pack throat?

[ollie]

I have an odd one for you. I had a cow come in yesterday with a lump on her jaw , drooling maybe some. She had lost weight I thought. Today when checking that bunch she had lost alot of weight and still the lump and kind of dead looking in her eyes. I penned her and ran her down the chute, opened her mouth to look in and she was full of grass etc. I pulled all I could then got a screwdriver and pulled out probably a gallon more. That was all I could get so I called my vet on his day off . He came out and called me just now. He said he pulled out anothr five gallons of grassy cud looking mess that as he got closer to her stomach got dryer.
In some of what I got out which was obviously the last in her mouth there was pieces of hedge apple but the vet said he couldn't find a thing .No thorns, no twine.....What do ya'll think? The vet finally had to knock her out and said with his hand in her throat got to his elbow. Finally had to take a tube and push the last into her stomach.

 

[Campground Cattle]

I have an odd one for you. I had a cow come in yesterday with a lump on her jaw , drooling maybe some. She had lost weight I thought. Today when checking that bunch she had lost alot of weight and still the lump and kind of dead looking in her eyes. I penned her and ran her down the chute, opened her mouth to look in and she was full of grass etc. I pulled all I could then got a screwdriver and pulled out probably a gallon more. That was all I could get so I called my vet on his day off . He came out and called me just now. He said he pulled out anothr five gallons of grassy cud looking mess that as he got closer to her stomach got dryer.
In some of what I got out which was obviously the last in her mouth there was pieces of hedge apple but the vet said he couldn't find a thing .No thorns, no twine.....What do ya'll think? The vet finally had to knock her out and said with his hand in her throat got to his elbow. Finally had to take a tube and push the last into her stomach.

Thats a new one on me be interesting if anyone else has ever seen this, keep us posted.

 

[txshowmom]

I am stumped. I have never heard of that before. :shock: :shock:

 

[Craig-TX]

I wonder if she ate a wasp and got stung in the throat. Maybe it swelled and then the problem compounded, etc. By the time you saved her the swelling was down but all the fodder was compacted to the point that she couldn't handle it. Just a guess.

Craig-TX

 

[txshowmom]

Swelling could have come from a snake bite as well.

 

[lunker]

Did you miss the obvious clue?
this cow has most of a hedge apple
stuck in her throat .
Happened to one of my cows, the
vet coudn't dislodge it.

another poster just mentioned how
he ground hamburger from a cow that
suffacated from a hedgeapple.
lunker

 

[ollie]

More on the saga. Tonight when I got to that set of cows , they all came up again . 704g which is the cows number looked the same as yesterday. No better , no worse. She is possibly slobbering more. I didn't mention yesterday that the vet also said rabies was a possibility, after I had my hands in her mouth. Anyone got a glove I can borrow. Anyway I put her back in the chute still no glove and proceded to clean her out again tonight. Called my vet again . He is coming in the morning to see what he might have missed. He more strongly thinks it is some sort of nervous disorder not allowing her to swallow. If I get rabies there is some of you that I would like to meet in person. More later I don't think hedge apples are part of the equasion anymore.
Ollie

 

[dun]

Have you recently treated for warbles?

dun

 

[ollie]

No Dun,
She hasn't had any shots since spring.How about poison plants.

 

[dun]

Conservatively it could be a jillion things. The warbles depending on where they are in their migration can cause nervous system problems, respritory problems, and a host of others. This is like the calf that can't get up. I'm just hurling out ideas cause I have no real idea. I had originally thought the hedgeapple deal made sense. I wonder if it was stuck if it may have caused some injury or something. Like I said just chunking out ideas

dun

 

[ollie]

I thought the hedge apple also. She is also a little odd. Cattle people will know what I am talking about. She seems to be thinking about something else. When she tries to eat she kind of wiggles her nose like a rabbit and can't or doesn't try to eat. I am starting to sound a little odd myself .

 

[dun]

I am starting to sound a little odd myself .

Cows will do that to you. Or maybe it's the other way around, that you have to be a little odd to have them.

dun

 

[Craig-TX]

Ollie, did you ever figure it out – or was it figurable outable?

Craig-TX

 

[ollie]

Ollie, did you ever figure it out – or was it figurable outable?

Craig-TX

Still not figureable outable. The vet came and cleaned out her throat again and tubed her to her stomach. This time I left her dry lotted and am feeding her only grain. No long stem stuff for her to have trouble with. She ate the first night and didn't drink . The second morning she ate and drank . This morning she hadn't eaten anything and drank half a bucket full. She at least isn't drooling anymore. I think I will turn her out tonight and wish her luck. She is passing feed through the system. There are a few fresh cow piles in the lot. The oldest with blood and what looks like some gut trama tissue junk. The latest a little too loose . I would assume from no hay or grass and too much grain. Hense the not eating part today. Any way onward we charge in ignorance!!!!

 

[dun]

If it's coming out the north end when she's south bound she's probably well on her way to having resolved the original problem.
Good luck

dun

 

[ollie]

If it's coming out the north end when she's south bound she's probably well on her way to having resolved the original problem.
Good luck

dun

Trouble is at least the first day coming off the grass it was also coming out the south end. She was regurgating cud and couldn't either further digest it in her mouth or swallow. Either way the second morning in her trough her feed was gone but three or four big pieces of cud , the size of both fists together were laying there.

 

[dun]

Hopefully that's just a result of the irritation of the esophogus from the stuff being stuck in there. Hopefully
Still, Good Luck

dun

 

[ollie]

Alfalfa went through her o.k. I fed her some third cutting bermuda grass tonight. If that works tomorrow without clogging up I am going to try turning her back to grass. Were not there yet but at the rate she was going down hill , if she lives I deserve a button. I guess you shouldn't brag when you still don't know what was wrong with her.

 

[Monica]

I had a horse choke realy bad once.

One of the things the vet explained to me was the throat had some trama to it and would have a pocket that food will get cought in if he was to go onto dry or stemy feed right away. So, for about 1 week we had to feed him soaked alfalfa pellets,beet pulp, and oats. Then slowly add wet hay back to his diet.

Since your cow has had so much trama to her throat maybe it is worse then what my horse was and just needs more time on easy to swallow food.

 

[ollie]

I turned her out yesterday. She is doing fine .