Post by milliebee on Sept 28, 2011 7:58:14 GMT -5
About six weeks ago my Jersey cross heifer didn't seem to be doing as well as usual. It was difficult to explain - she wasn't ill exactly and she was eating but her coat looked dull. She then started to have runny poo. I then called in the vet.
At first she was quite dismissive and said that the calf was obviously thriving and looked well. The poo she did while the vet was there looked normal (doesn't it always work that way)! I pointed out that she was looking quite tucked in around her belly but the vet said that this was her Jersey breeding. But when the vet examined her, she realized that she was running a high temperature and seemed to have eaten very little in the last few hours.
The vet gave her a course of antibiotics. The runny poo stopped and she seemed to be well, but I wasn't convinced. She simply wasn't thriving as well as she should have been.
This morning when I went into the shed she was lying in a sea of diarrhoea. It was all over her back end and when she stood up it was dripping off her tail. She didn't seem at all bothered and ate her grain as usual. She's usually turned out during the day but I've kept her in. She's munching on her hay and looks quite happy. The diarrhoea has continued and now covers the bedding, the walls and her - I've never seen anything like it.
I intend to have the vet out tomorrow but would like to make the best of the visit. What should I be asking? Are there any tests that could be carried out? I don't want to just give her the same medicine as I think we need to do something else.
The heifer is now 7 months old and is weaned. She is fed a small amount of grain twice a day. She is out grazing during the day and is given good quality hay at night. She is running with a five month old Hereford cross who is doing really well (fortunately for the Hereford they are not in the same pen)!
Sorry this has been so long.
At first she was quite dismissive and said that the calf was obviously thriving and looked well. The poo she did while the vet was there looked normal (doesn't it always work that way)! I pointed out that she was looking quite tucked in around her belly but the vet said that this was her Jersey breeding. But when the vet examined her, she realized that she was running a high temperature and seemed to have eaten very little in the last few hours.
The vet gave her a course of antibiotics. The runny poo stopped and she seemed to be well, but I wasn't convinced. She simply wasn't thriving as well as she should have been.
This morning when I went into the shed she was lying in a sea of diarrhoea. It was all over her back end and when she stood up it was dripping off her tail. She didn't seem at all bothered and ate her grain as usual. She's usually turned out during the day but I've kept her in. She's munching on her hay and looks quite happy. The diarrhoea has continued and now covers the bedding, the walls and her - I've never seen anything like it.
I intend to have the vet out tomorrow but would like to make the best of the visit. What should I be asking? Are there any tests that could be carried out? I don't want to just give her the same medicine as I think we need to do something else.
The heifer is now 7 months old and is weaned. She is fed a small amount of grain twice a day. She is out grazing during the day and is given good quality hay at night. She is running with a five month old Hereford cross who is doing really well (fortunately for the Hereford they are not in the same pen)!
Sorry this has been so long.
