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Bloat
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<blockquote data-quote="Anonymous" data-source="post: 10017"><p>I've not raised or calved any Jersey/Holstein crosses, but I don't see that 21 months is extremely young to calve. The generic "ideal" goal is about 24 months. The size of the calf sounds pretty big, though.</p><p></p><p>I don't advocate this, but we have an older cow who first calved at 14 months and was a second calf heifer at 24 months. She was bred as a 5 month old by a 6 month old bull calf.</p><p></p><p>You mention limited access to grass/weeds. Do you know what those weeds are? Could any of them be toxic or toxic at this time of year?</p><p></p><p>Does she have access to fresh water at all times?</p><p></p><p>I would increase the roughage in her diet in an effort to stimulate the rumen - feed more stemmy hay, preferably grass hay, as Dun advised. The ends of the stems actually do stimulate the cow's gut to move food on through, according to our vet, and is a natural part of digestion. He says if you remove or reduce the stem from the diet, you have a cow that tends to bloat more easily.</p><p></p><p>I would also give her a daily dose of a product designed to replace the normal flora/bacteria in her gut for a few days. If you don't have a commercial product, try some yogurt.</p><p></p><p>As for "apparently teething" I'm not sure what you mean. It wouldn't hurt, though, to have the vet inspect her mouth for broken, loose or diseased teeth or other problems.</p><p></p><p>You get the occasional cow or steer that just seems to have a genetic tendency to bloat, but most of the time good detective work can find the cause and cure the problem.</p><p></p><p>> I'm going to pick the brains of</p><p>> all you cattle experts out there!</p><p></p><p>> I have a Jersey/Holstein</p><p>> first-calf heifer. She was very</p><p>> young when she calved, not quite</p><p>> 22 months (wouldn't have bought</p><p>> her if I'd known she was that</p><p>> young). Heifer calf is now 12</p><p>> weeks and weaned. Calf weighed 100</p><p>> lbs at birth and had to be pulled,</p><p>> mother contracted a uterine</p><p>> infection and had to undergo</p><p>> antibiotic treatment. She's been</p><p>> doing real well until the past few</p><p>> days. A week ago Saturday, she</p><p>> bloated. I called the fellow I had</p><p>> bought her from and he</p><p>> administered "Bloat</p><p>> Drench"s and she was fine in</p><p>> a few minutes (this was when I</p><p>> found out just how old she is --</p><p>> turned 2 this week). Now she has</p><p>> bloated 3 times in as many days --</p><p>> and today it took a visit from the</p><p>> vet to finally get her to release</p><p>> the gas. She didn't respond to the</p><p>> "Bloat Drench" or to the</p><p>> vet's suggestion of baking soda.</p><p></p><p>> In the course of administering the</p><p>> baking soda mixture to her, I</p><p>> noticed that she appears to be</p><p>> teething -- and I also noticed</p><p>> some apparently dry clumps of hay</p><p>> in her stools. Is it possible that</p><p>> she's having trouble chewing? and</p><p>> could that contribute to bloat?</p><p></p><p>> Any thoughts would be appreciated</p><p>> -- I really like this heifer, but</p><p>> I can't do this every day! Too</p><p>> many more episodes and it's off to</p><p>> the salebarn!</p><p></p><p>> Ann B</p><p></p><p>> She has very limited access to</p><p>> grass/weeds, her diet consists of</p><p>> a dairy mix milled locally just</p><p>> for her, and equal amounts of good</p><p>> alfalfa hay and good brome hay.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Anonymous, post: 10017"] I've not raised or calved any Jersey/Holstein crosses, but I don't see that 21 months is extremely young to calve. The generic "ideal" goal is about 24 months. The size of the calf sounds pretty big, though. I don't advocate this, but we have an older cow who first calved at 14 months and was a second calf heifer at 24 months. She was bred as a 5 month old by a 6 month old bull calf. You mention limited access to grass/weeds. Do you know what those weeds are? Could any of them be toxic or toxic at this time of year? Does she have access to fresh water at all times? I would increase the roughage in her diet in an effort to stimulate the rumen - feed more stemmy hay, preferably grass hay, as Dun advised. The ends of the stems actually do stimulate the cow's gut to move food on through, according to our vet, and is a natural part of digestion. He says if you remove or reduce the stem from the diet, you have a cow that tends to bloat more easily. I would also give her a daily dose of a product designed to replace the normal flora/bacteria in her gut for a few days. If you don't have a commercial product, try some yogurt. As for "apparently teething" I'm not sure what you mean. It wouldn't hurt, though, to have the vet inspect her mouth for broken, loose or diseased teeth or other problems. You get the occasional cow or steer that just seems to have a genetic tendency to bloat, but most of the time good detective work can find the cause and cure the problem. > I'm going to pick the brains of > all you cattle experts out there! > I have a Jersey/Holstein > first-calf heifer. She was very > young when she calved, not quite > 22 months (wouldn't have bought > her if I'd known she was that > young). Heifer calf is now 12 > weeks and weaned. Calf weighed 100 > lbs at birth and had to be pulled, > mother contracted a uterine > infection and had to undergo > antibiotic treatment. She's been > doing real well until the past few > days. A week ago Saturday, she > bloated. I called the fellow I had > bought her from and he > administered "Bloat > Drench"s and she was fine in > a few minutes (this was when I > found out just how old she is -- > turned 2 this week). Now she has > bloated 3 times in as many days -- > and today it took a visit from the > vet to finally get her to release > the gas. She didn't respond to the > "Bloat Drench" or to the > vet's suggestion of baking soda. > In the course of administering the > baking soda mixture to her, I > noticed that she appears to be > teething -- and I also noticed > some apparently dry clumps of hay > in her stools. Is it possible that > she's having trouble chewing? and > could that contribute to bloat? > Any thoughts would be appreciated > -- I really like this heifer, but > I can't do this every day! Too > many more episodes and it's off to > the salebarn! > Ann B > She has very limited access to > grass/weeds, her diet consists of > a dairy mix milled locally just > for her, and equal amounts of good > alfalfa hay and good brome hay. [/QUOTE]
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