Mother.Clucking.Farm

Thank you for all the messages and comments for our Oakley!
Enjoy a little video of Oakley enjoying a ginger nut biscuit he is very interested in food now which is great. Still very early days but moving forward which I am grateful for!
Im off for a few hours sleep 😴

For over three days, I have been providing round-the-clock critical care for our beautiful boy, Oakley.

He had been poorly over the past week, and the cause wasn’t clear. A worm count came back just over the treatment threshold, so we carried out worming treatment, vitamin B1 injections and hydration support. Initially, he improved.

Then, on Friday, just before milking, he collapsed, crying out, and became unresponsive.

I called the vet, and we rushed him in as an emergency, leaving him in their trusted, capable hands.

At 9pm, the vet called to say there had been no improvement despite IV fluids. They were still unsure what was happening, and his outlook was very uncertain. With nobody guaranteed to be there throughout the night, we decided to bring him home. If we were going to lose him, I wanted him to be with us, surrounded by love.

We arrived home at 11.30pm, honestly expecting that he might not make it until morning.

That night, I stayed beside him, offering small amounts of fluids. Morning finally came, and Oakley was still with us, although extremely weak.

His care has included antibiotics, vitamin B injections, careful positioning and regular turning. We have kept the fire lit to keep him warm and made sure someone was always there with him.

After 24 hours, we began offering small amounts of soaked alfalfa by hand because he was too exhausted to chew hay. He wasn’t particularly interested, but he was managing a little we had ro try to keep his rumen going.

I had been awake for 40 hours before sleeping for three hours, with Norah taking over his care. I am so grateful to her for being there for him and allowing me that little bit of rest.

When I called the vet with an update, she was surprised he was still fighting. She had been concerned that his organs might be failing. It was a painful reminder of how serious his condition was.

Around 48 hours in, he began eagerly taking some kefir, and around that time we started noticing small improvements. We cannot know which part of his care made the difference, but seeing him respond gave us hope.

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