The Bovine Bugle

Bess & Bonny are in the sick ward

Bonny has a wary eye for the vet.

After having two more cows calve on Monday, we won't have the next cow calving for a few weeks. We had eight calves born in seven days-- 3 heifers and 5 bulls. Most of the moms, and the calves we kept to raise, are doing fine. Two of the fresh animals (ones who just gave birth) aren't doing too well and we are doing all that we can to get them well.

Bess, a 6-year-old cow, and Bonny, a 2-year-old first-time mom, were visited by the vet on Tuesday. Dr. Taraska, a woman in the veterinary practice I use, pulled into the barn driveway around 1:30 in the afternoon. Both cows were off-feed (not eating), droopy looking, and Bonny was battling mastitis.

After examining the two animals, Dr. Taraska had a diagnosis for each one. Bonny had pneumonia, and Bess had a displaced abomasum, a twist in the last part of her four-part stomach. Bonny we would treat with aspirin, garlic tincture, herbal tea, and aloe vera juice. Bess, however, would require surgery.

Surgery for Bess lasted about an hour. After clipping and disinfecting an area on her right side, Dr. Taraska made an 8-inch incision. She found the twist in the abomasum, drained the built up gas, undid the twist, and then sutured part of the abomasum to the inside of the abdominal wall. Then she sutured up the incision. With her rumen functioning normally again, Bess' appetite should return and she should return to normal health.

Left: Bess displays her stitches, feeling better.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Got a question for Jonathan? Use the comment box below. We'll call him in from the barn to give you an answer.

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Posted by Blogger Chris at April 12, 2005 04:00 PM