Brownie acting strange

[bookwormom]

I must admit I am not exactly an expert on cows. we had two milk cows at home but it wasnotmy job to deal with them, so yes, I want to have cows, and I need to get my bearings. anyway, Brownie, our littlest Dexter cow, who I suspected of being barren, suddenly is showing signs of being in labor, udder is hot and full, vulva soft and swollen, she is a bit restless, not grazing and walking around. but she is not very big at all and if she has a calf it will be really small. What I am wondering, can a cow have this symptoms for something else besides calfing? I wish I had my grandmother to ask. We put her in a small paddock close to thehouse so we can keep an eye on her and she doesnot like it.

[Deberosa]

I have had the opposite issue. Most of the time I think Daisy is pregnant and then she suddenly looks not as pregnant. Go figure. I asked the woman I got her from who raises Dexters and she said even after a dozen years she continues to be surprised and cows that don't look pregnant one day are calving the next and some that are huge take forever. She hasn't found any pattern either. I figure if Daisy hasn't calved by the end of July it was all a farce - but then when will she be in heat? I can't AI if I can't tell. Guess she'll just have to go visit with a bull nearby for a month and then see what happens...

I hope your Brownie shows up with a healthy calf!

[Drawbar]

Could be a couple of issues.

As you mention she could be pregnant. If she is, then her stomach area will suddenly look kind of sunken...a sure sign the calf has dropped into the birthing channel.

If she is pregnant and she has not got that sunken look, then press hard on her stomach and feel for a calf. If she is acting this way then you will be able to feel one at this point.

If not then here are some other things to look for, but even saying this I would call Vet for anything else I say.

If her udder is hot then she either has Mastatis, or she has milk fever. Both are deep concerns for a cow. The mastiatis can be checked by seeing if any yellowy, thick fluid comes out of her teats. If there is, she has mastitis. If not, then she probably has milk fever.

If it is milk fever, a condition caused by malnutrion during pregnancy, then you will need to do an IV of medicine into her. I have done it before, but its not for the faint of heart and people unfamiliar with cows. (No offense to you but its kind of complicated to do).

The last thing you can do is give the animal a magnet. Sometimes cows get metal into their stomachs and it bothers them. Usually they don't walk around though, they pretty much lay down. Still giving them a magnet is cheap and easy to do. The magnet just goes into their mouth,then picks up the metal in their stomach and then they poop it out. Sometimes it takes 2 magnets though.

No pay attention because your cow is talking to you (by acting strange) so do her a favor and listen. Really check her belly for a calf if her stomach is not suddenly sunken. If its sunken you will have a baby calf in a less than 24 hours.

If you can rule out pregnancy problems at this point, call a Vet (which I know is expensive on a holiday weekend) but she is sick and if they act sick, they are very sick. A check of her ears will tell you if she has a fever. Warm ears is a sure sign of a temp, temp being over 100º as they run at this temp and not humans 98.6º.

Hope this helps. Best of luck

[bookwormom]

Thanks guys. Her belly did not look sunken, but she had the cutest little calf before dark, it's a girl. Blackie had a calf May second, she could barley waddle and was wider than tall. what I am still wondering, last monday and tuesday the bull and Brownie acted really smoochie and chummy. The bull chased the neighbor up a tree and we thought Brownie is in heat. We noticed when Blackie had her calf that the herd took an intense interest, they stood b y the fence and mooed to Brownie once in while, too. as if they knew. well, Ihope I get to milk Brownie, she is the most gentle of the bunch. Grumpie would kick and sling her head at the thought.
well, Debbie, maybe one morning you will find out Daisy had a calf. Was she living with a bull prior to coming to your place?

[Deberosa]

Great news - is the calf brown too?

Daisy was at a place with a bull before I got her. Supposedly on opposite sides of a fence. ;-) However the former owner's husband would often forget where everyone belonged so it's not too surprising if Daisy is pregnant.

I am still waiting...

[Drawbar]

I'm still concerned about milk fever. If she was pregnant and you didn't know you probably did not grain her heavy or try to combat the nutritional needs of the calf.

I am not trying to scare you, but I am still a little concerned about the warm udder. Is it still hot to the touch?

As for the kickers, I must say that on our farm we would cull them quickly. Its not that we are mean...we aren't as we are known as the hospital farm. We nurture more cows with problems, problems that on other farms would mean hamburg time.

On the small farm (we have two) its a one person operation so if we get a heifer that kicks a milker off two or three times, they are sold immediately. Other farmers will have to train them because we just don't have time or the needed help.

There is no room at a dairy farm for kickers.

[bookwormom]

kicking off a milker, I take it that means the attachment from a milking machine?