Johne's Disease

Today was a bittersweet day at the farm. Our veterinarian diagnosed one of our cows with an uncommon disease called johne's disease. This is a bacterial infection that can lie dormant in an animal for several years before showing any clinical signs. Our girl, who had been going through lots of treatments and TLC, eventually was diagnosed with this. Unfortunately this bacterial infection does not have a cure, and many of the common signs include diarrhea, a normal appetite, and edema under the jaw. Edema is simply swelling of fluid in the tissue which can cause a visible bump. Her name is Bumblebee, one of the cows I helped bottle feed and care for when she was just a newborn calf. Considering there is no cure, and that her condition was only getting worse, it was decided to put her to rest so that she would not be in any more pain. When I did some outside research on this infection I discovered that it essentially causes an animal to be unable to absorb nutrients from anything that they eat, and they will eventually die due to nutrient deprivation. If you are interested in reading more about johne's disease here is a link to a USDA website with more information: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/nvap/NVAP-Reference-Guide/Control-and-Eradication/Johnes-Disease#:~:text=In%20cattle%2C%20signs%20of%20Johne's,bloodstream%20into%20the%20digestive%20tract.

In the photograph below is a different cow, this girl is really friendly and loves to be pat. I wanted to include her in this post to brighten up the overall tone! I also gave her plenty of neck scratches after taking this photograph. 

Today we shipped 5,483 gallons of milk and had no new babies!