Post by Mitra on Oct 30, 2013 16:09:23 GMT -5
I noticed a minor limp a few days ago and then a very bad limp for the last couple of days. Nellie was having a hard time in the stanchion and would not put weight on her back left foot. This made getting her in the right position difficult. I called our awesome hoof trimmer but he couldn't get here until today. I was lucky that he had to go trim at a dairy about 30 miles from here. He did 37 cows there and then came to take care of Nellie. The worst was trying to get her to walk/hobble the length of a football field to get her to the big scary metal contraption in the driveway. All the while my neighbors were engaged in target practice. Hunting season begins in a few days. Dave, the hoof trimmer, got her to enter the chute. She was limping so badly. Then the awful hydraulic noises and she was up in the air and on her side before she knew it. She thrashed her head wildly and all you could see were the whites of her eyes.
Once he found the abscess, he cut into it and there was a lot of blood. Nellie made "I'm dying" noises as he cut and scraped. It was pretty awful. He let it drip while he worked on the other three hooves and then bandaged her up. Once she was back on solid ground, she was only too happy to take her favorite treat, one after the other, whole wheat tortillas, six of them. Poor Nellie, but now she should experience some relief.
Her production has gone down the last few days from 3.5 gallons to 2.25 gallons today. She's had a hard time getting to the hay feeder and to the water. It was only yesterday though that I thought of this (DUH!) and started putting her hay in a closer feeder and bringing her water. I hope this experience wasn't so traumatic as to affect her pregnancy. She's 4 months bred. Hand wringing!
Once he found the abscess, he cut into it and there was a lot of blood. Nellie made "I'm dying" noises as he cut and scraped. It was pretty awful. He let it drip while he worked on the other three hooves and then bandaged her up. Once she was back on solid ground, she was only too happy to take her favorite treat, one after the other, whole wheat tortillas, six of them. Poor Nellie, but now she should experience some relief.
Her production has gone down the last few days from 3.5 gallons to 2.25 gallons today. She's had a hard time getting to the hay feeder and to the water. It was only yesterday though that I thought of this (DUH!) and started putting her hay in a closer feeder and bringing her water. I hope this experience wasn't so traumatic as to affect her pregnancy. She's 4 months bred. Hand wringing!