Is my cow sick?

[Skye]

I was wondering how you could tell if a cow was sick and when not to keep the milk. My jersey's manure is running thin and tonight while in the stanchion (sp?) she kept moaning ( just slightl).

[JulieLou42]

Maybe she was just talkin' to you...my little steer does that most anytime he sees me now.

If her stools don't smell bad - wrong, maybe she just got too much fluid or grass? Or different grass or hay?

Hope she's better tomorrow.

[Ronney]

Hi Skye,
That's not a lot of information. Is she shifting her feet around, does she look bloated, is she dribbling from the mouth, is she hunched up. Has she had a rapid change in feed because as Julie has said, that can affect them.

Keep an eye on her but if she's still off colour tomorrow, think about ringing your vet and having a talk with them.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[topside1]

Skye, not sure where you live. Here in Tennessee the grasses have stopped/slowed growing and this situation forces cattle to begin eating vegetation they would not normally eat or shift to dry hay. In other words all the sweet yummy stuff is going dormant. I have been noticing that my cattle are eating more clover than normal and that is generally one cause of loose manure. Tennessee John