Cow died today

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gberry

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3 days after calving cow became very weak and couldn't stand. By the time the vet arrived (6 hours later) had already died. Vet felt this was likely grass tetany or milk fever and I think he may be right. We had an older cow get down about 2 weeks ago and he gave CPMK and she seems to be doing fine now. This cow looked fine yesterday.

I have 2 questions for anyone who cares to answer. First, can you send Calcium and Magnesium level after death and expect to get a reasonable level (the vet mentioned ocular fluid but didn't bother to offer to draw any levels)? Second, when he saw the cow 2 weeks ago he recommended changing to high mag mineral as we are grazing ryegrass. We had been giving Vigortone 35S mineral and switched to the high mag mineral by Vigortone but the cows don't eat it at the required levels. Any tips for getting them to eat more or any high mag brands that are more palatable?

Thanks for any advice.
 
Gabe

Have had good luck increasing consumption of mineral w/bovatec by mixing 2 cups of dried molasses with each gallon of mineral. Should help with the hi-mag also. You may have to fine tune the amount of molasses to get the consumption you need. With bovatec, the molasses can usually be discontinued after a couple of weeks.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Good luck & best wishes

Brock
 
The main drawback to the high mag minerals has alwasy been palitability. We generally start feeding the high mag at least 6 weeks before we think they'll need it. Never have found a way to get the levels to what would be optimum in a short period of time. Maybe an injection or something but taht would be all I can think of.

dun
 
We us a high mag block and have some of the bagged on hand too. Has anyone used the block? Do you think they eat to their needed level? Sorry for the loss...we had one die earlier this past summer and it was tough. I think we lost it from age though :cry:
 
watso059":27nu74nx said:
We us a high mag block and have some of the bagged on hand too. Has anyone used the block? Do you think they eat to their needed level? Sorry for the loss...we had one die earlier this past summer and it was tough. I think we lost it from age though :cry:

Mineral blocks don't provide enough mineral. Loose mineral is so much better and allows adequate consumption.
 
msscamp":2wahpbkz said:
watso059":2wahpbkz said:
We us a high mag block and have some of the bagged on hand too. Has anyone used the block? Do you think they eat to their needed level? Sorry for the loss...we had one die earlier this past summer and it was tough. I think we lost it from age though :cry:

Mineral blocks don't provide enough mineral. Loose mineral is so much better and allows adequate consumption.

Free choice? My cousin uses loose high mag in a free choice feeder I think!
 
watso059":cjnzq62h said:
msscamp":cjnzq62h said:
watso059":cjnzq62h said:
We us a high mag block and have some of the bagged on hand too. Has anyone used the block? Do you think they eat to their needed level? Sorry for the loss...we had one die earlier this past summer and it was tough. I think we lost it from age though :cry:

Mineral blocks don't provide enough mineral. Loose mineral is so much better and allows adequate consumption.

Free choice? My cousin uses loose high mag in a free choice feeder I think!

We don't get a lot of rain so we just put the mineral out in a tub. That probably won't work for your area, so here is a picture of a hanging rain-proof mineral feeder that Dun came up with:

http://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ral+feeder
 
Thanks for the replies. Brock I'm going to try your dried molasses idea and see if we can get them eating enough.

Anyone know about lab testing after the cow has died? Also, should I be sending lab tests on some of our cows from time to time to make sure we are feeding the right mineral?
 
gberry":3gvh0sx1 said:
Thanks for the replies. Brock I'm going to try your dried molasses idea and see if we can get them eating enough.

Anyone know about lab testing after the cow has died? Also, should I be sending lab tests on some of our cows from time to time to make sure we are feeding the right mineral?

The only type of lab testing on a dead cow that I know of are the ones that accompany a post-mortem done by a vet or veterinary hospital. As far as feeding the right type of mineral, talk to your county extension office. They can and will advise you about any types of mineral deficiencies in your area so you know what to feed and can make sure you have the correct type of formulation.
 
Once the blood is clotted, the only accurate way to test the blood's mineral level is with vitreous from the eye. I'm glad your vet knew this. Too bad he/she/it didn't take a sample and run it. In my experience, it could be Ca, P or Mg deficiency causing this. I've had great luck using a molasses based lick to get consumption of high magnesium mineral into my cows.

Good Luck
V
 
Vicky,
Thanks for the response. Would those levels still be valid today? I can draw them and have them run at a local lab no problem.
 

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