tetany

whelan1

just lost a great cow this morning , couldnt believe how quick they go down.... counted the sucklers at 10am my da went back to do a bit of fencing in the field and there was a cow down:eek: she deffo wasnt down wheb we where there earlier.. our farm is a mile away... so got bottles of calcium and magnessium and went back she was still alive, couldnt get her milk vein , or neck vein... eventually i got the vein in her tail... i put a bottle of calcium with a small bit of mag in her and another and she died:mad:

colrow

I'm so sorry to hear that

Bizzum

Was there a calf on her or was she weaned?

the al kid

Whelan,
sorry to read about your loss but was wondering when you counted them did you go through them-a cow developing tetany might exhibit a"wild " look around the head and when walking appear to do so with an exagerated stiff gait .If caught at this stage are usually treatable but dont hassle them in any way if possible.However prevention is better than cure and in this regard be mindful of a few pointers.

(1) Wean early if possible-preferably end of Sept .Autumn tetany is usually due to very wet and or cold/frosty weather typical of what we have seen this week.
(2) If early weaning is not possible for whatever reason -cows suckling calves must be supplemented with extra magnesium in the diet.The usual choice is via high magnesium licks or by feeding a couple of pounds of meal with additional sweetened calmag added(about 2 ozs per cow per day)
(3) Magnesium bullets are of limited sucess for autumn tetany
(4) Pasture dusting and adding magnesium to the drinking water are more appropriate for dairy cows .
(5) Plenty of shelter is also important.

My tuppence worth.

Al

whelan1

yes we went through them all. 2 of us always go to count them , it was just by chance that we went back , she still had a calf on her that would be due to be weaned soon... they had magnessium bullets earlier in the year- which would be well gone by now - i was amazed how we couldnt get the milk vein or the neck one , i would have no problem getting it on a dairy cow

snowman707

the al kid wrote: »

Whelan,
sorry to read about your loss but was wondering when you counted them did you go through them-a cow developing tetany might exhibit a"wild " look around the head and when walking appear to do so with an exagerated stiff gait .If caught at this stage are usually treatable but dont hassle them in any way if possible.However prevention is better than cure and in this regard be mindful of a few pointers.

(1) Wean early if possible-preferably end of Sept .Autumn tetany is usually due to very wet and or cold/frosty weather typical of what we have seen this week.
(2) If early weaning is not possible for whatever reason -cows suckling calves must be supplemented with extra magnesium in the diet.The usual choice is via high magnesium licks or by feeding a couple of pounds of meal with additional sweetened calmag added(about 2 ozs per cow per day)
(3) Magnesium bullets are of limited sucess for autumn tetany
(4) Pasture dusting and adding magnesium to the drinking water are more appropriate for dairy cows .
(5) Plenty of shelter is also important.

My tuppence worth.

Al

another symptom loose dung something similar to an animal with fluke

access to hay helps to prevent tetany

epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) can be used in the absence of bottled magnesium

whelan1

my da was saying this evening we should have used his belt around her neck.... its always a good cow that you loose never a crap one:mad:

Feargal as Luimneach

whelan1 wrote: »

my da was saying this evening we should have used his belt around her neck.... its always a good cow that you loose never a crap one:mad:

The skin on a suckler animals is usually alot thicker than a dairy cow. That's why it's alot more difficult in finding the vein.

The tail vein is only good for small volumes of injection (alot of fuild can go outside the vein).

You could buy a jugular clamp from your vets, it raises the jugular easily. Get the vet to show you how to use it.

Make sure you mix 60ml of magnesium with you calcium (340ml). Too little magnesium will not have an effect and too much magnesium mixed with the calcium can be dangerous.

If you can't find a vein you can give the magnesium (straight) rectally. Stick the end of your flutter valve up the cow's rectum (30cm in). You will get quicker absorption of magnesium into the blood compared with subcutaneous absorption.

dar31

whelan1 wrote: »

just lost a great cow this morning , couldnt believe how quick they go down.... counted the sucklers at 10am my da went back to do a bit of fencing in the field and there was a cow down:eek: she deffo wasnt down wheb we where there earlier.. our farm is a mile away... so got bottles of calcium and magnessium and went back she was still alive, couldnt get her milk vein , or neck vein... eventually i got the vein in her tail... i put a bottle of calcium with a small bit of mag in her and another and she died:mad:

not to sure if a bit of a bottle of mag in the vein would cause harm, but a full bottle in the vein will kill a big cow, have use it at times when something needs to be put down, will stop the heart, and its very humane.

pity about the loss... the joys of it...

throw a few mag buckets out with them till they are housed

whelan1

ye we always have hi mag buckets with them .... i am very wary of mag in the vein , but at that stage its kill or cure

PANADOL

:eek: now you have got me worried i have 400kg char weanlings on cows , on grass i only see them twice a week waiting on cards from test then straight to elphin:eek:

Bizzum

Throw them a bale of hay. They might pick at it.

whelan1

they are now getting a bale of silage every other day

Bigbird1

PANADOL wrote: »

:eek: now you have got me worried i have 400kg char weanlings on cows , on grass i only see them twice a week waiting on cards from test then straight to elphin:eek:

Your not in the SCWS then

PANADOL

Bigbird1 wrote: »

Your not in the SCWS then

yes iam whats the relevance ?just joined this year

Bigbird1

PANADOL wrote: »

yes iam whats the relevance ?just joined this year

Dont forget to wean 2 weeks before you sell...

whelan1

Bigbird1 wrote: »

Dont forget to wean 2 weeks before you sell...

also shouldn't they be being creep fed also

whelan1

whelan1 wrote: »

they are now getting a bale of silage every other day

this was grand until today when the bull got his head stuck in the round feeder .... he had it against the electric fence .... the joys:(

PANADOL

Bigbird1 wrote: »

Dont forget to wean 2 weeks before you sell...

thats only paperwork

whelan1

you are obviously only winding us up

PANADOL

whelan1 wrote: »

you are obviously only winding us up

off cow, trailer, mart all done same day whats the problem?

reilig

PANADOL wrote: »

off cow, trailer, mart all done same day whats the problem?

Why bother with any of the SCWS measures - its to improve the quality of your animal. They are dehorned in a specific manner to ensure that they do not suffer. They are weined and fed meal before sales to ensure that they are healthy and strong whether bought by a local farmer, a dealer, or an exporter who may have them in italy in a week.

If everyone adopted the same attitude as you, the scheme would be pointless as we would see no improvement in weinling quality. Thankfully most people keep up to the scheme quite well and weinling quality has improved beyond compare since the scheme was introduced. Has your weinling quality improved?????

Dunedin

reilig wrote: »

Why bother with any of the SCWS measures - its to improve the quality of your animal. They are dehorned in a specific manner to ensure that they do not suffer. They are weined and fed meal before sales to ensure that they are healthy and strong whether bought by a local farmer, a dealer, or an exporter who may have them in italy in a week.

If everyone adopted the same attitude as you, the scheme would be pointless as we would see no improvement in weinling quality. Thankfully most people keep up to the scheme quite well and weinling quality has improved beyond compare since the scheme was introduced. Has your weinling quality improved?????

I don't even sell my weanlings but I still comply with the regulations of the scheme as I see a huge difference in the quality of the weanlings as a result.

no issues weaning, reduced risk of pneumonia, weanlings don't go back after weaning as in olden days and most important of all nearly is that they are much quieter as a result. my weanlings are nearly like suck calves.

even if scheme gets cut in the budget, I will always wean like this in the future.

Bigbird1

reilig wrote: »

Why bother with any of the SCWS measures - its to improve the quality of your animal. They are dehorned in a specific manner to ensure that they do not suffer. They are weined and fed meal before sales to ensure that they are healthy and strong whether bought by a local farmer, a dealer, or an exporter who may have them in italy in a week.

If everyone adopted the same attitude as you, the scheme would be pointless as we would see no improvement in weinling quality. Thankfully most people keep up to the scheme quite well and weinling quality has improved beyond compare since the scheme was introduced. Has your weinling quality improved?????

Your dead right reilig,ya stil get deffened in marts because of people like you PANADOL,we pull da cows out an leave calves in fields less stress on calves.also for your own sake there do be SCWS inspectors in some marts so be careful either way

PANADOL

reilig wrote: »

Why bother with any of the SCWS measures - its to improve the quality of your animal. They are dehorned in a specific manner to ensure that they do not suffer. They are weined and fed meal before sales to ensure that they are healthy and strong whether bought by a local farmer, a dealer, or an exporter who may have them in italy in a week.

If everyone adopted the same attitude as you, the scheme would be pointless as we would see no improvement in weinling quality. Thankfully most people keep up to the scheme quite well and weinling quality has improved beyond compare since the scheme was introduced. Has your weinling quality improved?????

yes i hear what you are saying ,my weanlings will have been on silage for two weeks before being sold , i live 100 miles away from farm its just impossible for me to comply with the scws meal weaning as i only see them once a week

Bigbird1

PANADOL wrote: »

yes i hear what you are saying ,my weanlings will have been on silage for two weeks before being sold , i live 100 miles away from farm its just impossible for me to comply with the scws meal weaning as i only see them once a week

100 miles!!!!:eek:

whelan1

wasnt there a fella killed or badly injured in a mart by a lunatic weanling a few years ago... i would like to feel safe in my bed that this wasnt my weanling..... also if you live 100 miles away from your cattle you should NOT be in this scheme

PANADOL

whelan1 wrote: »

wasnt there a fella killed or badly injured in a mart by a lunatic weanling a few years ago... i would like to feel safe in my bed that this wasnt my weanling..... also if you live 100 miles away from your cattle you should NOT be in this scheme

geography has nothing to do with eligibilityfor scws.if a weanling kills somebody in mart this is no suprise to me ,anyway my weanlings are v quiet i can walk right up to them, all their mothers stand in the field for me i can rub them , what i might do is put my calves in friday evening and meal sillage feed them till monday morning then let them out it might help the situation , to be honest more concerned for their mothers welfare one cow looking thin ,

reilig

To be honest, if I ony saw my cattle once a week, I'd lose several head throughout the year. There's one on a regular basis with a chill or a scour or a head caught in a gate or something small like that that would kill over time.
How do you manage it???

Username John

Jaysus! 100 miles! :eek:

I was living about 15 mins away from the farm there up until very recently. And I thought twas pure sickening. You couldnt just pop out and do a few bits, the way you could if the farm was outside the door. Plus, my time in the evenings is precious, so 30 mins in the car I thought was a long time, and twas only in the very long summer days, that you got anything nuseful done in the evenings.

You live 100 miles away - I assume you farm full time? If not, how do you get the time to do anything? I find Saturdays are all right, but there just isnt enough of em
If yer driving for 3 hours, then that eats into a lot of your day.

PANADOL

reilig wrote: »

To be honest, if I ony saw my cattle once a week, I'd lose several head throughout the year. There's one on a regular basis with a chill or a scour or a head caught in a gate or something small like that that would kill over time.
How do you manage it???

yes theres always something lost a 4 month old char bull sucking on cow this year just dropped dead who knows , my cattle are fed outside all year i have plenty of trees on land and have a low stocking rate . a lot of problems with cattle are caused by stress , cattle packed into sheds on slates etc breeding grounds for disease in my opinion my cattle are out in all weathers , eg char bull calf born there 3 weeks ago calfed outside no stress no problem calf doin great just vax against black leg de horn thats it , he will never see a shed , my neighbour lost a cow to red water on friday with her time up and he sees his cattle every day , in short plenty of feeding and no stress farmers worry too much

PANADOL

Username John wrote: »

Jaysus! 100 miles! :eek:

I was living about 15 mins away from the farm there up until very recently. And I thought twas pure sickening. You couldnt just pop out and do a few bits, the way you could if the farm was outside the door. Plus, my time in the evenings is precious, so 30 mins in the car I thought was a long time, and twas only in the very long summer days, that you got anything nuseful done in the evenings.

You live 100 miles away - I assume you farm full time? If not, how do you get the time to do anything? I find Saturdays are all right, but there just isnt enough of em
If yer driving for 3 hours, then that eats into a lot of your day.

nope part time small herd of sucklers with bull just drop sillage into feeders, quick head count and away again once a week thats it if their gonna die they will but i dose and vax and feed well , low stocking rate also helps