Pinkeye with 3 cows

We have had a few problems with the cows this summer, not sure if it's just the rain or the temp also. One cow had mastitis, then sugarplum came down with pink eye, started treating the one eye then the next day it was in the other. She spent 10 days in the lower lot by herself then on the 10th day she seems to be doing better, she just needed treated one more time then turned out. Thinking yay almost all done (never count your chickens before they are hatched) I went to check on cattle in the field again and Callie has it in both eyes and Sister in one. I swear when it rains it pours around here! Lucky me hubby was home (Saturday) so with my daughters help we got the 2 cows up, treated Sugar plum again put patch on her eye sent her out into field, then treated Sister and added patch. Callie on the other had got treated and put in the lower lot because it's in both she has trouble seeing so now I start all over again. Fingers crossed none of the others come down with it and the 3 affected will regain all their sight. Can't wait for this summer to be over, we keep out fly blocks and spray them routinely but the Flys are still so bad.

Sugarplum isn't to happy with me, give it a few weeks and hopefully she will forget the shot and med in eye 3 times a day. When she sees me now she squeezes her eye shut and backs up.

Calf, Constipated

We have had an on going problem with our calf and she is finally doing better! The little one had a rough time of it, her mom stopped giving milk (or letting her nurse) when she was only 2 1/2 months old. The problem we encountered with the calf was she would not take a bottle (although we did get her to drink milk out of a bucket) so the vet said to start her on grain and hay along with the milk in a bucket. The problem we had though was every day by late afternoon the left side of her tummy would swell (bad) and would push the right side out also (she would get constipated). We took her to the vet and he said to give her a teaspoon of dark Caro syrup and a teaspoon of mineral oil a day with her grain feed (2 quarts of grain). This started a problem of every day she would bloat something awful then over night would go down only to repeat itself the next day. Some of these days she would swell so bad I was worried it would interfere with her breathing. This went on for about 5 weeks....

Then I ran into a a neighbor of mine and told him of the problem we were having and he said he had also had a problem similar to this about 15 years ago. He said he changed the feed to a lower protein base and only gave a pint of feed a day along with the grass in the fields and he also did not give hay. I thought she could not possibly get worse so I started this the next day (low protein feed, milk in a bucket and the grass) I was amazed at the  night and day difference, she stopped bloating from the first day of changing the feed. That was two weeks ago, she is a little smaller than the other calves that are her age, but that is to be expected with her set backs, I wish I would have ran into my neighbor earlier! This is one of those "better late than never", I think she will be fine now and in another month or so her rumen should kick in and she will then be more able to digest food (higher protein and hay). My neighbor said at this early of an age the calf's tummy is not ready for a higher protein base nor big amounts of hay and because of this they get constipated. He has seen a few die with this because of the pressure that is put on their heart and/or lungs from the bloating.

Baby Goat and Joint Disease

I had to take Gibby's baby to the vet today (my bottle baby), last night his left leg (in the joint) started to swell and he could no longer walk or straighten it and this all happened within a few hours. The vet ran tests and the poor thing has a joint disease, if not caught early he would have died. The vet gave him an antibiotic shot and he will have to have another one in a week, since it was caught early though he should be fine. This is something he was born with, it passed through the cord

Here he is laying down because he cant straighten it or stand on his left leg.

 In the car on his way to the vet, you can see how swollen the joint is.

He did stay at the vets for a couple of hours after the shot was given today, but within four hours of getting home he was trying to stand a little. He tries to straighten the leg and stand but has not put any weight on it yet. The leg has to be massaged and straightened 4 to 6 times a day, but with fingers crossed and another shot next week he should have a full recovery. :)

Calf with pink eye

Had to call the vet today, the little one has pink eye! Our cows have never had this before but one of the goats did, so I ask the vet and he said this just happens same as with the goats. At least I got it in the beginning stages at noon today her eyes were fine, then at 5:00 this evening I noticed her left eye getting cloudy. The vet told me to use LA 300 (thank goodness I keep certain meds in the outside ice box) and to give her a shot of 4ml and squirt 2 ml in her eye, I was worried about it burning (in the eye) but she did not act like it hurt. The vet said I caught it early so she should be back to normal at the latest 10 days. :)

If you look in the center of her eye it looks cloudy, I did not realize she had such long eye lashes!

Shirley and her brush with death

Just when you think everything is fine and your looking forward to getting ready to turn in and read a good book after checking first on the animals.....never make plans on a farm, it'll bite you a lot of the time!

This is our sweet Shirley dried off, but still shaking. When checking and feeding everyone again before bed, Shirley was not to be found. After a few minutes of hubby and I frantically searching, she was found (in the water tank) up to her neck in cold water, the temp last night was in the 20's. I do have a tank heater, but the water was still very cold she was just making a tiny noise but still standing. When hubby pulled her out and we ran her to the house, she was so cold she could no longer stand. She could not be warmed up to fast so we took her to the coolest room of the house and hubby started rubbing her down while I blow dried her hair on a low setting.

This is her after about an half hour, she is now dry but she is still grinding her teeth and shaking, but both have gotten a little better. Sorry the pictures are so dark, I turned the lights down low trying to keep her calm.

This is her after almost 2 hours she can stand now and move around slowly,  her shaking has stopped and she is no longer grinding her teeth. She is going to spend the night in the house (utility room, with blankets on the floor) so I can keep checking on her, now I am just worried about phenomena setting in.

I took Shirley back to the barn this morning, she is acting like nothing happened! We are very lucky we found her when we did, this is her in the barn stall (with a heat lamp) she is the one in the middle. I'll leave her in the stall all day, after spending the night in the house I don't want her to cool down to fast. This evening then the door will be open so she will be back to roaming where she wants, but (hope) no more jumping in the water tank. :)

Connie bottle jaw

I have really had it lately with the goats, my fault though I bragged that I have not had any problems with them (never ever brag....)  :)

This is Connie, she was fine this morning but this evening her neck was swollen (bottle jaw) the picture is not to good I took it after I gave her the medicine for bottle jaw and by then it was getting dark. You can see under her neck where it is swollen, they can die from this it is a sign of parasite infestation. Its a soft lump. Connie needed wormed ASAP thank goodness Mrs Paul gave me a list of meds to keep on hand and what they are used for! You know how it goes they only get sick on the weekend and after hours. From what I understand (I am new to this) its from blood sucking Barber Bole worms they create anemia. Then the body compensates with more fluid production and it builds up in the face and head. I have this morning found a mixture that some claim to work, but since I started her on the meds last night I will stay with that. I will though keep the recipe hopefully no one else will get it but it they do I may try it.
Magic
Mix up a batch of one part corn oil (has to be corn oil no substitutions), one part molasses and two parts Karo syrup, give 2 oz 4 times a day.

Pink eye

Looks like I can check another item off my list with our goats, I have checked off quit a few in the last two years since we decided to try goats. Two of our goats got pink eye, I have heard of cattle with pink eye but we have never had this problem with our cows (fingers crossed)! I should have realized, but I never thought about goats getting pink eye. I'm not sure where it came from but only Cookie and KK contracted it, at least pink eye is not as bad, or cause permanent problems as it can with cows. It is also not as time consuming as when a person gets it, when my niece got it we had an hour and a half wait in the Doc's office and then a forty minute wait for the prescription. Plus we must not forget the cost! With the goats it was just a  trip to the feed store, pull up next to the loading dock, order the weeks feed and walk up to the cabinet and pick up the meds, it sets next to the penicillin and black leg meds, no fuss, no wait, just pick it up and go. There is not much I can't find at our local feed stores, our feed stores I guess to me is like walmart is to some!  :)

They are doing fine now but they were not to happy with me when the meds had to go in their eyes! Have you ever tried to catch a goat that does not want to be caught.....reminds me of a few times I had to catch some little pigs....(muddy slick little pigs) that did not want caught! :) Both are, as you can see in the pictures, back to normal and they both have forgotten or forgiving and are both happy with me again. :)