Never ready for milk fever
Mar 29, 2020 23:27:56 GMT -5
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Shawn, rosalind, and 6 more like this
Post by grassfood on Mar 29, 2020 23:27:56 GMT -5
I want to thank dear corrae and dear bigredcow for helping me with my drama today. I hope my cow will get better (survive the night is my first prayer.)
My Guernsey Lillian was due to calve April 1st, so I had thought I’d have time for last minute things, also trying to sort out our “lockdown “ ugh. Anyway, last night we locked her in her stall as she had mucus and her pins were gone. She was not spraying milk but of course had a big bag. Night checks and at two she was standing chewing her cud.
Six am she was on her haunches , but couldn’t get up and still the same mucus string. Never laid flat out. Gave her oral SAfCal from Chrystal creek and molasses and acv. And she was eating some alfalfa and hay. Did not have her on alfalfa for about a month before calving.
I’m bad at iv, but found her vein and gave her a half bottle of cmpk, but then she struggled when my husband went to the house and I think the needle came out of the vein, so I pulled it out. The calf began to crown and so my husband pulled it out, thankfully did not have to reach inside her, and the bull calf is fine.
Found the vein again and gave the other half of cmpk and about 1/3 bottle of dextrose, but then there was another problem with it going in. My neighbor gave an entire bottle of calcium gluconate sub q, in 35cc in several places in her neck. She still could not get up, so I warmed some frozen colostrum of hers from last calving and gave baby a whole bottle. He was a good boy. She ate some grains, flax and molasses mash, and a bit of hay.
We had hip clamps and a tractor and got her to stand, and she was able to walk, stiffly, and my husband milked a bit of colostrum out and the calf still had a full tummy, so he didn’t nurse a lot.
Went to tractor supply to get some more calcium gluconate and found some oral cmpk. She picked at hay and alfalfa while I was gone. Then she laid down. When I got back my husband and I had to lift her with the tractor again and got her back in the barn as it was starting to snow, and she did drink some water.
Ate some more grains mash with molasses and sprinkled some on her hay, which she ate some and then laid down and chewed hercud a bit. Her ears started getting cold and her leg muscles twitching, still no vets would come here.
A neighbor daughter whose family raises a lot of beef cows and is a vet tech, could come at about 8:30 tonight, had a lot of trouble finding the vein, but thankfully did and gave her a bottle of calcium gluconate, but then she struggled and sadly we were not able to give the other half bottle of dextrose. My husband did give her the bottle of oral cmpk when I had gotten home. Then she tubed her with some electrolytes.
Gave the calf a half bottle of colostrum as that is all I have left and I’m afraid to milk Lillian. Locked up calf in case mom tries to get up in the night and falls on him.
So that’s it, and I don’t know what else to do. My husband goes to work at 4:30 am so we are going to try and get her to stand again before he leaves, and I’ll try and do that by myself tomorrow if she still can’t stand.
Fingers crossed and thank you for advice and prayers and listening to my drama. 😘
My Guernsey Lillian was due to calve April 1st, so I had thought I’d have time for last minute things, also trying to sort out our “lockdown “ ugh. Anyway, last night we locked her in her stall as she had mucus and her pins were gone. She was not spraying milk but of course had a big bag. Night checks and at two she was standing chewing her cud.
Six am she was on her haunches , but couldn’t get up and still the same mucus string. Never laid flat out. Gave her oral SAfCal from Chrystal creek and molasses and acv. And she was eating some alfalfa and hay. Did not have her on alfalfa for about a month before calving.
I’m bad at iv, but found her vein and gave her a half bottle of cmpk, but then she struggled when my husband went to the house and I think the needle came out of the vein, so I pulled it out. The calf began to crown and so my husband pulled it out, thankfully did not have to reach inside her, and the bull calf is fine.
Found the vein again and gave the other half of cmpk and about 1/3 bottle of dextrose, but then there was another problem with it going in. My neighbor gave an entire bottle of calcium gluconate sub q, in 35cc in several places in her neck. She still could not get up, so I warmed some frozen colostrum of hers from last calving and gave baby a whole bottle. He was a good boy. She ate some grains, flax and molasses mash, and a bit of hay.
We had hip clamps and a tractor and got her to stand, and she was able to walk, stiffly, and my husband milked a bit of colostrum out and the calf still had a full tummy, so he didn’t nurse a lot.
Went to tractor supply to get some more calcium gluconate and found some oral cmpk. She picked at hay and alfalfa while I was gone. Then she laid down. When I got back my husband and I had to lift her with the tractor again and got her back in the barn as it was starting to snow, and she did drink some water.
Ate some more grains mash with molasses and sprinkled some on her hay, which she ate some and then laid down and chewed hercud a bit. Her ears started getting cold and her leg muscles twitching, still no vets would come here.
A neighbor daughter whose family raises a lot of beef cows and is a vet tech, could come at about 8:30 tonight, had a lot of trouble finding the vein, but thankfully did and gave her a bottle of calcium gluconate, but then she struggled and sadly we were not able to give the other half bottle of dextrose. My husband did give her the bottle of oral cmpk when I had gotten home. Then she tubed her with some electrolytes.
Gave the calf a half bottle of colostrum as that is all I have left and I’m afraid to milk Lillian. Locked up calf in case mom tries to get up in the night and falls on him.
So that’s it, and I don’t know what else to do. My husband goes to work at 4:30 am so we are going to try and get her to stand again before he leaves, and I’ll try and do that by myself tomorrow if she still can’t stand.
Fingers crossed and thank you for advice and prayers and listening to my drama. 😘