cow and vets

[GMN]

I had a cow that calved on 4-6 sh had twins. Everything was fine, she cleaned, had them by herself, and then on 4-25, I got the cows up, and she couldn't get up, she kind of dragged herself around, i thought hmm, that is odd. When I got the rest in the barnyard, her she comes then, up and walking. That night I gve her a tube of CMPK, she was fine the the next 3 days, then one morning I found her down again, this time she didn't get up. I had the vet out thinking maybe it was delayed milk fever or a chemical imbalance, the vet said not milk fever he didn't think, sleeved her A-Ok, gave her dextrose, and said as long as she is eating she should get up.I think he did not know really what was wrong with her- We hiplifted her home that night to a pen, the next morning, still not getting up, that night we hip lifted her again, she was able to stand by herself, she seemed to be getting somewhat better, ate like crazy, then on Monday night, she went downhill, wouldn't support herslef at all on the lift, I noticed her breathing was like one big breath, then out-we moved her to a new area, and the next morning she was dead. Its all very strange, a 6 year old cow, with no problems beforehand, and 3 weeks after with no calving issues.Only thing I can think of is that she may have had a tear inside, but she was never off feed. Kind of discouraging for sure.

GMN

 

[dun]

So what was the result when you had her posted?

 

[hillsdown]

Fatty liver syndrome ?

http://www.thecattlesite.com/diseaseinf ... r-syndrome
Quote :[Fatty liver syndrome is the accumulation of fat within the cow's liver. The dairy cow does not normally store fat in the liver, so fatty liver does not occur when a cow increases its body condition and puts fat on its back. Fatty liver occurs as a result of the cow breaking down too much fat for the liver to process properly, the broken down fat products are then converted back to fat in the liver to prevent them becoming toxic. Thus the liver becomes fat when the cow is losing condition, the more loss in condition the more fat in the liver.

Fatty liver syndrome (> 20% fat) reduces liver function, depresses appetite and milk yield, increases the risk of diseases such as RFM, metritis and mastitis, reduces fertility, and when severe (when it is usually called fat cow syndrome) can lead to death. Once it is deposited in the liver, the concentration of fat in the liver does not fall until the cow gets into positive energy balance, which can be over ten weeks after calving, particularly if the fatty liver is severe. Fat cows (>BCS 3.5) are much more prone to fatty liver.

Causes of Fatty Liver
Fatty liver, ketosis and displaced abomasum are closely interconnected. Cows which have one of these conditions are much more likely to get another. The most important cause of fatty liver is negative energy balance.
Clinical Signs
High incidence of diseases such as milk fever, ketosis, mastitis after calving
Reduced fertility
Rapid weight loss after calving particularly in cows that were fat at calving
Reduced milk yield (often on a herd basis).
Diagnosis
Clinical signs
Blood samples: increased NEFA (free fatty acids), increased ketones (such as beta-hydroxy butyrate), increased liver enzymes Liver biopsy: this the best diagnostic test.
Treatment
Use the same treatment as for ketosis: Glucose, propylene glycol, corticosteroids.
However treatment is often ineffective.
Prevention is far more important.
Prevention and control
Fatty liver occurs because of too much fat breakdown after calving. This occurs primarily in cows that are too fat at calving. Therefore ensuring that cows calve at a body condition score between 2.5 to 3.0 will significantly reduce the risk of fatty liver. Cows should be dried off at a body condition score of 2.5 to 3.0 and maintain their body condition during the dry period. Any alteration of body condition score is best done during mid to late lactation. ]

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a hemmorage to me..lay down, tear clots up.she feels good enuf to get up. She gets up, eats etc and the tear opens back up..repeat often enough and the body can't replace the lost blood.

 

[GMN]

well she never did get back up, from the day the vet was out, without assisted help. She stood by herself,but not for long. Vet thought she got weakened by having twins, but I don't htink that was it, and I wasn't gonna spend another $100 or more to find out

 

[cow pollinater]

Two things jump out at me that point to energy problems.
1. She had twins.
Cows that have twins will tend to put a little more milk out but it comes off their back faster than it does from a mother of a single calf. But the real clue is that she had twins... Twins on a dairy are often a side effect of high production combined with inadequite energy levels. The liver of a high production cow has to filter LOTS of blood so alot of the hormones that control the estrus cycle get filtered out. When a high producing cow ovulates, there is often a second follicle that is also fertile since the hormones that would usually supress the second follicle are diminished. She probably had energy problems in her previous lactation as well that resulted in twins but this time it's more serious. In short, when I hear twins in regards to dairy cattle my brain goes to high production without enough intake.

2. days in milk. Just about the time she should start taking off like a freight train if she has the right feed in front of her. Maybe the freight train ran out of track and derailed.

I'm not on your dairy so it it's hard to say from here but those two things popped out at me and around here nutritionists start getting reeeal nervous when cows that are that far out start going down. There's not many place to point except the feed bunk.
Did she show any signs of ketosis or DA? What did her manure look like?