Post by Lannie on Aug 16, 2014 8:14:17 GMT -5
I put a little fluff of hay in with Oggie AFTER I locked him up last night, and he ate a little of it. Nibbled it, really. Then when I opened the stall to let him out to nurse this morning, Bandit finished it. I guess I'll just put a small pile in there each night for him to eat if he wants. I'd really like to get the shavings out of his stall completely and bed it with hay, but Bandit keeps eating it all, and I don't have enough hay to re-bed the stall every night.
I found the source of the fluid drainage this morning. Bandit has a swelling just in front of her right stifle, oblong and vertical, where her "waist" would be if she were a more sveldt cow. I have no idea what it is, but it's firm. Last night I had a sudden insight and memory of once upon a time when I had a really bad abscessed tooth that swelled my jaw up like a baseball. I hit the olive leaf hard, and it went down, but it drained into my neck on the same side. I had this flabby loose pouch of fluid, EXACTLY like Bandit has on her belly. And it never moves from side to side, even when she's laying on the other side - it's always on the right. So my thought last night was there was an infection, possibly a large abscess, in her udder, and it's finally draining, and the fluid is ending up in her belly.
Now this morning, I noticed the swelling in front of her stifle, and I figure THAT'S where the fluid is coming from, but what the heck IS it? I'm assuming it's some kind of infection, since it's acting just like my jaw abscess, so I'll keep up with the chaparral and olive leaf tea with oregano oil until it's gone, or if it doesn't improve some in the next few days, maybe it's time for a systemic antibiotic. I HATE to do that, she's had too many in her life already, but if it's necessary, I'll do it. I'm not drinking her milk right now anyway.
Although, her milk is starting to taste more like milk and less like salt. I taste it every time I strip her out. There are still clumps, but they're mostly right in the first few squirts (or Oggie gets them, yum), and after that, it's mostly milk. So whatever's up with her seems to be gradually getting better, but this is SO frustrating.
~Lannie
I found the source of the fluid drainage this morning. Bandit has a swelling just in front of her right stifle, oblong and vertical, where her "waist" would be if she were a more sveldt cow. I have no idea what it is, but it's firm. Last night I had a sudden insight and memory of once upon a time when I had a really bad abscessed tooth that swelled my jaw up like a baseball. I hit the olive leaf hard, and it went down, but it drained into my neck on the same side. I had this flabby loose pouch of fluid, EXACTLY like Bandit has on her belly. And it never moves from side to side, even when she's laying on the other side - it's always on the right. So my thought last night was there was an infection, possibly a large abscess, in her udder, and it's finally draining, and the fluid is ending up in her belly.
Now this morning, I noticed the swelling in front of her stifle, and I figure THAT'S where the fluid is coming from, but what the heck IS it? I'm assuming it's some kind of infection, since it's acting just like my jaw abscess, so I'll keep up with the chaparral and olive leaf tea with oregano oil until it's gone, or if it doesn't improve some in the next few days, maybe it's time for a systemic antibiotic. I HATE to do that, she's had too many in her life already, but if it's necessary, I'll do it. I'm not drinking her milk right now anyway.
Although, her milk is starting to taste more like milk and less like salt. I taste it every time I strip her out. There are still clumps, but they're mostly right in the first few squirts (or Oggie gets them, yum), and after that, it's mostly milk. So whatever's up with her seems to be gradually getting better, but this is SO frustrating.
~Lannie