It's been a little cooler for us lately, but poor little Jan had a rough first day outside. When Ross went to bring the cows in for afternoon milking, he found Jan sitting up in the corner of the pasture unable to get up. Apparently he had been sitting there in the sun all day, not nursing or anything, and got pretty bad heat stroke.
I was in the cheese room while all this was happening, so I heard most of what happened from Ross and Andrew. It really helps to have a curiosity about things, because I would have missed several learning opportunities by now if I hadn't said, "Hey, what's everyone fussing about? I wanna know." When you're learning on the job or any sort of environment like this, it pays to ask as many questions as you can. And life in general, really. The more you know.
After Andrew went up and carried the calf down, he found his temperature was 106. A normal temperature for a cow is 101, and Andrew said brain damage occurs at 108, so it was really important to cool him off as quickly as possible. Andrew ended up running the hose over him with cold water, as well as tube feeding him some liquids to get him rehydrated. Of course, the danger then becomes cooling him too quickly and sending his system into shock, but apart from some shivering and dazedness, he seemed to recover fairly well.
Once his temperature was back down, he went in to his mama, and they will rest inside together tonight. He was back on his feet and looking pretty good when I checked in on him about an hour later, so hopefully he bounces right back. Young'uns are pretty resilient, right?
I was in the cheese room while all this was happening, so I heard most of what happened from Ross and Andrew. It really helps to have a curiosity about things, because I would have missed several learning opportunities by now if I hadn't said, "Hey, what's everyone fussing about? I wanna know." When you're learning on the job or any sort of environment like this, it pays to ask as many questions as you can. And life in general, really. The more you know.
After Andrew went up and carried the calf down, he found his temperature was 106. A normal temperature for a cow is 101, and Andrew said brain damage occurs at 108, so it was really important to cool him off as quickly as possible. Andrew ended up running the hose over him with cold water, as well as tube feeding him some liquids to get him rehydrated. Of course, the danger then becomes cooling him too quickly and sending his system into shock, but apart from some shivering and dazedness, he seemed to recover fairly well.
Once his temperature was back down, he went in to his mama, and they will rest inside together tonight. He was back on his feet and looking pretty good when I checked in on him about an hour later, so hopefully he bounces right back. Young'uns are pretty resilient, right?