Milkshake gave us Brian the day this picture below was taken. Later that day she wasn't attentive to Brian as she had always been to her calves. And, she was standing out in the pasture staring off into space and not acting like her old self.
The next morning she was on the ground barely breathing. So, we called a rancher friend who came over with some bottles of calcium and we fed her intravenously, but later that day she died. Because Milkshake was an older cow, she was susceptible to Milk Fever. Milk Fever is not really a fever but a condition called Hypocalcemia which is low blood calcium levels. The low calcium causes problems with muscle function and causes weakness, and eventual heart failure. Older cows and certain dairy breeds are more susceptible to the problem. But, we didn't know about Milk Fever before this happened. It was a very sad day to lose Milkshake.
After Milkshake died, Brian had to be bottle fed. We used 12 ounces of dry milk re-placer powder, mixed with 8 cups of warm water. This was mixed in a bowl with a whisk before pouring it into the bottle. We fed Brian two bottles a day until the bag of milk re-placer was used up. This lasted about 8 weeks. We started feeding him three times a day for the first few days until he got used to the re-placer, then changed to twice a day using the same total amount. When the bag of milk re-placer was almost gone we tapered down the amounts, to wean him off of it gradually. Tapering down the amounts of milk re-placer is better for the calf’s system. The picture below shows Nick feeding Brian a one quart bottle of milk re-placer.
The next morning she was on the ground barely breathing. So, we called a rancher friend who came over with some bottles of calcium and we fed her intravenously, but later that day she died. Because Milkshake was an older cow, she was susceptible to Milk Fever. Milk Fever is not really a fever but a condition called Hypocalcemia which is low blood calcium levels. The low calcium causes problems with muscle function and causes weakness, and eventual heart failure. Older cows and certain dairy breeds are more susceptible to the problem. But, we didn't know about Milk Fever before this happened. It was a very sad day to lose Milkshake.
After Milkshake died, Brian had to be bottle fed. We used 12 ounces of dry milk re-placer powder, mixed with 8 cups of warm water. This was mixed in a bowl with a whisk before pouring it into the bottle. We fed Brian two bottles a day until the bag of milk re-placer was used up. This lasted about 8 weeks. We started feeding him three times a day for the first few days until he got used to the re-placer, then changed to twice a day using the same total amount. When the bag of milk re-placer was almost gone we tapered down the amounts, to wean him off of it gradually. Tapering down the amounts of milk re-placer is better for the calf’s system. The picture below shows Nick feeding Brian a one quart bottle of milk re-placer.
The picture below shows Brian some time before he was sent to be butchered.
This is Yum-Yum our newest steer.
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