This from a beginning farmer:

First off, thank you for being willing to take emails. It is such a blessing.

We bought our jersey back in early December. She was 7 or 8 months sold as unbred. Our plan was to be in milk next spring. Well, it turns out she was bred. Calved in April. Calf didn’t make it and we were in milk.  She didn’t pass her placenta for two weeks and some change.  I got worried and ended up giving her an  dose of antibiotics and ivermectin to deworm her in April. She started out great, her body condition was good. About a month ago she began to look thin to me. Upon noticing the weight change I cut her milkings to once a day. I have been giving her pasture and minerals. I give her alfalfa and timothy at milking. In the last few days her stool has become very runny. I am looking to bring in kelp very soon. Attached is a picture for reference. Any guidance is much appreciated.

HI, Scott,

Glad to hear from you.  Congratulations on your young heifer.  Yes, it can be disconcerting when a very young heifer calves unexpectedly, but this girl looks pretty mature.  She’s on the thin side, yes, but I can’t tell how much — one look can be very misleading!  the great thing about cows is their wonderful healing capacity, so even if she was dragged out a little, good calories can fix that fast.

So, multiple thoughts I think you’re exploring:

She’s a young mother, calf didn’t make it.  Is she TOO young?  Probably not.  Was the probem dystocia (large calf/small pelvis)?  Or something else?

She retained her placenta for a while.  Not a big deal.  Happens.  It can come away in necrotic white discharge and no harm to the cow.  Cows are not like humans; their placentas have many cotyledons (points of attachment) so they don’t risk hemorrhage with a retained placenta.  And their resistance to infection is unbelievable.  

So, you dosed her with ivermec and antibiotics.  Again, no big deal.  Repeated doses, yes; one dose/course, I don’t think so.  And it takes two things off your list of worries.

She started to lean off a month ago.  Well, that’s right about when you’d expect the forage the central N hemisphere, like the U.S., to get lignous (woody) and decline in ready carbs/protein, so a little weight loss isn’t unexpected.

She’s a milk cow, so you’d expect to see some skeletal structure.

Runny poos.  How runny?  Did they correspond with the timothy/alfalfa?

Does her poo come out like water from a hose (shoot out several feet)?  Or is it just runny and shoots back a foot or two?

Most importantly of all, is she lively?  ARe her eyes bright, her ears perky?  Does she chew her cud and flick at flies?  Is she eating?

I’m not dismissing the possibility that something might be off with your cow, but giving you the questions I would ask myself in your place.

Two things:  Most problems are small and resolve on their own.  Many things look like problems that aren’t.

And, real farmers and real farms have real problems (like sick/dead animals/crops) and are still real, successful farms.  We learn by showing up and paying attention.  And doing what you have done:  asking someone for perspective.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Some months later we received this follow-up note:

Thank you so much for the response. I know it’s been a long time since I wrote. I just wanted to give a praise report. I stuck with my girl and she’s been in milk a year now and she’s got better condition and producing the most milk with the richest cream lines to date!

I just kept to your logic and advice and everything worked out. Now just trying to get her bred to calve again. I appreciate y’all and the time you took to respond and crush the fear and impart confidence to continue well. 

Blessings, Scott