Post by berriesncream on Jun 4, 2011 9:36:53 GMT -5
Big sigh. Okay, So I need some advice (or maybe just reassurance). I've had two cows freshen (Tiny in Nov 2010 and Ann in March 2011). Both have had ketosis problems. I think Tiny's issues were really metabolic - that she wasn't processing her feed efficiently, etc. Tried so much stuff with her (drenches, PG, dextrose IV) without ever getting it to completely go away. Finally sold her as a nurse cow. Ann is a 4 year old brown swiss that we got from a dairy. I think her problem is mostly behavioral. She is a sweet cow, but kind of "sensitive". She had serious issues with edema when she freshened AND she had an infection in her hock before freshening that we gave her antibiotic injections for. She was not a fan of shots or having her sore udder fooled with (though she never became aggressive). Also, she has a pretty nasty gash on one of her teats (we think she stepped on it when the edema was so bad) that's still healing. We have to basically pull the scab off the end of the teat before milking each time. She now has mastitis in that quarter. ANYWAY, anytime you do anything out of the ordinary with her (anyone other than my DH in the barn for milking, something out of place, or especially for a few days after you've had to give her a shot or something), she refuses to eat. She eats plenty of grass and hay and she doesn't look "down" at all, but she just won't eat her grain. We've tried changing the feed, adding things to it. Nothing works. When she gets over being upset, she'll start eating again until the next thing bothers her. Following these non-eating episodes, her milk is acetony; once she starts eating again, it's fine.
It occurred to me today that, having been at a dairy, maybe she also dislikes being the only cow in the barn being milked. I'm hoping that's true because we have a Jersey heifer, Trixie, due to calve in early July. So here's my question - what can I do now to help prevent ketosis in Trixie? She has a totally different personality than Ann and she desperately wants to be touched and come into the milk parlor. I don't think we'll have any problems getting her to eat anything. LOL. Also, she's a beautiful healthy cow - much heal tier looking than Tiny ever was. But what should we be doing now (1 month out) to prepare her body for the demands of freshening? How much should we be feeding her? Minerals, etc? Any advice would be helpful. I HATE ketosis and am really nervous about facing it again!
And sorry for the ridiculously long post. With a new baby myself, I haven't been posting much and I guess I had a lot to get off my chest!!
Amanda
It occurred to me today that, having been at a dairy, maybe she also dislikes being the only cow in the barn being milked. I'm hoping that's true because we have a Jersey heifer, Trixie, due to calve in early July. So here's my question - what can I do now to help prevent ketosis in Trixie? She has a totally different personality than Ann and she desperately wants to be touched and come into the milk parlor. I don't think we'll have any problems getting her to eat anything. LOL. Also, she's a beautiful healthy cow - much heal tier looking than Tiny ever was. But what should we be doing now (1 month out) to prepare her body for the demands of freshening? How much should we be feeding her? Minerals, etc? Any advice would be helpful. I HATE ketosis and am really nervous about facing it again!
And sorry for the ridiculously long post. With a new baby myself, I haven't been posting much and I guess I had a lot to get off my chest!!
Amanda