What a day. Star was lying down, with Shaw curled up in the straw in the corner. Herbie took her more hay this morning, and told me that she hadn't eaten anything, nore was the water touched. This is not good. She's lactating, she needs to drink.
After Herbie left for work, I went down to the lower barn with the jug of blackstrap molassas to add to her water to entice her to drink, as well as some ACV. She looked miserable and wouldn't get up. This was really not good. I can't lift a cow, the tractor won't fit in the lower barn to use the boon to lift her. Started eyeing the beams to rin a chain hoist, but how to get it under her ??
Came upstairs to get the drench bulb syringe and check in my books what could be wrong. Think it's milk fever. Happens with high producing Jersey cows, not with their first pregnancy. This is her 3rd. I had the calcium glucomate, but not the IV tube. Took an apple down with me, and she took it, she loves apples, after I had given her electrolytes and a few syringes of molassas water. Need to get fluids into her.
Sat and fed her another apple, biting it onto pieces for her as she struggled to get the 1st whole one bitten into.
Heated some milk for Shaw, as I didn't know how long she'd been down. Got 1/2 a bottle down him, he sucked, sort of, I didn't have to tube-feed him. When I got back down to the barn, Star was standing ! Whooppee. But her head was hanging down, she wasn't really interested in hay, water or Shaw.
Went to Tractor Supply to get the IV tubing. Also picked up another bottle of calcium glucomate. I wasn't going to run it directly into her meck vein or aorta, was going to do the under-the-skin delivery as she had been up, she wasn't too far gone.
Came back to find her lying in the snow outside the lower barn, Shaw curled up inside on the straw again. Thank goodness I fed him. The book said to restrain the cow, as they could take off once you stick the large-bore needle into them. No way I could restrain her where she was, and couldn't move her, so outside it would be. Warmed the bottle up so that it wouldn't go in cold. 500ml is a lot of liquid to put under the skin. Disinfected her then stuck the needle into her, below and behind the shoulder blade. She flinched, but didn't try to get up. Instructions were to rub the liquid under the skin to disperse it. 1/2 way through the bottle which I was holding above her, the needle popped out. I was probably rubbing too close to the needle. Went to her other side and cleaned a spot and re-inserted the needle. Took a while for all the liquid to rin into her, but ahe just held her head against me. Tried to move one, but I told her to stay, and she did.
Didn't know how long before the calcium got into her system, and started to empty the buckets of now cold water I'd brought through the tumnel in anticipation of milking her. She got up, came onto the barn, so I got Shaw up to go to her. He was hungry, and started nursing, and she let him. Not the back left teat, but the other 3. Fetched more hot water, led her onto the milking parlour, or rather chased her in, and milked her. Not much, and that mastitis quarter didn't give much, so I tried hand stripping it. She didn't like that. Rubbed cooling aromatherapy cream into her whole udder, and tried again, standing pressed against her leg to keep her from kicking. Put another tube of meds up the teat, a few tries as she kept moving. Shaw was milling around us, trying to nurse with the milker on her, but she was aware of him and didn't squash him against the wall when he sidled up next to her.
Cleaned her and re-dipped her, massages the udder a little more and unclipped her. She headed doe the door, Shaw behind her. As the meds need to be unmilked for 6 hours, and Star wanted to go back to the others, so I let her oit. Walked Shaw back to the lower barn, turned to hear lamp on for him and he curled up in the straw.
Star lay down in the snow in the pasture, and Boytjie tried to mount her ! I ser the timer for 6 hours, and I'll go fetch her when it goes off.
After I finished filling the cow water troughs, much harder on my own without Herbies help, saw she was up, standing at the gate. Still not eating or drinking, but she's up.
What a day. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. I'm exhausted, but managed some time on the elliptical too. Herbie has just come home, I haven't cooked anything. Sitting here watching TV.