Ketosis? in dairy heifer

[raykour]

I have a dairy heifer that had her calf about 3 weeks ago. She is nursing the calf and I am milking about 1/2 gallon of milk from her daily for my personal use.

She has that nasty sweet acetone like breath and her milk also has the smell. I assume this is a symptom of ketosis, but she has no other symptoms....her appetite and behavior are fine.

What do I do in this situation? Do I treat her with a drench every day, change her feed, or do nothing?

 

[hillsdown]

I have a dairy heifer that had her calf about 3 weeks ago. She is nursing the calf and I am milking about 1/2 gallon of milk from her daily for my personal use.

She has that nasty sweet acetone like breath and her milk also has the smell. I assume this is a symptom of ketosis, but she has no other symptoms....her appetite and behavior are fine.

What do I do in this situation? Do I treat her with a drench every day, change her feed, or do nothing?

http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/p ... dairy-cows

You should discuss this with your vet .

 

[LauraleesFarm]

I would get with my vet. Also I would get some P G (polyethylene glycol ?sp???) on hand. YOu can get a gallon of it from TSC or most feed stores. Feed that heifer CARBS. Do not go for high protein. She needs CORN, OATS and BARLEY. Any of those that you can find. Pour molasses on it if she does not like it. Keep her eating. Keep PLENTY of good green grass or high quality grass hay in front of her. Grass is CARBS. Milk production needs carbs. The cow does not have a store of glucose in her liver the way people do. This is why she goes into ketosis. Her milk production is maxing out for the next 2 or 3 months. You will need to go to Wal Mart and buy some ketone strips in the pharmacy. These are in the diabetic section. About $7 for a bottle of 25 or so. If you can tickle her under the vulva she will tinkle for you on the strip. You can keep track of her level of ketosis with the strips. Test every day and if she tests positive you are going to need to help her out with the P G. You would need to give her around 250 cc P G twice a day and then taper it down over 2 or 3 weeks time. Treating ketosis once does not mean you are out of the woods. It can come back again and you have to watch her ketone strips to keep up with treatment. If she stops eating then you will need to give her IV dextrose. A vet can do it or you can also buy that at TSC. If any of this is too overwhelming then get the vet. Dairy heifers, especially jerseys, and high volume producers are prone to ketosis. The carbs are a big part of the cure. Sometimes it just happens for no particular reason.

Sorry to write you a book but I h ave been there and done that!

 

[raykour]

Thanks Lauralees farm. I have started her on the propylene glycol. I was told you can mix it into the feed. Seriously? That stuff tastes awful and I am doubtful that heifer will come anywhere near me when I walk out there with it in the morning. I gave her 8 ounces as indicated on the container. Our cows eat an all forage diet, but I started her on some sweet mix (COB, and I don't think it would matter if it was wet or dry, she pretty much eats anything you put in front of her) This cow is a good percentage jersey with a little holstein mixed in but due to the drought last year in Colorado we are also feeding very high dairy quality type alfalfa hay.

I didn't know if there was some tip or trick I was missing in my reading. I don't need a vet as long as the cow is up and eating. I can do the IV dextrose myself also, except as I have found out recently both dextrose and bicarb are in short supply around here too.....not just at the vet supply but also at the hospital!

 

[LauraleesFarm]

I would be flat amazed if she ate PG in her feed. You can use a catheter tip 60 cc syringe and drench her with it. The only other thing to do would be to get some of the ketone pee strips and you can titrate your PG routine according to the pee strip ketone level.
Also, alfalfa hay is more of a high protein, so I would encourage grass grazing more, and not so much the alfalfa. This could be debated either way. But my vet said NO alfalfa.

 

[TexasBred]

I have a dairy heifer that had her calf about 3 weeks ago. She is nursing the calf and I am milking about 1/2 gallon of milk from her daily for my personal use.

She has that nasty sweet acetone like breath and her milk also has the smell. I assume this is a symptom of ketosis, but she has no other symptoms....her appetite and behavior are fine.

What do I do in this situation? Do I treat her with a drench every day, change her feed, or do nothing?

You can't follow your nose especially if that's the only symptom. Give her some grain and relax. Grass does not contain carbs !!

 

[raykour]

I was going to put the PG in the feed because I had read that it could be mixed, but I decided to try it first and just a touch of my tongue told me I'd be wasting the PG and the feed because she'd never touch it.. I almost gagged from the tiny amount on my finger! It actually went down slightly easier this morning than last night.

Usually the cows are out on grass right now, but colorado is recovering (hopefully) from several years of very significant drought. Drought stressed pastures are just now starting to grow even with the large amount of moisture we have finally received. In fact it is snowing as we speak 7 inches so far today.

Also, TexasBred.......if corn, oats, and barely are not carbohydrates then what are they? I sold feed for 10 years....carbohydrates make up at least 65% of the dry weight of most feedstuffs.

 

[TexasBred]

I was going to put the PG in the feed because I had read that it could be mixed, but I decided to try it first and just a touch of my tongue told me I'd be wasting the PG and the feed because she'd never touch it.. I almost gagged from the tiny amount on my finger! It actually went down slightly easier this morning than last night.

Usually the cows are out on grass right now, but colorado is recovering (hopefully) from several years of very significant drought. Drought stressed pastures are just now starting to grow even with the large amount of moisture we have finally received. In fact it is snowing as we speak 7 inches so far today.

Also, TexasBred.......if corn, oats, and barely are not carbohydrates then what are they? I sold feed for 10 years....carbohydrates make up at least 65% of the dry weight of most feedstuffs.

I said "GRASS" has no carbs. !!! And most feeds less than 35% of the dry weight comes from carb sources ie; grains. Mostly by-products (low carbs), roughage and protein sources.

 

[LauraleesFarm]

[http://cattletoday.com/archive/2013/April/CT2929.php]

The link above explains in a lot of detail just how grass fiber is converted to energy, and how grass is composed of glucose among other things. People cannot digest the grass the same way that cows can, for us it would just be fiber. But since cows have different digestive bacteria including the type that split fiber, they are able to convert grass into a useable source of glucose and energy.

 

[TexasBred]

[http://cattletoday.com/archive/2013/April/CT2929.php]

The link above explains in a lot of detail just how grass fiber is converted to energy, and how grass is composed of glucose among other things. People cannot digest the grass the same way that cows can, for us it would just be fiber. But since cows have different digestive bacteria including the type that split fiber, they are able to convert grass into a useable source of glucose and energy.

I'm very aware of how the digestive system of cattle operates. Only disagreeing with your statement that "Grass IS Carbs" It will however, contain a certain level of non structural carbs (simple sugars) but is primarily cellulose. This cow in the original post needs to be simply allowed to enjoy her calf and IF she begins to show signs of a problem other than an unpleasant odor she might need additional attention.

 

[raykour]

My apologies for misreading, Texasbred.

I did not state that grass is carbohydrate, that was another poster, but still my apologies for misreading.

I will take your advice and just relax and let her enjoy her calf. I will continue with the PG for 2 more days and I have begun graining her. However, I would love to be drinking her milk. But at this point with the odor it is impossible to get past. If anything changes with her behavior, I will reevaluate then.

Thanks all for your input.