Farm406

farm406 52 Dr. Lisa McCrea, bovine specialist and partner at Agwest Veterinary Group Ltd. in Abbotsford, BC, spends most days traveling to the farms she services throughout the Lower Mainland. Agwest's three dairy experts cover Delta to Chilliwack, as well as farms in Mission and Maple Ridge. McCrea might make between six and eight calls a day, and examine 80 to 100 cows during a herd health call. Her duties range from ultrasounding pregnant cows, discussing mastitis issues, monitoring calf health, and tending to a variety of dairy cow ailments including downed cows—those who cannot stand up on their own and need special rehabilitation to be saved. A cow can falter around freshening time, especially if she's had a difficult calving, and might have nerve paralysis in her hind quarters. She may suffer with milk fever or low calcium levels which affect her muscles and she needs time to recuperate. In addition to calcium treatment, the cow may need to recover from compression injuries due to lying too long. "There are weeks when you'll see three or four downed cows," McCrea says. "I knew that the cows needed to exercise their muscles and they may have recovered if we'd used a floatation tank, so I started looking into where we can purchase one and how we can make it work." HYDROTHERAPY FOR COWS BY CATE PEDERSEN There are numerous lifting devices to help downer cows, including slings. But a mobile flotation tank is proving to be a useful tool offering a gentle means of lifting cows to their feet. The Aqua Cow Riser trailer is filled with warm water (minimum of 700 gal.) to get the cow back on its feet while only bearing about 25 percent of its body weight. Most operators keep a cow in the trailer for 4 to 6 hours. The system is not a quick process as some cows need more than one life. Floating a cow for 18 to 24 hrs is not uncommon.

• Cover