Sick cow

[Wendy]

OK, we have a mini Jersey/Dexter cross cow. A few months back we noticed she just seemed off. Not eating as good as usual & standing off alone. Also standing with her back sometimes in a hunched position.

Vet came out, said she sounded good as far as lungs. Gave her mineral oil in hopes that it would help pass anything upsetting her stomach, wormed her with a pour on & took a fecal. Called later to say she had tapeworms. Wormed her with something for that.

A couple of weeks go by & we notice no real improvement. Call vet again. He said it could be some hardware she swallowed. So we gave her a magnet. Also gave her a dose of LA200 followed 4 days later with another dose.

It has now been about 3 weeks since that. Still no noticable improvement. She is eating, but not what she should. She is getting thinner because of that & I am afraid she is going to die in the cold of winter because she has no weight on like she should. The cows get hay & also some grain in the evening.

Any ideas? I also put out loose minerals which she has been eating on. I have already spent more than $200 at the vet's & it has done nothing for her. Just looking for other ideas. The vet said he could draw blood & see if it shows anything. Should I go ahead & have that done? It's $60 just for a farm visit & who knows what the bloodwork will cost. I hate to sound negative about the vet, but I can't afford to keep sinking money into a cow & get nowhere.

[Karin L]

What are her stools like? Maybe get a fecal done too while your at it.

[Wendy]

He did a fecal & that is why I wormed her for tapeworms. I was wondering if I may need to worm her again for that. Sometimes with goats you need to follow up with another dose to get it all. The vet said I didn't, but I am beginning to wonder.

[springvalley]

Is your cow bred? and how long ago did she calve ? Her age ? hard to do a call from this distance. We need some more background on her and situation. I think maybe you should be giving her some more grain to try and put some weight on her, and ground or cracked corn will do that. And make sure she has a balanced mineral to free choice feed. Any more questions , please ask. > Thanks Marc

[Wendy]

She will be 7. She calved in August. She really just does not seem interested in eating much grain. She has access to loose minerals & hay & plenty of water.

[tinknal]

Sounds like hardware to me. If they pick up something nonferrous a magnet won't help. I don't really know what to tell you.

[Chixarecute]

Hardware was my first thought, too.

A magnet is mostly preventative, isn't it? Once there's a puncture, there's leakage of stomach contents & bacteria into the peritoneal cavity, and then rampant infection. I dont' recall that a magnet provided after symptoms ever helped.

When we dairied, all our cows were given magnets. We had clean fields & were very careful about mowing near fencelines. Still lost 2 or 3 over 8 years due to hardware. Of course it's always the favorite cow.

She hasn't been pushed too much grain, has she? Or got into the grain room? Liver acidosis can present a little like that...disinterested in food, loss of weight, some hunching (tho not as much as hardware.)

[Wendy]

Well, I was thinking the same thing about the magnet. Kind of a grasp from the vet thinking it may pull anything to it after the fact. I can think of no other thing. I have noticed when she chews her cud she will sometimes have slobber running out of her mouth. Would it be better to just put her down? I would rather do that than let her continue this way if there isn't any hope.

[Wendy]

Oh, they get very little grain. Just enough to keep them coming into the barn when I call.

[MO_cows]

Maybe I missed it, but was it ever said if her manure was normal? And, whether she had her temperature checked? Did the vet check inside her mouth?

[Wendy]

Temp was fine, fecal showed tapeworms which we wormed her for. Also wormed her with Ivermectin pour on. Can't remember if he checked in her mouth. I may have him out to check a goat. If I do, I will have him check the cow again.

[springvalley]

Well mine would only be a guess from this point, so best ask the vet for more details. > Thanks Marc