Putangitangi
Well-known member
One of my 2yo heifers had an extended calving, ended by us pulling her calf out. It wasn't a difficult pull, but the calf's body was long and she just hadn't been able to get beyond pushing the nose out. I couldn't assist in the paddock and for various reasons didn't get her in during the night, waiting until there was light at dawn.
Two and a half days later she was stamping her rear feet violently, but still looking otherwise alright and feeding her calf. I watched and waited, assuming there were still problems with the pinched nerve which had troubled her on calving day.
Two days later she stopped producing milk, was lying down a bit more than usual and where she'd been the clover leaves had turned black. I smelt one of those patches and there was a very strong smell of ammonia. She also leaked urine as she walked. Stupidly I didn't get the vet to come out and check her, but described all this over the phone and he dispensed Excede LA and pain relief for her, which I collected.
She took a few days to really look well again and I gave her a second dose six days later. She looked pretty poor, but as I'd weighed her calf and she was growing him at nearly 3#/day, I figured she was stripping her own body to rear a fantastic calf, above the nutrition level currently available.
Three weeks on she was standing stamping her feet again, not moving to the new paddock with the rest, looking very unhappy. I took her in, got the vet, he checked and concluded she had a uterine infection still and gave her more antibiotics and pain relief.
She didn't start eating beyond the occasional nibble, hardly drank, no milk ...
I watched her, offered everything I could think of to tempt her, gave her the second shot of drugs and she appeared to improve slightly, so we hung on ...
We shot her yesterday and I did my usual hack and pull postmortem, discovering a revolting-colored bladder, full of bloody adhesions, presumably damaged beyond repair. Her abdomen was full of clear, straw-colored fluid, gallons of the stuff.
As usually happens in these cases, I wish I'd had her shot earlier. I was inclined to do so four days earlier, but consulted the vet and the other people around me at the time here. I don't know that the vet would have diagnosed the bladder problem at the beginning, bearing in mind her proximity to calving and the likelihood of uterine infection instead - although it was a quick onset after calving. These are all things I will remember. I have to find a way to present my discoveries to my vet in way that doesn't offend but says, please learn from this!
Two and a half days later she was stamping her rear feet violently, but still looking otherwise alright and feeding her calf. I watched and waited, assuming there were still problems with the pinched nerve which had troubled her on calving day.
Two days later she stopped producing milk, was lying down a bit more than usual and where she'd been the clover leaves had turned black. I smelt one of those patches and there was a very strong smell of ammonia. She also leaked urine as she walked. Stupidly I didn't get the vet to come out and check her, but described all this over the phone and he dispensed Excede LA and pain relief for her, which I collected.
She took a few days to really look well again and I gave her a second dose six days later. She looked pretty poor, but as I'd weighed her calf and she was growing him at nearly 3#/day, I figured she was stripping her own body to rear a fantastic calf, above the nutrition level currently available.
Three weeks on she was standing stamping her feet again, not moving to the new paddock with the rest, looking very unhappy. I took her in, got the vet, he checked and concluded she had a uterine infection still and gave her more antibiotics and pain relief.
She didn't start eating beyond the occasional nibble, hardly drank, no milk ...
I watched her, offered everything I could think of to tempt her, gave her the second shot of drugs and she appeared to improve slightly, so we hung on ...
We shot her yesterday and I did my usual hack and pull postmortem, discovering a revolting-colored bladder, full of bloody adhesions, presumably damaged beyond repair. Her abdomen was full of clear, straw-colored fluid, gallons of the stuff.
As usually happens in these cases, I wish I'd had her shot earlier. I was inclined to do so four days earlier, but consulted the vet and the other people around me at the time here. I don't know that the vet would have diagnosed the bladder problem at the beginning, bearing in mind her proximity to calving and the likelihood of uterine infection instead - although it was a quick onset after calving. These are all things I will remember. I have to find a way to present my discoveries to my vet in way that doesn't offend but says, please learn from this!
