Post by Lannie on Oct 15, 2010 15:08:52 GMT -5
Cricket was apparently pigging out on her pellets yesterday while I was milking and managed to choke herself on them. I couldn't figure out what the heck she was doing when she suddenly started stepping sideways, back and forth, then KICKED me hard in the side of my calf just as I was trying to move me and the almost full milk pail out of the way. Then I saw she was tossing her head up and down and trying like mad to back out of the stanchion, so I flipped the lock piece over and she backed out, staggering, into my chair, which I was no longer sitting on, thank God, then kicked the pail of milk again, but only nicked it, so it only sloshed a quart or two out. I took the bar down and got her out of the stanchion, then realized she was having trouble breathing. I was standing there like a total IDIOT not knowing what to do! How do you do a Heimlich on a cow?? Just then she made a loud "gaaaaahhhhh!" noise and barfed up a huge amount of wet pellet slurry. Then she could breathe again, whew. A couple more little urps and then she got a drink of water and seemed to be OK. I stayed out there for a while to make sure, though. Since I was almost finished milking anyway when this happened, I didn't make her go back to finish (I figured she wasn't being "bad" when I let her out, so it was OK). I just let Sammi out to finish her off then turned her out to the pasture.
Man, oh, man, did she have me worried! What DO I do if something like that happens?
This morning she came romping in to the barn at a full gallop (full udder swinging! LOL!) and I didn't want to withhold her pellets, so I poured some water on them to moisten them first, thinking that would help. She ate them with no problem, but when it came time for seconds (I give her half when I start, then the rest when I start milking the second letdown), I decided rather than giving her the dry pellets I'd give her a flake of alfalfa hay instead. She was NOT a happy camper. She LOVES her pellets. She tossed the hay around a bit, stepped sideways, forward and backward, hit me really hard a couple of times in the head with her tail, and then just to make SURE I understood her displeasure, she pooped in the stanchion just before she left.
I'd love to go back to our regular routine of pellets in the stanchion and alfalfa hay in the manger AFTER milking, but now I have this fear in the back of my mind about her choking again, and NOT being able to clear it herself. I've been having all these horrible thoughts of Cricket dropping dead right before my eyes, and it's frankly scaring the crapola out of me. On the other hand, I don't want to be overly strict just because I have a fear. Geez, I've choked on food before, it's no big deal, and I'm hoping that's all it is with Cricket, just a freak thing, and probably won't happen again (at least not for a long time!).
What do you guys think?
~Lannie
Man, oh, man, did she have me worried! What DO I do if something like that happens?
This morning she came romping in to the barn at a full gallop (full udder swinging! LOL!) and I didn't want to withhold her pellets, so I poured some water on them to moisten them first, thinking that would help. She ate them with no problem, but when it came time for seconds (I give her half when I start, then the rest when I start milking the second letdown), I decided rather than giving her the dry pellets I'd give her a flake of alfalfa hay instead. She was NOT a happy camper. She LOVES her pellets. She tossed the hay around a bit, stepped sideways, forward and backward, hit me really hard a couple of times in the head with her tail, and then just to make SURE I understood her displeasure, she pooped in the stanchion just before she left.
I'd love to go back to our regular routine of pellets in the stanchion and alfalfa hay in the manger AFTER milking, but now I have this fear in the back of my mind about her choking again, and NOT being able to clear it herself. I've been having all these horrible thoughts of Cricket dropping dead right before my eyes, and it's frankly scaring the crapola out of me. On the other hand, I don't want to be overly strict just because I have a fear. Geez, I've choked on food before, it's no big deal, and I'm hoping that's all it is with Cricket, just a freak thing, and probably won't happen again (at least not for a long time!).
What do you guys think?
~Lannie