Post by tassiegirl on May 6, 2014 19:04:38 GMT -5
Hi I have only found this forum due to hours of searching the internet for some answers. This is my first post here so please accept my apologies for not introducing myself much. I am hoping someone can help.
Here is the background and my scenario.
We live in Tasmania, Australia. I have a 7yo pure bred jersey cow. We have had her for 2 years now. When we got her she was not in calf and so I would milk her once a day in the morning until we dried her off for three months. We put her with our galloway bull, she conceived and 8 weeks ago she birthed uneventfully to a beautiful little heifer, Coco.
We left calf with Mum for 1 week and then i locked the calf away from night and then would milk Mum in the morning.I would the let the calf out and mum and calf would stay with each other for the day.
They run during the day in a number of paddocks that they are rotated through with access to hay in the afternoon. Mum is given some oats, lucerne chaff and a handful of Pat Coleby's lick while I am milking her.
On Saturday 3 May all was well. Mum happy and healthy, pooing nicely, eating, calf suckling etc. In the afternoon, I went about my normal routine.I feed mum hay and locked the calf away in a separate barn with clean hay and water. I then left and went to feed my family and put the children to bed.
In the morning I collected my milking gear and treats and headed to the barn. I greeted the calf with a handful of oats and then went around the other side to milk mum . She normally meets me at the gate or in the barn ready.
Well she was in the barn but down in the corner in an awkward position. She had grazed herself on the way down but nothing else .She tried to get up but just couldn't get her feet underneath herself. So i went and called my hubby and he thought she was just stuck and unable to get her feet in a position to get herself up so got out the drill and loosened off the side of the barn. She gently eased out and then was sitting outside the barn on her brisket. But she didn't get up. Hubby thought she may have just worn herself out suggested we leave her for a little while to rest.
However a couple of hours later she was still down. She was alert, responsive to our voice, warm and devoured her oats and treats but did not get up. So we rang a friend who is a dairy farmer, but lives hours away and told him what had happened. Although she was 8 weeks past calving he said he thinks she had milk fever and that we needed to get a flow pac into her and get her up as quick as we could.
So we went up the road to a nearby dairy and asked for a flopack. We gave it to her under the skin half on one side and half on the other side near her shoulders. It had calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and glucose in. About half an hour later, the nearby farmer came to have a look and told us to give her another 500ml flopac. He administered it and then gave her a handful of epsom salts saying she needed some magnesium.
I peppered him with questions but his response was that I should just get myself a young heifer and go again. He said if she doesn't get up the give her another flopac. We weren't sure about that. Too much calcium can't be good. We just left it at two and then every half hour tried to get her to stand up. we scared her, rolled her , shook plastic bags around her and even brought the dog in but she is so docile she would just look at us as if to say "what are you doing?"
At this stage she is still alert and eating, just sitting on ground.
At 10:30pm Sunday night, we rang our dairy farmer to ask some more advice and it was decided to give her another flopac but this time intraveniously. So after a quick over the phone tutorial, hubby and i went trapsing out in the cold and dark armed with a head lamp. While hubby held her head, and checked her heart rate. I successfully administered a flocpac directly into her milk vein. She kicked and squirmed a few times and tried to get up but did not succeed. We left her then with a few blankets on, bales of hay around her as a makeshift barn and prayed for the best in the morning. I check on her every two hours during the night. Head up, wet nose but on the ground.
Monday morning, she was still on the ground resting on her brisket, but more alert than the day before, eating her oats and hay that was offered and drinking from water bucket. The 8 week old calf has eaten some oats and hay but we have not been able to get calf to drink from mum while I lift her leg.
So, at last resort we called the vet at 8am Monday morning. He arrived 2pm in his Sunday trousers and shoes He came down to see her and said that the fact that she was alert was good, to keep her eating as they need their rumen going to get them on the mend. He said she didn't need any more calcium and if it was magnesium she would already be dead. He mentioned something about being fed too well and so too fat to get up or maybe undernourished so too weak to get up. Keep her warm and keep feeding her the oats and vitamins. He told me to give her some brown sugar and ginger dissolved in water morning and night. and He also gave her a shot of penicillin and then left the rest with me to give her once a day for the next 5 days. She was old and giving out and not saving enough for herself. We asked about rolling her but he said no it was not necessary. He then left. There was no mastitis at this stage.
From there though things went downhill rapidly. She went from being alert and eating, pooing and urinating to head down and not doing anything. I forced some brown sugar water, and vitamins down her throat when the vet left at 3pm and then again at 10pm. She was not in a good way when I left her that night. She had a foil blanket, a doona and a horse blanket on and was under our makeshift hay bale and tarp barn.
Tuesday morning, she was warm but not eating, drinking, she hadn't pooed over night and her head was down and she is now being supported by the bales of hay. I gave her some more brown sugar and ginger water and I called the vet again. He said that I shouldn't give her any more brown sugar water as she won't use her own reserves. Then I could give her some vitamin b injection and then 10 mins later an injection of antihistamine. He said if she was going to respond she would respond within the hour otherwise there was nothing else I could do. So before my hubby left for work (her will be away for two weeks) her went to the vet a picked up the injections. We (took four of us) to roll her. I administered the vita min B and the antihistamine and also her penicillin. My hubby then left for work. I waited anxiously for an hour but no noticeable response.
I checked her again in the afternoon. Her condition hasn't changed accept that i can now feel her udder is hot. Mastitis. She is sitting on her udder so I cannot milk her, or her calf. She is too heavy to roll and hold over. ( she is on a slight slope)
It is now Wednesday morning here. Last night was freezing and I have a heavy frost on the ground and frozen water pipes at the house. Amazingly she is still alive and tries to lift her head when I go to her.
I don't know what to do? what to give her?; should I try and stimulate her rumen, tube feed her, tube water, throw vitamins down her neck? All i read tell me to lift her but I can't do that. I also know the longer she is down the worse it is. What about the calf? Will she be ok ? Should I try and bottle feed it? Wean it on to some calf muesli?
I want to do everything I can to save and help her. Please help if you can. I hope I have given you enough info.
Thanks in advance.
Debbie
Here is the background and my scenario.
We live in Tasmania, Australia. I have a 7yo pure bred jersey cow. We have had her for 2 years now. When we got her she was not in calf and so I would milk her once a day in the morning until we dried her off for three months. We put her with our galloway bull, she conceived and 8 weeks ago she birthed uneventfully to a beautiful little heifer, Coco.
We left calf with Mum for 1 week and then i locked the calf away from night and then would milk Mum in the morning.I would the let the calf out and mum and calf would stay with each other for the day.
They run during the day in a number of paddocks that they are rotated through with access to hay in the afternoon. Mum is given some oats, lucerne chaff and a handful of Pat Coleby's lick while I am milking her.
On Saturday 3 May all was well. Mum happy and healthy, pooing nicely, eating, calf suckling etc. In the afternoon, I went about my normal routine.I feed mum hay and locked the calf away in a separate barn with clean hay and water. I then left and went to feed my family and put the children to bed.
In the morning I collected my milking gear and treats and headed to the barn. I greeted the calf with a handful of oats and then went around the other side to milk mum . She normally meets me at the gate or in the barn ready.
Well she was in the barn but down in the corner in an awkward position. She had grazed herself on the way down but nothing else .She tried to get up but just couldn't get her feet underneath herself. So i went and called my hubby and he thought she was just stuck and unable to get her feet in a position to get herself up so got out the drill and loosened off the side of the barn. She gently eased out and then was sitting outside the barn on her brisket. But she didn't get up. Hubby thought she may have just worn herself out suggested we leave her for a little while to rest.
However a couple of hours later she was still down. She was alert, responsive to our voice, warm and devoured her oats and treats but did not get up. So we rang a friend who is a dairy farmer, but lives hours away and told him what had happened. Although she was 8 weeks past calving he said he thinks she had milk fever and that we needed to get a flow pac into her and get her up as quick as we could.
So we went up the road to a nearby dairy and asked for a flopack. We gave it to her under the skin half on one side and half on the other side near her shoulders. It had calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and glucose in. About half an hour later, the nearby farmer came to have a look and told us to give her another 500ml flopac. He administered it and then gave her a handful of epsom salts saying she needed some magnesium.
I peppered him with questions but his response was that I should just get myself a young heifer and go again. He said if she doesn't get up the give her another flopac. We weren't sure about that. Too much calcium can't be good. We just left it at two and then every half hour tried to get her to stand up. we scared her, rolled her , shook plastic bags around her and even brought the dog in but she is so docile she would just look at us as if to say "what are you doing?"
At this stage she is still alert and eating, just sitting on ground.
At 10:30pm Sunday night, we rang our dairy farmer to ask some more advice and it was decided to give her another flopac but this time intraveniously. So after a quick over the phone tutorial, hubby and i went trapsing out in the cold and dark armed with a head lamp. While hubby held her head, and checked her heart rate. I successfully administered a flocpac directly into her milk vein. She kicked and squirmed a few times and tried to get up but did not succeed. We left her then with a few blankets on, bales of hay around her as a makeshift barn and prayed for the best in the morning. I check on her every two hours during the night. Head up, wet nose but on the ground.
Monday morning, she was still on the ground resting on her brisket, but more alert than the day before, eating her oats and hay that was offered and drinking from water bucket. The 8 week old calf has eaten some oats and hay but we have not been able to get calf to drink from mum while I lift her leg.
So, at last resort we called the vet at 8am Monday morning. He arrived 2pm in his Sunday trousers and shoes He came down to see her and said that the fact that she was alert was good, to keep her eating as they need their rumen going to get them on the mend. He said she didn't need any more calcium and if it was magnesium she would already be dead. He mentioned something about being fed too well and so too fat to get up or maybe undernourished so too weak to get up. Keep her warm and keep feeding her the oats and vitamins. He told me to give her some brown sugar and ginger dissolved in water morning and night. and He also gave her a shot of penicillin and then left the rest with me to give her once a day for the next 5 days. She was old and giving out and not saving enough for herself. We asked about rolling her but he said no it was not necessary. He then left. There was no mastitis at this stage.
From there though things went downhill rapidly. She went from being alert and eating, pooing and urinating to head down and not doing anything. I forced some brown sugar water, and vitamins down her throat when the vet left at 3pm and then again at 10pm. She was not in a good way when I left her that night. She had a foil blanket, a doona and a horse blanket on and was under our makeshift hay bale and tarp barn.
Tuesday morning, she was warm but not eating, drinking, she hadn't pooed over night and her head was down and she is now being supported by the bales of hay. I gave her some more brown sugar and ginger water and I called the vet again. He said that I shouldn't give her any more brown sugar water as she won't use her own reserves. Then I could give her some vitamin b injection and then 10 mins later an injection of antihistamine. He said if she was going to respond she would respond within the hour otherwise there was nothing else I could do. So before my hubby left for work (her will be away for two weeks) her went to the vet a picked up the injections. We (took four of us) to roll her. I administered the vita min B and the antihistamine and also her penicillin. My hubby then left for work. I waited anxiously for an hour but no noticeable response.
I checked her again in the afternoon. Her condition hasn't changed accept that i can now feel her udder is hot. Mastitis. She is sitting on her udder so I cannot milk her, or her calf. She is too heavy to roll and hold over. ( she is on a slight slope)
It is now Wednesday morning here. Last night was freezing and I have a heavy frost on the ground and frozen water pipes at the house. Amazingly she is still alive and tries to lift her head when I go to her.
I don't know what to do? what to give her?; should I try and stimulate her rumen, tube feed her, tube water, throw vitamins down her neck? All i read tell me to lift her but I can't do that. I also know the longer she is down the worse it is. What about the calf? Will she be ok ? Should I try and bottle feed it? Wean it on to some calf muesli?
I want to do everything I can to save and help her. Please help if you can. I hope I have given you enough info.
Thanks in advance.
Debbie