Post by frogHOLR on Apr 21, 2010 23:14:42 GMT -5
Hello!
I have a Jersey cow (8yo) who calved on Sunday. She did great, pooped the calf out in record time, and lost her placenta that night. She's one of those cows that is prone to MF, so I gave her Cal paste before and after she calved. Around midnight that first night I also gave her SQ CalDex. I did everything as explained as per Roseanna's excellent pictorial, EXCEPT I forgot to run the CalDex down the line before administering it on one side. In other words, I injected 50cc of AIR into her first. (It was a long day with lots of stress and I was tired, it was dark . . . OK, I just messed up! No excuses!) I've been giving her Epsom Salts in her water along with molasses to ward off MF and ketosis. She's finally got plops instead of turds, and her ears are warm again! Yesterday and today she recieved 10cc Vit B Complex IM. She's just starting to eat again and I thought I was doing so great - out of the thickest woods. Nope.
I noticed yesterday that she's reluctant to walk much. Her front feet seemed ouchy and she switches from one back leg to the other fairly often when standing. Trying to figure out what was going on, I started poking around on her and her brisket is EXTREMELY sore. It was swollen the day after the SQ Cal, but I thought nothing of it at the time. Now she's in pain. I brought her down to the house and hosed her chest with hot water in hopes of bringing some circulation to the area and reducing the swelling a bit. She tolerated that fine, but jerked everytime I barley touched her with my hand. I took her temperature and it's 103.3*. My vet says she's probably fine but I could give her Pennicillin if I wanted to. I don't if it isn't necessary - we try to be as 'natural' as possible. My kids are dying to start drinking the milk again (long dry period!) and with 3 - 5 days of injections and the withdrawl time . . . I'd rather avoid it if I can. She's just as ornery as I would expect her to be - she actually dragged me about 20 feet down the driveway after we were done, and I'm 6' 175#! Her eyes are bright and she's reactive to her calf. What I was initially calling 'lethargic' in my notes, has been changed to 'reluctant to move due to discomfort'.
Has anyone ever had this happen before? This is the first time I've done the SQ CalDex. It's SO much easier (and faster!) than doing it IV!! Could the air really do this to her (my vet didn't think so)? I'm not so sure. I have pictures of her brisket, but nothing to compare it to from when it's normal. Needless to say it's swollen but not so much that a city person would notice it. I would love to hear any other thoughts on this subject. I'm not sure that it is truly considered to be a 911 kind of call, but the little bit of researching I did online scared the tar out of me. Phrases like 'necrotizing infection' don't paint a pretty outcome for her.
Thanks for any help!
I have a Jersey cow (8yo) who calved on Sunday. She did great, pooped the calf out in record time, and lost her placenta that night. She's one of those cows that is prone to MF, so I gave her Cal paste before and after she calved. Around midnight that first night I also gave her SQ CalDex. I did everything as explained as per Roseanna's excellent pictorial, EXCEPT I forgot to run the CalDex down the line before administering it on one side. In other words, I injected 50cc of AIR into her first. (It was a long day with lots of stress and I was tired, it was dark . . . OK, I just messed up! No excuses!) I've been giving her Epsom Salts in her water along with molasses to ward off MF and ketosis. She's finally got plops instead of turds, and her ears are warm again! Yesterday and today she recieved 10cc Vit B Complex IM. She's just starting to eat again and I thought I was doing so great - out of the thickest woods. Nope.
I noticed yesterday that she's reluctant to walk much. Her front feet seemed ouchy and she switches from one back leg to the other fairly often when standing. Trying to figure out what was going on, I started poking around on her and her brisket is EXTREMELY sore. It was swollen the day after the SQ Cal, but I thought nothing of it at the time. Now she's in pain. I brought her down to the house and hosed her chest with hot water in hopes of bringing some circulation to the area and reducing the swelling a bit. She tolerated that fine, but jerked everytime I barley touched her with my hand. I took her temperature and it's 103.3*. My vet says she's probably fine but I could give her Pennicillin if I wanted to. I don't if it isn't necessary - we try to be as 'natural' as possible. My kids are dying to start drinking the milk again (long dry period!) and with 3 - 5 days of injections and the withdrawl time . . . I'd rather avoid it if I can. She's just as ornery as I would expect her to be - she actually dragged me about 20 feet down the driveway after we were done, and I'm 6' 175#! Her eyes are bright and she's reactive to her calf. What I was initially calling 'lethargic' in my notes, has been changed to 'reluctant to move due to discomfort'.
Has anyone ever had this happen before? This is the first time I've done the SQ CalDex. It's SO much easier (and faster!) than doing it IV!! Could the air really do this to her (my vet didn't think so)? I'm not so sure. I have pictures of her brisket, but nothing to compare it to from when it's normal. Needless to say it's swollen but not so much that a city person would notice it. I would love to hear any other thoughts on this subject. I'm not sure that it is truly considered to be a 911 kind of call, but the little bit of researching I did online scared the tar out of me. Phrases like 'necrotizing infection' don't paint a pretty outcome for her.
Thanks for any help!