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Post by jandkmann on Apr 23, 2015 14:50:25 GMT -5
Our pregnant heifer (due anytime between now and the end of May, when we bought her the owners didn't know her dates) has been great, she eats well, drinks well, looooves her grain. Etc. we had some pretty cold weather move in over the last couple days after a pretty warm streak. I'm not sure if this has upset her or what but she hasn't been drinking over the last 24 hours and she came running for her grain today but then wouldn't touch it. Not sure what is up. She seems to be grazing on the little grass we have so far. So she is eating a bit. Just wondering if anyone has had this kind of thing happen, she seems contented enough. But I don't want it to get out of hand, because no water = trouble in my mind. Thanks!
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Post by dexterfarm on Apr 23, 2015 15:01:12 GMT -5
no water at all or just less? Are you sure she is not getting another water source? Do you have a water tank or auto water? You might try getting her a fresh bucket of water. Different container than what she has been drinking out of. Is she pooping?
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zephyrhillsusan
member
Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
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Post by zephyrhillsusan on Apr 23, 2015 15:04:42 GMT -5
Several questions come to mind, in no particular order: 1) Is her temp normal? 2) Is she showing signs of calving soon? Springing, udder filling, teats strutting, mucus string, pelvic ligaments relaxing, restlessness, isolating herself from the herd (if you have other cattle)? That might put her off her feed if she's really close, although it didn't slow my last cow down. 3) Does she have hay available and is she eating it? It should be available free choice, especially if the grass is short. 4) Does she have a good loose mineral available? She needs one available. 5) Does she look bloated? (Look at the rumen triangle on her left side.) If she got a lot of wet clover or other legumes, she could bloat. Refusing her grain was the first sign that clued me in to a problem when my cow bloated. 6) Have you had a lot of rain so she might be eating wet grass and drinking less? 7) Is her water clean, no bird drowned in it or something? Is the water really cold? Maybe she doesn't like it after having gotten used to it warmed up. I would try offering her a couple of clean buckets of not-cold water, one plain and maybe one with half a cup of unsulfured molasses in it, or electrolytes. See if one of those tempts her to drink. Also, after she calves, it's great to give her a 5-gallon bucket of warm water with 2 cups of molasses dissolved in it. My cows usually inhale 2 buckets like that post calving. Hopefully someone else will chime in soon with some ideas.
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Post by jandkmann on Apr 23, 2015 17:56:32 GMT -5
Thanks so much for your advice!!! We will try some of these ideas. I hadn't really considered it but we had a bit of snow this morning and maybe she just had taken in a lot of that. Although, that doesn't explain her not wanting grain. That's a first! Hopefully she's close to calving. I'll do the molasses water thing after she calves! Thanks again!
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