Well, I don't really believe that God is against us, but it seems like this was yet another Sunday where the cows decided to interrupt our day of rest...
Jon and I successfully finished chores this morning just in time to make 11am mass-yep-we're Catholic ;) After mass we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and then home for a long over due nap. After a nap we hung out at home (first Sunday in months) to watch a movie together, when we got the call....cow down, can't get up. This was the 3rd Sunday in a row that something happened on the farm where we had to cut out "day of rest" short. Jonathan muttered under his breath "God must be against us". While he didn't believe that and I didn't believe that, some days it's hard not to think it. Sunday is suppose to be a day of rest, how could God let these cows get into trouble. So we ended our movie and headed out the farm.
We found cow number 73 in the sick cow pen laid out on her side and moaning. After a quick inspection we decided that 73 had come down with toxic mastitis otherwise known as e-coli. A little info about e-coli...it's environmental mastitis (infection of the udder) and when it infects an udder it produces a toxic poison in the cow's body which can kill if not treated properly. E-coli is everywhere in the environments of cows...pastures, stalls, alleys, etc. The goal of a dairy farmer is to keep cows as clean as possible to prevent e-coli to infect cows. Cleanliness IS next to Godliness! In the case of 73 we are pretty confident that she laid her uddering into a cow pie (manure). As clean as we keep our cows, we can't stop them from laying in manure. Cows in pack barns like ours and on pasture often lay in manure-it happens, we can't stop them. Cows in tie stalls or free stalls often lay in such a way that they don't lay in manure....so there is an advantage to having stalls. Back to 73....
Turns out 73 just rolled over on her side and couldn't get back up. She received a series of IV fluids...2 bottles of calcium for muscle function, 1 bottle of dextrose (sugar) for energy, 2 bottles of saline (water) to rehydrate her, some meds from her fever, and antibiotics for the infection. Without the antibiotics 73 would die....they work to help fight the toxins in her body. After her treatment 73 drank a lot of water--a great sign, and stood up on her own! We were so thrilled!!! She looked so much better by the end of the night, even though she was still sick she was definitely showing signs of improvement! Tomorrow she will get another treatment for mastitis in her udder, and any other fluids she might need to help her feel better-we continue to hope for a full recovery.
In other news, the farm is buzz with preparations for the county fair this week! I am in charge of the dairy show, but my brothers and sister in law all participate in various 4-H and FFA events at the county fair. There are animals getting trained, washed, and clipped. The cattle trailer is getting backed with supplies for the fair, and final touches are being done to 4-H projects. And I don't want to forget my other brother in law Marcus who has been working on finishing up his demolition derby car and truck for this week's grandstand events. I may not be able to blog this week as I will be busy at the fair grounds for the next 5 days, but rest assure I will do a full recap of the week's events!
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I write this blog to share my passion for my cows and farming, please be respectful of that. I reserve the right to delete those comments which portray hate, call names, and are out right disrespectful. If you have an honest question, I will respond, to explain what we do on our farm, why we do it and how we do it. Please read with an open mind. My time to blog is short, as most of our days are spent caring for our beloved cows. Thank you!