so I raced into town... the calf whooshed out just as I was opening the barn door on my return. Katika was interested in the calf but her interest seemed to flag. I gave her something to eat and went home to get more towels. When I got back she was lying down.
I got her up, tied her head high to a post, and gave her a tube of CMPK with the caulking gun (cutting the tube off with a hand saw to fit. Caulking guns are all one size). The fact that I did this relatively easily made me anxious. However Katika was brighter after the CMPK... within the hour she was eating hay.
The skin on her udder has split open more, like an over-ripe peach. It is now a wound about 4" long. She was so engorged the bull calf could not get a hold of a teat (the size of a keilbasa).
I got her into her stanchion and milked out a half gallon from each teat. All the milk was terra-cotta with blood. I was worried about taking too much and making her more prone to MF but it didn't feel I had any choice. She was still wildly engorged after taking 2 gallons but at least the calf could nurse.
I had to take my daughter to the eye doctor. I just returned and Katika again seems dazed, and slightly unsteady on her feet. She isn't down but seemed to shuffle and sway. NOT normal. She ate some grain but no hay. Can I give her another tube of CMPK after only 6 hours, instead of the 12-24 on the package?
My son brought home an IV set and some more calcium, and I've got Roseanne's photos to help, but I'm hoping I don't need to do this! Any ideas?
Katika calved mid-morning. A nice bull calf. (Pictures later) She had seemed slightly dopey and off at morning chores, and her ears were icy (yesterday they were warm). I suddenly realized my caulking gun wouldn't fit the CMPK gel, so I raced into town... the calf whooshed out just as I was opening the barn door on my return. Katika was interested in the calf but her interest seemed to flag. I gave her something to eat and went home to get more towels. When I got back she was lying down.
I got her up, tied her head high to a post, and gave her a tube of CMPK with the caulking gun (cutting the tube off with a hand saw to fit. Caulking guns are all one size). The fact that I did this relatively easily made me anxious. However Katika was brighter after the CMPK... within the hour she was eating hay.
The skin on her udder has split open more, like an over-ripe peach. It is now a wound about 4" long. She was so engorged the bull calf could not get a hold of a teat (the size of a keilbasa).
I got her into her stanchion and milked out a half gallon from each teat. All the milk was terra-cotta with blood. I was worried about taking too much and making her more prone to MF but it didn't feel I had any choice. She was still wildly engorged after taking 2 gallons but at least the calf could nurse.
I had to take my daughter to the eye doctor. I just returned and Katika again seems dazed, and slightly unsteady on her feet. She isn't down but seemed to shuffle and sway. NOT normal. She ate some grain but no hay. Can I give her another tube of CMPK after only 6 hours, instead of the 12-24 on the package?
My son brought home an IV set and some more calcium, and I've got Roseanne's photos to help, but I'm hoping I don't need to do this! Any ideas?