Farm406

farm406 54 The downed cow is positioned on a mat or board and loaded into the trailer. The tank is filled with warm water which helps the muscles and increases blood circulation. The cow remains in the warm water for six to seven hours. Once the water has drained and the cow is still standing, she can slowly exit with careful and controlled supervision. "The water is kept at eighty to ninety degrees Fahrenheit which keeps the cow comfortable and helps with circulation. She has access to feed, and it's quite interesting to see how much she eats while floating in the water," she adds. "Over a year ago, a graduate student from UBC spent time analyzing the results using the cow float tanks—36 cows went through the tank and our goal was to see which cows benefited and which factors improved success rates," informs McCrea. The doctor and her colleagues are better at predicting which cows will benefit and when the critical time is to put the cows into the tank. The idea is to get them in there as quickly as possible as well as treat problems earlier on. If they are suffering from calcium deficiency and are treated within 24 hours with supplements and placed in the tank, they can expect an 85% success rate. "We are educating farmers about the system, but it's interesting that farmers don't see the wow factor until they see their cows rise in the tank," shares McCrea. "Once they've tried the cow rise system, it becomes part of the protocol." There is a running joke among the farmers. They call the tank a hot tub, referring to the treatment as the cow's spa day and talk about adding lavender and scented oils, with soft candlelight and relaxing music. "Our goal is to figure out why we have downed cows, and not to have it happen to begin with," assures McCrea. "When things are going well, it's good the tank doesn't have to be used." Meanwhile, it's good to know there are options for treatment, no matter how many jokes there are about pampered cows.

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