Post by barefootfarmer on Apr 19, 2015 0:41:28 GMT -5
My Jersey, Daisy, came in to milk this morning with a limp on her left front leg. I hosed off her hoof, checked it out and didn't see anything obvious. I thought maybe her knee was slightly swollen, but not enough to really say for sure. But she was obviously in discomfort and was slow to walk back afterwards. Also, her rumen didn't look nice and full like usual, or like the other cows. She grazes pasture all day and has free choice good hay all night. So she looked pretty skinny to me even though I did hear rumen sounds. I checked with a vet and was advised to give her 10-20ml of Banamine IM. I gave her 10ml at noon.
She ate and grazed normal all day. Had water available. By 8pm I went to bring her in for milking. She was sweaty on both sides of her neck and felt warm to touch. I took her temp and it was 101.4. Her appetite was still good. But she just seems a bit off. Her face looks like she's stressed to me. She milked out a total of 8 gallons 6 and a half cups today. I milk twice a day, no calf and she freshened in mid January. This is the most she's milked this lactation. She's about 7 years old.
The cows have had limited amount of grass since the first of April. They get milked in the morning then go out to graze. I slowly built up to 7 hours on pasture before walking them back off the lush pasture to a more dried up area with hay and water. They have been on a high mag mineral supplement since late February. I keep them off pasture at night for now.
Daisy's manure is pretty loose, kind of like green pudding. The other cows have much thicker, more solid manure. I'm going to send in a fecal sample on Monday just to see.
I wonder how long it should take to know if the banamine is helping with her discomfort. The vet didn't say how many times to give the med to her, but I have a 50ml bottle and know that I need to discard the milk for 36 hours.
I feel anxious about her. The vet said to just see how she's doing in the morning. But I can't shake this unsettled feeling I'm having. I've gone out several times already to see how she's doing. Each time she's been up standing, and just looking at me. I didn't notice if she's chewing cud, I'll remember to look when I go out again in a bit. I really hate this feeling.
She ate and grazed normal all day. Had water available. By 8pm I went to bring her in for milking. She was sweaty on both sides of her neck and felt warm to touch. I took her temp and it was 101.4. Her appetite was still good. But she just seems a bit off. Her face looks like she's stressed to me. She milked out a total of 8 gallons 6 and a half cups today. I milk twice a day, no calf and she freshened in mid January. This is the most she's milked this lactation. She's about 7 years old.
The cows have had limited amount of grass since the first of April. They get milked in the morning then go out to graze. I slowly built up to 7 hours on pasture before walking them back off the lush pasture to a more dried up area with hay and water. They have been on a high mag mineral supplement since late February. I keep them off pasture at night for now.
Daisy's manure is pretty loose, kind of like green pudding. The other cows have much thicker, more solid manure. I'm going to send in a fecal sample on Monday just to see.
I wonder how long it should take to know if the banamine is helping with her discomfort. The vet didn't say how many times to give the med to her, but I have a 50ml bottle and know that I need to discard the milk for 36 hours.
I feel anxious about her. The vet said to just see how she's doing in the morning. But I can't shake this unsettled feeling I'm having. I've gone out several times already to see how she's doing. Each time she's been up standing, and just looking at me. I didn't notice if she's chewing cud, I'll remember to look when I go out again in a bit. I really hate this feeling.