Post by Tricia on May 6, 2008 10:06:53 GMT -5
So Molly calved 2 weeks ago Sunday, the heifer lost sight in her eye and had a concussion from a freak accident. Molly went down with MF, then Ketosis last week. Well yesterday she was down again. Ears cold, eyes unresponsive to the light, rumen not grumbling, can't get up, she is mooing really deep.
I quick called for some extra hands to do an IV, I didn't bother with the neck vein and went right for the milk vein on her belly. Wham, got it in only 2 tries. phew, then she lays flat out and moos. This is so not good. We get a bottle into her and got her back on her brisket. Then she starts grinding her teeth. We bring over 4 gallon of warm water with my last pint of molasses from the kitchen. She gulps it down, we get some cold from the stream she won't touch it. So we go get 8 more gallons. She drank probably 4 more. A dehydration. Then more teeth grinding. Now what is that, then it dawns on me, PAIN, she is in pain, hence the mooing and grinding teeth. Then I have a thought, she is now down 3 hours since the Calcium, with no trying to get up. We tried and tried to get her up. Then I decide, okay we are out of our element. I get to the house, call DH at work and say come home now, this is really bad. I call the vet and leave the message. I am wondering did she twist her gut?
Then, she gives one last grinding of teeth and lurches to her feet, takes 5 steps and grazes. Then takes off then stops and starts grazing. This went on for an hour before she goes to the shade. Meanwhile, My mom stops with my b-day present and wants to chat, someone else stops, the phone rings. Finally I said enough I have to go get her in for milking. It is 2 pm! I get about 3 bad smelling gallons. Luckily I had some in the fridge for the calf's breakfast that morning.
So vet calls before the milking and says the grinding is usually ketosis. Get some keto gel in her, a tube a day for 3 days. Do I want him to stop. YES, please do, I am out of my element. She is milking herself to death. She was up to 6 1/2 gallons a day, ON GRASS and some beet pulp.
I make a run to the feed mill for keto gel, more calcium and molasses.
So he makes it out around 4:30, yup ketosis but not so bad, gives her another bottle of calcium gets her up. She is too skinny (I knew that) and yeah your right, milking herself to death. She is probably very low on potassium also. He said start giving her a flake of hay 2 x a day or so to help her with the lack of roughage on the pasture.
So he really really recomended some grain to balance out her system of producing so much milk and not able to eat enough.
So I have some grain getting delivered today , some 16% cow feed along with some Sunflower seed hearts (as in hulless BOSS). She is much better today. Milk was quite sweet this morning and she was much more herself. Munched on hay, ate her beet pulp, I snuck the powdered potassium into a bucket of molasses water. She gulped down a cup of kelp.
So hopefully I can get her turned around here. I knew really somewhere sometime she would need some extra feed with all that milk she was putting out.
I brought up to the vet that I usually feed alot of molasses but some warnings had been made that it is worthless ect...... He said not to this girl! She wants it, she needs it, give it to her!
He said work her upto 10lbs of grain and beet pulp a day and get some weight back on her then I can adjust it to what she needs and how much production I want..... AND call with ANY questions.
Phew, what a day for a birthday (mine). Oh and the Highlander cow we call Witchy had a bouncy baby boy yesterday around 8:30 pm. He is doing well, finally taking a nap. She always has such great bull calves.
I quick called for some extra hands to do an IV, I didn't bother with the neck vein and went right for the milk vein on her belly. Wham, got it in only 2 tries. phew, then she lays flat out and moos. This is so not good. We get a bottle into her and got her back on her brisket. Then she starts grinding her teeth. We bring over 4 gallon of warm water with my last pint of molasses from the kitchen. She gulps it down, we get some cold from the stream she won't touch it. So we go get 8 more gallons. She drank probably 4 more. A dehydration. Then more teeth grinding. Now what is that, then it dawns on me, PAIN, she is in pain, hence the mooing and grinding teeth. Then I have a thought, she is now down 3 hours since the Calcium, with no trying to get up. We tried and tried to get her up. Then I decide, okay we are out of our element. I get to the house, call DH at work and say come home now, this is really bad. I call the vet and leave the message. I am wondering did she twist her gut?
Then, she gives one last grinding of teeth and lurches to her feet, takes 5 steps and grazes. Then takes off then stops and starts grazing. This went on for an hour before she goes to the shade. Meanwhile, My mom stops with my b-day present and wants to chat, someone else stops, the phone rings. Finally I said enough I have to go get her in for milking. It is 2 pm! I get about 3 bad smelling gallons. Luckily I had some in the fridge for the calf's breakfast that morning.
So vet calls before the milking and says the grinding is usually ketosis. Get some keto gel in her, a tube a day for 3 days. Do I want him to stop. YES, please do, I am out of my element. She is milking herself to death. She was up to 6 1/2 gallons a day, ON GRASS and some beet pulp.
I make a run to the feed mill for keto gel, more calcium and molasses.
So he makes it out around 4:30, yup ketosis but not so bad, gives her another bottle of calcium gets her up. She is too skinny (I knew that) and yeah your right, milking herself to death. She is probably very low on potassium also. He said start giving her a flake of hay 2 x a day or so to help her with the lack of roughage on the pasture.
So he really really recomended some grain to balance out her system of producing so much milk and not able to eat enough.
So I have some grain getting delivered today , some 16% cow feed along with some Sunflower seed hearts (as in hulless BOSS). She is much better today. Milk was quite sweet this morning and she was much more herself. Munched on hay, ate her beet pulp, I snuck the powdered potassium into a bucket of molasses water. She gulped down a cup of kelp.
So hopefully I can get her turned around here. I knew really somewhere sometime she would need some extra feed with all that milk she was putting out.
I brought up to the vet that I usually feed alot of molasses but some warnings had been made that it is worthless ect...... He said not to this girl! She wants it, she needs it, give it to her!
He said work her upto 10lbs of grain and beet pulp a day and get some weight back on her then I can adjust it to what she needs and how much production I want..... AND call with ANY questions.
Phew, what a day for a birthday (mine). Oh and the Highlander cow we call Witchy had a bouncy baby boy yesterday around 8:30 pm. He is doing well, finally taking a nap. She always has such great bull calves.