Post by catherine on Mar 28, 2010 17:23:23 GMT -5
Hey Folks...
We've apparently got some kind of problem, and I can't seem to get it figured out. Our Dutch Belted Cow, Cookie, has recently become Night Blind, and I'm clueless as to why.
Cookie delivered a fine, big, healthy boy about 5 weeks ago. She had a good bit of edema which was difficult to get worked out by hand, esp. in the right front quarter (which has always been her larger and more productive quarter). However, once our replacement inflations arrived, that seemed to get sorted. We kept the pair of them in the barn and corral for the first couple of weeks, but then on the first day we let them out with the herd, when she came back in to be milked she was giving seriously pink milk. She had a large swelling in the middle of her left front quarter. We gently handmilked that quarter separately from the others for a week or so, until the milk came out white again. We also kept them in the barn on free choice alfalfa and her "goodie bucket" (a bucket full of beet pulp, a scoop of lactation pellets, a handful of kelp meal, a Vit. C. tablet, a tbs. Brewer's Yeast, Probios and DE, a couple of gulgs of ACV, and a bit of BOSS) at milking. The hard spot has remained, however. I talked with Melissa about it, and we both decided that she'd probably gotten bumped or bruised while out on pasture, and she must have burst a vein or artery to get that much blood in the milk, and that the lump was probably a big clot that shouldn't be massaged and possibly dislodged. The quarter hasn't given off tasting or smelling milk, and there's not fever or redness there either. I've been machine milking all four quarters, and then stimulating let down by having her calf work on that left front teat, to try to keep that quarter drained, as much as possible. We're getting 2-3 gallons OAD while sharemilking. So, I figured things would just resolve on their own, and they very well might.
This Night Blindness may or may not be related in any way to the injured quarter. The issue may have longer standing, as we'd been milking during daylight and have only recently been milking at dusk or later. When Cookie was in the barn and corral, we didn't notice anything unusual, but she's been back out on pasture the last couple of weeks. The problem first came to light when we'd call her up to the barn to be milked. At first she just didn't seem to see the cattle panel fence around one of the corrals. Then we noticed that she'd bump into the pipe gate, too. Now, I've seen her flat run into the corrugated metal wall of the barn! She knows her way into the barn and stanchion, so that's not been an issue...but the rest is really odd. Her eyes appear clear and normal and I've not seen any other symptoms. Could this be related to her going out on fresh pasture?
I did some research...and a serious Vitamin A deficiency will manifest in night blindness, but that seems to be for feed lot cattle on processed feedstuffs, and usually in young calves. Such a deficiency will also result in serious fertility and/or calving issues...neither of which she has had. Also, since green up a few weeks ago, she's on fresh rye grass, clover and native grass pasture (which I'd think would be giving her loads of carotene, which is the Vit. A precursor). It seems that some breeds of cow are better or worse at converting carotene into Vit. A, and the worst are the ones who have yellow milk and fat, like Jerseys, but our Jersey (Elsie) is doing just fine in her late pregnancy and on the same feed. Belties weren't mentioned as having troubles in this area, and her milk is white. Vit. E. was recommended for animals who are struggling with having enough Vit. A., as it protects whatever Vit. A. they do eat and keeps it from oxidizing. Well, it turns out that the alfalfa she gets at milking has lots of Vit. E. in it, as well as more carotene. The only other thing I found that could result in nightblindness was Pink Eye, and she certainly doesn't have that. So, does anyone have any ideas about what is going on and what we can do about it??? I'm stumped. Thanks, C.
We've apparently got some kind of problem, and I can't seem to get it figured out. Our Dutch Belted Cow, Cookie, has recently become Night Blind, and I'm clueless as to why.
Cookie delivered a fine, big, healthy boy about 5 weeks ago. She had a good bit of edema which was difficult to get worked out by hand, esp. in the right front quarter (which has always been her larger and more productive quarter). However, once our replacement inflations arrived, that seemed to get sorted. We kept the pair of them in the barn and corral for the first couple of weeks, but then on the first day we let them out with the herd, when she came back in to be milked she was giving seriously pink milk. She had a large swelling in the middle of her left front quarter. We gently handmilked that quarter separately from the others for a week or so, until the milk came out white again. We also kept them in the barn on free choice alfalfa and her "goodie bucket" (a bucket full of beet pulp, a scoop of lactation pellets, a handful of kelp meal, a Vit. C. tablet, a tbs. Brewer's Yeast, Probios and DE, a couple of gulgs of ACV, and a bit of BOSS) at milking. The hard spot has remained, however. I talked with Melissa about it, and we both decided that she'd probably gotten bumped or bruised while out on pasture, and she must have burst a vein or artery to get that much blood in the milk, and that the lump was probably a big clot that shouldn't be massaged and possibly dislodged. The quarter hasn't given off tasting or smelling milk, and there's not fever or redness there either. I've been machine milking all four quarters, and then stimulating let down by having her calf work on that left front teat, to try to keep that quarter drained, as much as possible. We're getting 2-3 gallons OAD while sharemilking. So, I figured things would just resolve on their own, and they very well might.
This Night Blindness may or may not be related in any way to the injured quarter. The issue may have longer standing, as we'd been milking during daylight and have only recently been milking at dusk or later. When Cookie was in the barn and corral, we didn't notice anything unusual, but she's been back out on pasture the last couple of weeks. The problem first came to light when we'd call her up to the barn to be milked. At first she just didn't seem to see the cattle panel fence around one of the corrals. Then we noticed that she'd bump into the pipe gate, too. Now, I've seen her flat run into the corrugated metal wall of the barn! She knows her way into the barn and stanchion, so that's not been an issue...but the rest is really odd. Her eyes appear clear and normal and I've not seen any other symptoms. Could this be related to her going out on fresh pasture?
I did some research...and a serious Vitamin A deficiency will manifest in night blindness, but that seems to be for feed lot cattle on processed feedstuffs, and usually in young calves. Such a deficiency will also result in serious fertility and/or calving issues...neither of which she has had. Also, since green up a few weeks ago, she's on fresh rye grass, clover and native grass pasture (which I'd think would be giving her loads of carotene, which is the Vit. A precursor). It seems that some breeds of cow are better or worse at converting carotene into Vit. A, and the worst are the ones who have yellow milk and fat, like Jerseys, but our Jersey (Elsie) is doing just fine in her late pregnancy and on the same feed. Belties weren't mentioned as having troubles in this area, and her milk is white. Vit. E. was recommended for animals who are struggling with having enough Vit. A., as it protects whatever Vit. A. they do eat and keeps it from oxidizing. Well, it turns out that the alfalfa she gets at milking has lots of Vit. E. in it, as well as more carotene. The only other thing I found that could result in nightblindness was Pink Eye, and she certainly doesn't have that. So, does anyone have any ideas about what is going on and what we can do about it??? I'm stumped. Thanks, C.