D.A

It was a very eventful and busy day at the barn! After tending to the calves, we went to check on one sick cow that we had treated last week for ketosis and discovered that she was not improving. When I checked her status for ketosis, it was at the exact same level. Our new plan for her treatment started with checking her for something called a D.A. This condition is known as a displaced abomasum which relates to the positioning of the stomach compartment from its normal location. When we check our cows for a D.A we will use a stethoscope and listen for a sound similar to what flicking a rubber dodgeball would sound like. If we hear this ping, it is likely a D.A. As soon as our veterinarian arrived for his routine visit he double checked on our cow which we thought had a D.A and confirmed our suspicions. Immediately our veterinarian wanted to relieve the pressure from the gas build up, rotate the abomasum back to its normal position, and suture it in place so that it would be very unlikely to float away. Some general causes of D.As can include nutrition related factors, old age, or recent calving. Our girl happened to calve around one month ago, which puts her at risk of a D.A! Luckily for her we caught it and she received the proper treatment and should be feeling like normal within a few days. 

Milk TBA and no new calves were born.