Post by vkrussell on Dec 17, 2011 19:24:08 GMT -5
Hi All...hoping to get some help or ideas here as to why my little Dexter Audra is down. Here's what I know: Pretty good shape..not too fat, not too thin. Weaned her calf a couple of months ago. She was confirmed pregnant (Biopyrn). She was in a 40 acre pasture with other cows and a bull. We have been feeding grass hay one day and a small amount of 14% pellets the next, alternating. She is due to calf in late April or early May. She is up to date on her vaccinations and has been wormed regularly. They have access to good minerals and baking soda and fresh water. I came home from work last Thursday and she was standing with the other cows but a bit apart, not interested in eating and her tail was cocked a bit to her left side... she seemed stiff, almost like she was sore and it hurt to move.
We moved her into a smaller lot and she seemed wobbly in her back end and kind of shuffled her feet, but was able to walk. She headed straight for the hay and ate a regular scoop of pellets. We caught her up and took her temperature. It was a 99.5 degrees. A little low but it's about 40-50 during the day and freezing at night. Her eyes are clear and bright, her ears are warm, she is peeing and pooping when she needs to and everything looks normal..not dry...not watery. I thought perhaps another cow had bumped her pretty hard, bull had tried to jump her, or something like that. Kept her up with free choice hay, feeding her a small amount of pellets and fresh water. Hubby reported that she seemed about the same on Friday and this morning... he said she was laying down and got up when he went down to feed.
This afternoon when I went to the barn she seemed worse, more wobbly, can't seem to keep her balance, no appetite. Eyes are still clear, she peeing while is was trying to get her to eat some pellets. I went in to milk and when I came out she was down - in the mud of course...We moved her to a dry spot and covered her with straw. She's not even trying to get up now. Gave her 10 cc's of Banamine and 10 cc's of pen...don't know if that was the right thing to do, but felt like we needed to do something. She acts like she's giving up. We have never had a cow do anything like this and have no idea whats going on. Vets won't drive out this far. If she makes it to Monday and we can get her up and in the trailer, we will take her to the vet as soon as we can. Any ideas or suggestions? I'm hoping we don't lose her. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Vicki
We moved her into a smaller lot and she seemed wobbly in her back end and kind of shuffled her feet, but was able to walk. She headed straight for the hay and ate a regular scoop of pellets. We caught her up and took her temperature. It was a 99.5 degrees. A little low but it's about 40-50 during the day and freezing at night. Her eyes are clear and bright, her ears are warm, she is peeing and pooping when she needs to and everything looks normal..not dry...not watery. I thought perhaps another cow had bumped her pretty hard, bull had tried to jump her, or something like that. Kept her up with free choice hay, feeding her a small amount of pellets and fresh water. Hubby reported that she seemed about the same on Friday and this morning... he said she was laying down and got up when he went down to feed.
This afternoon when I went to the barn she seemed worse, more wobbly, can't seem to keep her balance, no appetite. Eyes are still clear, she peeing while is was trying to get her to eat some pellets. I went in to milk and when I came out she was down - in the mud of course...We moved her to a dry spot and covered her with straw. She's not even trying to get up now. Gave her 10 cc's of Banamine and 10 cc's of pen...don't know if that was the right thing to do, but felt like we needed to do something. She acts like she's giving up. We have never had a cow do anything like this and have no idea whats going on. Vets won't drive out this far. If she makes it to Monday and we can get her up and in the trailer, we will take her to the vet as soon as we can. Any ideas or suggestions? I'm hoping we don't lose her. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Vicki