Post by mymenagerie on Mar 21, 2010 22:18:28 GMT -5
Hi All,
Well, my rescue cow is slowly improving.
I have a couple of questions though.
First, what does a killed quarter "feel" like and how does it "act"? The guy I got this cow from said he'd killed one of her quarters last year after she got mastitis. He didn't say which one though.
She is currently dry. 3 of her quarters are empty & flabby. The fourth quarter is firm (not hard, not hot & not painful). And if I squeeze the teet, about 3" of real thick, buttery stuff will come out . The stuff doesn't have any odor at all & the cow doesn't care at all or act in pain when I do this. So would this be the quarter that was killed? I don't know how they are supposed to feel or be after they're dead. Is the way this one feels & acts something I should be concerned about & get the vet out for? Or is this normal?
Second question. Do you have any tricks for trimming a cow's feet? Her feet are badly in need of a trim. I can't find a professional cow trimmer with a table, who will come do her feet, because they don't want to come here to do only our one cow (we're way out in the sticks). And she's too stiff & stubborn to pick up or hold her feet up for me to do them like I'd do one of my horses. I want to help her, but don't want to get kicked in the face in the process. She's very good about me handling her & touching her all over, but will absolutely not lift of hold her feet up & I think with her stiff old legs it would be near impossible for her to even hold a foot up, much less have it in a position where I could work on it without standing on my head... So I'm hoping you'll have some fabulous magical cow-whisperer tips for how I might be able to work on them.
I did have the vet out here to check her over & do a preg check a couple weeks after I got her. She is bred for mid-May. And the vet had me do a round of penecillin on her for 10 days because of a hoof abscess (which cleared up with the antibiotic). Otherwise the vet said she looked like with lots of TLC she'd come around alright. I hadn't noticed the firm quarter yet though, so didn't ask the vet about it when she was out.
Thanks in advance for any info you would be willing to offer!
Well, my rescue cow is slowly improving.
I have a couple of questions though.
First, what does a killed quarter "feel" like and how does it "act"? The guy I got this cow from said he'd killed one of her quarters last year after she got mastitis. He didn't say which one though.
She is currently dry. 3 of her quarters are empty & flabby. The fourth quarter is firm (not hard, not hot & not painful). And if I squeeze the teet, about 3" of real thick, buttery stuff will come out . The stuff doesn't have any odor at all & the cow doesn't care at all or act in pain when I do this. So would this be the quarter that was killed? I don't know how they are supposed to feel or be after they're dead. Is the way this one feels & acts something I should be concerned about & get the vet out for? Or is this normal?
Second question. Do you have any tricks for trimming a cow's feet? Her feet are badly in need of a trim. I can't find a professional cow trimmer with a table, who will come do her feet, because they don't want to come here to do only our one cow (we're way out in the sticks). And she's too stiff & stubborn to pick up or hold her feet up for me to do them like I'd do one of my horses. I want to help her, but don't want to get kicked in the face in the process. She's very good about me handling her & touching her all over, but will absolutely not lift of hold her feet up & I think with her stiff old legs it would be near impossible for her to even hold a foot up, much less have it in a position where I could work on it without standing on my head... So I'm hoping you'll have some fabulous magical cow-whisperer tips for how I might be able to work on them.
I did have the vet out here to check her over & do a preg check a couple weeks after I got her. She is bred for mid-May. And the vet had me do a round of penecillin on her for 10 days because of a hoof abscess (which cleared up with the antibiotic). Otherwise the vet said she looked like with lots of TLC she'd come around alright. I hadn't noticed the firm quarter yet though, so didn't ask the vet about it when she was out.
Thanks in advance for any info you would be willing to offer!