| Author |
Topic |
|
maryjane
7074 Posts
|
 Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 4:21:11 PM
|
I went down to check on everyone and found Maizy down. She won't get up. She's two and a half months away from calving. The vet is on his way. I'll keep you informed.
 |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
|
|
Ron
4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever
SD
USA
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 4:29:11 PM
|
| Did you check Her temp? I went through this very thing with Speckles and close the the same thing with Harriet! Her temp should be in the normal range and head is up all will be well! |
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo. |
 |
|
|
NellieBelle
11217 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 4:45:57 PM
|
| Oh goodness. Hope she will be okay and nothing serious. Yes, please update when you have time. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
|
|
|
CloversMum
3486 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 4:47:11 PM
|
| Maizy? Oh no. I am hoping all will be well. Thank goodness for good vets. |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
|
|
|
Ron
4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever
SD
USA
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 5:07:38 PM
|
| Vets? What is that ? |
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo. |
|
|
|
chives
313 Posts
Victoria
Shelton
WA
usa
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 6:22:41 PM
|
| Hope all will be well. Maizy will be in my thoughts. Everyone lets all have good thoughts for her. |
A cow is the heart of a farm |
|
|
|
Ron
4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever
SD
USA
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 6:27:35 PM
|
| I agree Vicky , good thoughts sent to Mary Jane and Maizy! |
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo. |
|
|
|
maryjane
7074 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 7:16:00 PM
|
It’s uncanny. Last weekend I got to thinking about cattle emergencies. The team of vets at WSU don’t provide emergency services unless you can get your animal loaded in a trailer and transport it 45 minutes to their hospital.
So on Monday I called a large animal clinic that’s about a half hour away and had a conversation with them about me getting set up for animal care (I’d used them a few years ago but knew I needed to start over). We decided we’d start by getting a vet out here to meet my girls and do some blood draws for preg checks. That happened yesterday and then today I have a cow down that can’t get up. They had all my information and directions to my farm, so a doc from their clinic headed out right away because that’s what they're set up to do, emergency on-site large animal care.
In the shelter where I took the pic of Maizy I don’t have lighting and it was getting dark. I should point out that when I’m not milking Maizy she just will not come into the milking parlor, even if I entice her with grain. Like I’ve said, Maizy is smart. (My husband and I jokingly spell words if she’s nearby when we’re talking about her.)
Anyway, I got down on the ground with her and explained that someone was coming to check on her and it would be great if she could get up and come into the milking parlor where there is light, etc. She wouldn’t budge so I stood up to walk away and find some lanterns. That’s when she got up and walked over towards the milking parlor, her legs very wobbly and uncertain. She almost fell over at one point. She got inside and laid back down. Amazing Maizy.
Thank you for keeping her in your thoughts. Who knows how these things work.
I suspected bloat but it’s hard to tell when a cow is laying down—their stomach looks so huge when they’re down but I could see when she stood up it wasn’t that. She stood up again when the vet arrived and he listened with a stethoscope to her rumen contractions and they were good.
Given the way she was favoring her back two quarters he thought perhaps an injury (it’s been icy here) but most likely it was low calcium/magnesium with as far along as she is (due March 30). He said he’d just seen a case like this last week. So between the two of us, we managed to get 4 calcium and 4 mag plugs down her throat. To do that, I haltered her, got her into the head lock and then roped her head to one side. He grabbed her head and held it while getting the plunger down her throat with me reloading it every time he pulled it back out. She wasn’t exactly happy. He said a bolus tastes very bitter and she managed to get one of them back up into her mouth so she was gagging.
He also took a blood draw and said that he’d take it back and call me in the morning and we’d know for sure if that was it and if so I’d need to start giving her daily plugs. (At least I know how to do that now.) He said that if she didn’t need the extra calcium/magnesium, it would come out in her urine.
I kept her locked up just outside the parlor. She was resting on a bed of straw by the time I got things cleaned up.
|
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
|
|
|
farmlife
1413 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 7:49:41 PM
|
| Holy cow, Mary Jane. What a process! It sounds hopeful, but it sure will be a relief to know for sure. I was talking with an old timer the other day who said that as a cow ages she is more likely to have deficiencies with pregnancy and just after calving. I guess that makes sense because they have tapped more of their reserves. However, if one of your cows isn't getting what she needs it's not because you aren't offering amazing feed and supplements! I have so much to learn. |
|
|
|
chives
313 Posts
Victoria
Shelton
WA
usa
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 7:56:55 PM
|
| I'm so glad she got up. My dad said when he was a kid, they had a cow that was pregnant, and the baby would get in a position and would sit on a nerve inside the cow and they had to bump the baby so the cow could walk on four legs instead of three. I hope Maizy will be okay. Just keep good thoughts. I bet your in for a long night. |
A cow is the heart of a farm |
|
|
|
farmlife
1413 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 8:04:37 PM
|
That would happen to me when I was pregnant, too, Vicky.  |
|
|
|
Ron
4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever
SD
USA
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 8:20:42 PM
|
Hopefully all well that ends well. I know we did the tube of cmpk with caulk looking gun tool. It is not organic but in the emergency worked well. They gel went down rather well!
http://www.qcsupply.com/540548-oral-cpmk-gel.html
We use a diffrent brand butbthebeffect is the same
|
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo. |
|
|
|
NellieBelle
11217 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 8:26:33 PM
|
| What an afternoon and evening for you MaryJane, and Maizy. So glad you got her where you needed her to go. Will wait now and see how she is doing. I'm hoping things look better come morning. Thinking of you both. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
Edited by - NellieBelle on Jan 10 2015 1:47:51 PM |
|
|
|
CloversMum
3486 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 8:29:02 PM
|
| What a night you've had! So glad you had the vet set up for emergency care, good planning ahead...even if it was just by a day or two! Let us all know how Maizy is doing in the morning and what the vet finds out from the blood sample. Amazing Maizy for sure! |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
|
|
|
Ron
4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever
SD
USA
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 8:44:15 PM
|
What is this strange word Vet? Going to havevto look it up!
Nice having folks like that willing to come to the place. They are keepers! |
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo. |
|
|
|
NellieBelle
11217 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 09 2015 : 9:23:01 PM
|
| I remember before Nellie was to give birth the vet suggested perhaps giving her a shot of calcium, but I didn't feel comfortable doing that because it was SQ/large volume. And he told me that it was something they did for older Jersey cows, but I believe it was preventive for Milk Fever. Anyway I refused and all was okay. Just so many things a person has to think about. He also said something about cutting back on alfalfa before a cow gives birth, but I can't remember his reasoning on that. I should write it down after he tells me but... anyway only good thoughts and outcome for Maizy. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
Edited by - NellieBelle on Jan 10 2015 1:52:30 PM |
|
|
|
NellieBelle
11217 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 04:14:23 AM
|
| How is Maizy doing this morning MaryJane? |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
Edited by - NellieBelle on Jan 10 2015 1:48:57 PM |
|
|
|
maryjane
7074 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 07:01:46 AM
|
When I checked on Maizy early this morning it was still dark so she was sleeping when I came in. While I was in there with her, she stayed down, but she was really talking to me and beseeching me with her eyes. Lots of expressive moaning (the kind Nick and I do to pretend we're old sometimes:) Although the other day I was in line at the co-op behind a friend of mine who took a 10% discount on her groceries because she's "seniorly." Sagely, wise, seasoned. As it turns out, I can too. Every Tuesday.
Maizy'd only drank about a gallon of water so I'm going to put some dextrose sweetened electrolytes (brand: Electrolytes Plus: concentrated nutritional supplement for all species, all ages) because it also has probiotics in it along with some sodium bicarbonate to see if that will entice her to drink more. The vet asked if I had any milk replacer to get her to drink more but I don't. She'd passed some super hard stools, a sure indication that she's not drinking enough, although that was the first thing I noticed when she was down, hard stools. Hmmmmm.
I'll wait for the test results today before I know what else to try or do.
And I'll be sure to ask the vet lots of questions about calcium/magnesium and pregnancy/age, etc. when I speak with him.
Her past pregnancies have been a breeze but like you pointed out Janet, maybe as she ages she needs extra calcium. I got out her test results for minerals from this past fall and she was on the lower end of the range for calcium so maybe baby is taking more than she's ingesting or maybe she doesn't utilize or absorb it as efficiently as she used to, kind of like osteoporosis in a woman (utilization all tied up in hormone levels). |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
|
|
|
NellieBelle
11217 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 07:12:32 AM
|
| Glad to hear she is at least talking to you and cognitive (if I may use that with cows?) I thought Maizy's eyes looked red in the picture, which could mean she's a bit dehydrated, but it may have been the photo. I just hope the best for the dear girl. We don't like to see our animals ill or having problems. I'll be thinking of you both as you are working with her to restore balance and get her on track with this little baby calf on the way. Did she have a elevated temp MaryJane? |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
Edited by - NellieBelle on Jan 10 2015 1:50:16 PM |
|
|
|
maryjane
7074 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 07:15:30 AM
|
| Yes, her eyes were red when I first found her and still are red but no her temp was normal (although I didn't check it this morning). I have a spiffy rectal thermometer I use. No sign of congestion or anything like that. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
|
|
|
NellieBelle
11217 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 07:19:41 AM
|
| Good. That sounds like it's in her favor then. Okay, I won't bother you anymore. Have a great day and I hope things keep looking up for Maizy. Bless her heart. What our bodies don't go through during pregnancy. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
Edited by - NellieBelle on Jan 10 2015 1:50:58 PM |
|
|
|
maryjane
7074 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 09:37:25 AM
|
| Just got the verdict. Low calcium. He's coming back to give her more in a vein and leave me with an amped up version of calcium that I can feed her. Poor girl. Learning tons and will share when I have a moment. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
|
|
|
NellieBelle
11217 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 09:45:58 AM
|
| Well, it's a relief to know. Now she can get what she needs, (calcium booster) to get her up to par. Sure hope she's feeling better soon. Thank you MaryJane. A person almost needs to have the knowledge of a vet to keep up on all the things that could occur. Whew! |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
|
|
|
NellieBelle
11217 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 09:52:26 AM
|
| There is an interesting NebGuide article about Dairy Cow Health and Metabolic Disease Relative to Nutritional Factors but I'm unable to get the web page or link to work. Worth reading and sharing. Published by University of Nebraska Lincoln Ext. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
Edited by - NellieBelle on Jan 10 2015 10:11:25 AM |
|
|
|
maryjane
7074 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 10:05:16 AM
|
| I haven't had time to look at your link but the culprit in this is often too much potassium, found in alfalfa fed to a dry cow. It's of course more complicated but I think I understand it now. Stay tuned. I could never figure out why you're supposed to cut back on calcium in their food two months prior to calving but it's all making sense now. Complicated chemistry but the only thing you can do when the levels get out of whack is large amounts of calcium but low calcium in her feed wasn't necessarily the problem. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
|
|
|
NellieBelle
11217 Posts
|
Posted - Jan 10 2015 : 10:09:33 AM
|
| I'm guessing that's why the vet told me to pull back on the alfalfa a month or so before calving time. I will ask him the next time I talk to him. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
![[flourish]](/images/flourish-txt_mobius.png)
Maizy Down
![Heritage Jersey Organization [logo]](/images/HJO-logo.png){kind=logo}
