A sub-zero night brings news that warms our hearts
It was 6 below zero here at the farm this morning, but the surprise I had last night when I went down to the barn to check on a sick cow was keeping me nice and warm. Two mornings ago, Dad told me that one of our cows, Anna, had a mastitis infection in a rear quarter. I had planned to treat her at the afternoon milking, but by that time she was lying in a freestall not wanting to get up and not feeling too well. Her mastitis turned out to be the type that produces toxins that throw the cow's system out of whack. We gave her an intravenous treatment there in the stall. When we checked her in an hour or so she still couldn't stand up. We didn't want to leave her in the stall overnight, so we managed to get her out of the stall onto a plywood sled and put her at the end of the feed bunk on a nice straw bed.
Throughout the day yesterday we kept Anna fed and watered and gave her several different medical treatments. But still she couldn't quite stand up. If a cow goes too long without getting up she can have nerve damage which can't be corrected. Before going to bed, a little before 11 o'clock, I went down to the barn to check on things. I got together some aspirin and garlic tincture to give Anna. I opened the door to the freestall area, and there stood Anna at the near end of the feed bunk, eighty feet from where she had spent the last day and a half lying down. I was overjoyed, to say the least, and busily readied a pen for her and led her into it. After bringing her feed and water, I headed for the house, relieved by finding Anna looking so good.
Anna was up when I arrived at the barn this morning, and Dad brought her in to the milking parlor and milked her at the end of milking. She's not totally out of the woods yet, but she took a huge step forward when she got back on her feet. Even below zero temperatures couldn't bring a chill into the warm feeling I had seeing Anna up and about.
--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont
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Posted by Blogger Chris at December 17, 2004 07:57 PM
I'm glad Anna is doing better. I hope she steadily improves. My daughter, Laura has a kitty which we've loved for years, called Mama Kitty, she's black and white and she's been very sick and not doing well. So we know the concern there is for our animals when they are sick.
Emily, Palm Desert, CA
Jonathan Gates reports from Howmars Farm in Franklin, Vermont.