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nw NC | July 1st I noticed that a mid -lactation first lactation Holstein cow did not eat her feed when in the parlor that evening. As it was so hot I thought little of it. Next morning I saw why. Underside of her head was severely swollen to the point of her not being able to open her jaws. At times she kind of "gurgled" when breathing. I suspected perhaps an abscessed tooth or two. I gave her 36 cc of Oxytet 200 intravenously. She managed to drink water but could eat nothing so of course, milk production ceased. Tuesday I gave her more Oxytet but fully expected her to die or would have to kill her. On Thursday I stopped at a friend's dairy and visited a few minutes. I mentioned this cow and the dairyman's employee said it sounded like a snake bite. I said that it maybe possible but with the cows in the freestall barn 24 hours I really did not think so, on pasture maybe , but not in freestall barn. He said his uncle had a cow bitten by a copperhead that was in a feed trough in a barn . The cow started feeding and jerked back. The farmer looked in the trough and saw the snake and killed it. He said the cow's head swelled severely like my cow, but she survived and the swelling went down over a period of time. I looked on the Merck Veterinary site and found info on snake bite in cattle. It suggested tetracycline as a preventative for infection. My cow survived and the swelling has gone down enough that she can eat now but she is dry for this lactation. Anyone out there ever have a cow look like these pictures? And knew it to be snake bite or suspicioned it?
Edited by WJKEIGER 7/10/2012 22:49
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Dairy Cow -- Snake Bite?
