Post by lil*farm*angel on May 16, 2016 18:29:08 GMT -5
My cow calved on April 28. She really went after the alfalfa pellets and alfalfa cubes after delivery.
Now she's starting to back off of all her grain.
This past weekend she was a bit "off", and she had a discharge coming from her right eye. I took her temp - 101.4.
But it was her not standing for very long that had me concerned, that in addition to not eating her "chow".
I called the vet (PTL that the good vet was on call) and he suspected that she had caught a cold. He instructed me to start her on an antibiotic. So I did.
That was Saturday, here we are Monday. There is no more discharge from her eye, she is standing for more appropriate amount of time, and she only kinda eats her chow. She's not eating it with the same zeal that she has in the past.
She goes out to pasture and grazes well, chews her cud, comes in to the stall to wait for milking time, and eats her hay. But once in the stand, she just stands there. Or barely messes with her "chow".
Last night I thought it was because she had eaten so much prior to milking, so I took her hay away with intention of giving it back to her after milking.
Nope, still barely picked at it. In fact, she's picking out mostly the alfalfa cubes. She doesn't want the sweet mix. I gave her the hay back, and she proceeded to eat her hay and ignore the "chow".
I'm giving her two types of hay - a alfalfa mix, and a straight grass. Most often she chooses the straight grass. Tonight she wanted the alfalfa mix.
Is she just being a pill, or is this something that should be raising red flags?
I changed her feed due to calving. Could it be the change has turned her off of her feed? I increased her sweet mix. We just came through a roller coaster winter, and I wanted to make sure she didn't lose too much body condition because of the weather, her pregnancy, and then calving.
Now she's starting to back off of all her grain.
This past weekend she was a bit "off", and she had a discharge coming from her right eye. I took her temp - 101.4.
But it was her not standing for very long that had me concerned, that in addition to not eating her "chow".
I called the vet (PTL that the good vet was on call) and he suspected that she had caught a cold. He instructed me to start her on an antibiotic. So I did.
That was Saturday, here we are Monday. There is no more discharge from her eye, she is standing for more appropriate amount of time, and she only kinda eats her chow. She's not eating it with the same zeal that she has in the past.
She goes out to pasture and grazes well, chews her cud, comes in to the stall to wait for milking time, and eats her hay. But once in the stand, she just stands there. Or barely messes with her "chow".
Last night I thought it was because she had eaten so much prior to milking, so I took her hay away with intention of giving it back to her after milking.
Nope, still barely picked at it. In fact, she's picking out mostly the alfalfa cubes. She doesn't want the sweet mix. I gave her the hay back, and she proceeded to eat her hay and ignore the "chow".
I'm giving her two types of hay - a alfalfa mix, and a straight grass. Most often she chooses the straight grass. Tonight she wanted the alfalfa mix.
Is she just being a pill, or is this something that should be raising red flags?
I changed her feed due to calving. Could it be the change has turned her off of her feed? I increased her sweet mix. We just came through a roller coaster winter, and I wanted to make sure she didn't lose too much body condition because of the weather, her pregnancy, and then calving.