The Joys of Dairying…Call the Vet!
Catherine Dunlap, June 2015

When we had a dairy, most of the cows were Guernseys. They gave a good quantity of milk not too rich as with Jerseys, or thin like Holsteins. They also had less trouble calving so not many veterinary calls needed.

Two serious situations stand out in my memory, when Dr. Carter had to perform cesareans on cows. The first was in the old barn in July of 1955 on a cow named Peter. I have no idea why we would name a cow Peter. The calf seemed to be normal but was not alive. The second was in May 1963 and much more public. The cows name was Ada and I became part of the “surgical team” as I held parts out of the way so the doctor could work. People were watching the process through the milking parlor windows. The vet called it an “umbrella” calf. It was like it was inside out with the inside organs all visible. Makes one see how in the “normal” processes of life things go wrong. Neither could be bred later as I recall so they either went to the stockyard or on our table.

In 1959 the cattle suffered from something the vet called Lepto. It was flu-like sickness that can happen to animals and humans both…but only the cattle were hit. Three were so ill they aborted their calves. It was a very stressful and messy situation. We never knew what caused it or cured it.

We were fortunate to never get “Bangs” disease in our herd. There were some local farmers who did and it put them out of the dairy business. The official name for that is Brucellosis. Drinking that milk causes undulant fever in humans.

As the decision to give up the dairy was made we began to build a beef herd. We chose a Black Angus bull to take the first step into beef animals.

The most dramatic call for a vet with the beef animals was when one got lock jaw. We had to search for a new vet, but couldn’t find one. From seeming to be fine one day, about forty- eight hours later the poor cow was totally immobile. Shocking to watch. Makes one realize the importance of keeping those tetanus shots up-to-date.

Allan was the designated shot-giver when animals needed them. Drenching was needed occasionally when they had tummy aches. The process consisted of dumping a bottle of mineral oil down the cow’s throat. I still have the bottle we used. I recall that once in a while we used a mixture of Epson salt.Chapped teats were treated with bag balm – a great salve for man and beast. I still keep it around too.

Cleaning up after cows was a never-ending job. Ben can vouch for the fact that standing behind a cow with diahrea when they cough does not result in a pretty picture. While a memorable experience, it’s one best lived without.

Just a snippet of our experiences.