Milk Fever Hangover – She’s Still Hanging in There!

I thought I’d send out an update on our sweet, Jersey-cow, Faith.  If you haven’t been following, be thankful.  It’s been a horrible, horrible week.

Here’s the low-Down:

1. She miscarried her calf Monday.
2. She tried to die on Wednesday.  
3. She hasn’t eaten since Tuesday.  
4. She is still alive.

She is doing about the same.

Praises:

• She’s moving around more
• She’s drinking
• She’s not wobbling or shaking

Prayer Request:

• For my oldest daughter.  This is hard on her.  Faith is her cow.  She is Faith’s person.  She adores her cow so much.
• Faith needs to eat.  Her rumen is not functioning properly.  The only thing that will get it up and running again is food.

Our vet has given her everything he can to increase her appetite and help her recovery.  We have offered her apples (her favorite) and have been drenching her cattle-feed in molasses (another favorite) to tempt her.

Her molasses-saturated  feed is mysteriously disappearing at night when no one is around.  We either have a molasses loving raccoon, opossum, or other critter emptying her feeding trough, or she’s eating.  I hope it’s Faith eating it.

Possible reasons she is not eating:

1. Calcium tubes burn.  I am not going to mention how many calcium tubes our poor cow has been administered this week.  The tubes got her back on her feet when an IV wasn’t an option.  So, we are thankful for calcium; although, they have certainly left their mark on her mouth and throat – this would definitely discourage her to eat.
2. The vet just sliced her open on Wednesday.  I’m sure she is still in a lot of pain from the incision and may not have much of an appetite.
3. She should be dead.  This is what my vet said to me last night when I called him (for the umpteenth time) and reported that she still wasn’t eating.  The fact that she is alive and drinking is amazing.

I’ll take what we have.  She’s alive.  She’s drinking.  She’s stable.  She’s moving around more.  She’s not getting worse.

Our vet is not overly concerned about it.  He is hopeful that her appetite will come back in the next day or two.

Thanks again for all your support, kind thoughts, words and prayers.

love,

Candi

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