Post by nancykrogh on Oct 25, 2007 18:14:09 GMT -5
This is a follow up on a post from about 3-4 months ago on a sick cow.
the cow had very watery poo and she was getting thin and her milk production was about one third normal .
We have found out from a blood screening test and a vet diagnosis that she had Johne's disease and we have had our herd tested and found another cow that may possibally have this disease.
Anyone who has or buys a cow should know about this disease and they should ask whenever purchasing if the seller has a johne's free herd. I knew nothing about this disease until it was way too late , so I am trying to help others from the fate and heartbreak that I have gone through.
Please bear with me as this is a long story.
We purchased 3 cows from a state reccommended Dairy that sells a few of theior cows to individuals for family cows . they are pure Bred Jerseys and we paid good money for them.
Everything went along fairly smoothly for the first year and then we purchased 4 more cows from the same people.We had them for 6-8 months when the first cow started getting sick . my vet was out of town and I could not get any help with a diagnosis on the sick cow , i did have a fecal trest done , but it was only for worms. I tried a lot of things and even got on this forum looking for help and she seemed to get better , my vet returned and she came to check her and said she was afraid it was Johne's , she took blood to do as test and a fecal sample for a second test to confirm the first test. The first test is a blood screening and it shows that they have a certain amount of the disease present ( this cow tested full blown on the first test )and then you have the second test done to confirm. Well by that time the cow was going dowhill again and we opted for the humane treatment of destroying her , our vet said she was 95 % sure the cow had the disease. So , of course we then proceeded to test our other cows. We did atr that point have another cow that wasn't "right". The test for her came back suspect , so we are now having the fecal test done. The reason for this is that we are being questioned by the state vet when we complained that the farm had sold us sick cows. They are still saying that it is not from their cows, but we were told the only way that this is passed along is from a sick cow to a calf by the droppings.
We are waiting for the test to come back so we can tell them what we think of their claims!
I just wanted to write and say that more people need to be aware of this and be cautious about purchasing cows and also read about this disease and learn from my mistakes!!!
It is a terrible way for a cow to die , it is pretty much a chronic wasting disease and the cow will still eat and everything but she is not "right" and it is VERY HEARTBREAKING foir the owner!
As a matter of fact , I may consider suing the seller since we have had 2 sick cows and possibally 2 calves from the second cow that could have Johne's . BTW , it doesn't usually show up til they are 5-6 years old.
the cow had very watery poo and she was getting thin and her milk production was about one third normal .
We have found out from a blood screening test and a vet diagnosis that she had Johne's disease and we have had our herd tested and found another cow that may possibally have this disease.
Anyone who has or buys a cow should know about this disease and they should ask whenever purchasing if the seller has a johne's free herd. I knew nothing about this disease until it was way too late , so I am trying to help others from the fate and heartbreak that I have gone through.
Please bear with me as this is a long story.
We purchased 3 cows from a state reccommended Dairy that sells a few of theior cows to individuals for family cows . they are pure Bred Jerseys and we paid good money for them.
Everything went along fairly smoothly for the first year and then we purchased 4 more cows from the same people.We had them for 6-8 months when the first cow started getting sick . my vet was out of town and I could not get any help with a diagnosis on the sick cow , i did have a fecal trest done , but it was only for worms. I tried a lot of things and even got on this forum looking for help and she seemed to get better , my vet returned and she came to check her and said she was afraid it was Johne's , she took blood to do as test and a fecal sample for a second test to confirm the first test. The first test is a blood screening and it shows that they have a certain amount of the disease present ( this cow tested full blown on the first test )and then you have the second test done to confirm. Well by that time the cow was going dowhill again and we opted for the humane treatment of destroying her , our vet said she was 95 % sure the cow had the disease. So , of course we then proceeded to test our other cows. We did atr that point have another cow that wasn't "right". The test for her came back suspect , so we are now having the fecal test done. The reason for this is that we are being questioned by the state vet when we complained that the farm had sold us sick cows. They are still saying that it is not from their cows, but we were told the only way that this is passed along is from a sick cow to a calf by the droppings.
We are waiting for the test to come back so we can tell them what we think of their claims!
I just wanted to write and say that more people need to be aware of this and be cautious about purchasing cows and also read about this disease and learn from my mistakes!!!
It is a terrible way for a cow to die , it is pretty much a chronic wasting disease and the cow will still eat and everything but she is not "right" and it is VERY HEARTBREAKING foir the owner!
As a matter of fact , I may consider suing the seller since we have had 2 sick cows and possibally 2 calves from the second cow that could have Johne's . BTW , it doesn't usually show up til they are 5-6 years old.