Bran

Yesterday afternoon, I gave Bran a shot of vitamins and selenium, along with some yogurt and Lycopodium. Later though, Bran looked really bad, totally unresponsive. Blodeuwedd was acting desperate, calling mournfully. His cord seemed like it might be swollen, and his eyes started to look injected to me, so I gave him some penicillin. I thought he would surely not make it through the night, but I called the vet anyway to come the next day. I felt very bad for Blodeuweed. I brought three bales of straw out for him to lie in with the hand cart.

But this morning he was still alive. Either the penicillin worked really fast or he is one tough fellow. The ground was frozen, so I could take the pickup truck out back and bring Bran and Blodeuwedd back to the farmstead. I put him in the back and he stood there while she trotted behind. I made a straw bed for him up by the house, and gave his Blodeuwedd some second cut hay nearby.

I've not been well myself for several days so I slept most of the morning until the vet came in the early afternoon. In the meantime Bran had got up and nursed, quite a bit I think from feeling his belly. He wandered away from his straw though and laid down right on the ground, which is cold and damp.

Blodeuwedd has been calm with me, and let me pick up the calf this morning to put him in the truck, but when the vet came she became really aggressive. They are very different when people they don't know are nearby. She was not just annoyed, but out for blood. With some difficulty I got a pen around Blodeuwedd.

The vet said Bram was dehydrated, and his body temperature was way below normal. We brought him into the house to warm him up and gave him 3 liters of IV dextrose through the jugular vein. She got the vein on the first try which was impressive with a dehydrated animal. We had to hold his body above his head so the vein would fill. He also got a shot of Banamine, which is a non steroidal anti inflammatory.

Now he's warming up by my desk. When his feet are warm and he stands up he can go back outside with his mom. I have a heat lamp for him out there to lie under. I was going to put them in the barn but it is so musty in there. I think might be better off outside as long as he and his mom are confined where there is lots of straw and he has the lamp to keep him warm.

Otherwise, the vet said he did not look like he was infected. Tomorrow he should start a supplemental feeding of electrolytes to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated again.

So much for non intervention. I think the thing that got to me was her calling him when he was unresponsive.