Just looking for things I and the vet haven't thought of, for others' experiences, etc.
Synopsis : Davy had colic last night, not sure why, is improved today but not 100%. There follows a blow-by-blow account of the events leading up to and since, hoping someone can spot something or share some insight or experience that may help me avoid a recurrrence.
Background
The Fells have been out 24x365 for 6 or more years, and since moving to Cornwall I have hated them having to be on wet, muddy ground with nowhere dry to lie all winter. This winter at last the stables are ready and available, and we brought them in when the ground started to be sodden.
They took a bit of getting used to it. They get turnout in a large concrete yard (with access to their bedded stables) for 4-6 hours during the day, and overnight alternate nights. (The yard is timeshared with the cattle!)
When the weather is kind, and it's not icy underfoot, they have been getting a bit of a walk around on halters, mostly on a firm / stony track with an occasional foray onto grass if the ground is dry enough. Just a bit of grazing time (still on halters and lead ropes), not long, just a treat really, and change of scene and something to think about.
It's always a balancing act with Greedy Davy, making sure he isn't hungry for long periods but not overfeeding them.
I aim to get it that they've either not quite finished their net at the next feed, or have not long finished it.
We've settled into a routine of :
- 8.30am haynet, 1 or 2 slices hay each depending on how empty the overnight nets were.
- 11.30am turnout, with access to a little hay (1-2 slices) left in the cattle feeder plus whatever is left of the ponies' breakfast nets (they still have access to their stables). If all breakfast hay gone from both stables, 1 slice of hay in one of the stables so both can eat at once.
- 5pm (ish) teatime treat feed to come in : half a 1L jug (when dry) of soaked sugar beet between them, a good handful of mollichaff, and a scant sprinkle of grass pellets. (Like a handful between them.) Sloppy feed, just a treat for coming in. 1-2 slices hay in each haynet.
- 8pm (ish) or a bit later, 3 slices hay in each haynet for overnight
Flossie often has quite a bit left, but she's not greedy so it's safe to give her more than she will eat.
There is free access water in the yard, and we fill up a bucket in each stable each time we check when they are shut in their stables.
(The vet thought this ^ regime should be fine for them.)
About 2 weeks ago, I switched Davy onto woodshavings. He's a messy boy as well as a greedy boy, and straw is expensive! (And of course he would eat quite a bit too.) Then our source of chemical-free hay said this next would be the last pallet, and the cows must have straw, so once Flossie's straw bed needed replacing, about a week ago, I switched her onto shavings plus miscanthus (mixed in the stable), which I really like. Davy being greedy and often finishing his overnight haynet, I wasn't comfortable to put the miscanthus in his bed. People say that nothing will eat it, but it's so very absorbent, I couldn't bring myself to risk it.,
All good until...
Monday, Tuesday and colic
(This story pieced together after talking to everyone today to try to map out Davy's Monday night and yesterday until the evening.)
Monday night was their 'free to loaf' night, and the weather was suitable, so they had a good haynet in each stable and a bit of hay in the cattle feeder. They often swap stables when they are loose in the yard - not least because Davy will eat his own hay and then tell Flossie that she has had enough - so no surprises that Davy was lying in Flossie's stable on Tuesday morning, and Flossie was in Davy's stable. Davy got up when we arrived, and was happy to go into his own stable with his breakfast hay.
They hadn't had a 'free to loaf' night for a few days prior to this, as the weather had been too windy or too icy.
Tuesday morning turnout was a little late, about 12.30pm. I was knackered so did not take them for their little halter walks, but they'd had the yard overnight so I thought I could get away with it.
Tuesday around 2pm, one of the Fells spotted apparently eating some horse poo. Pile quite small, suggesting s/he could have eaten quite a bit. (Or that, with hindsight, Davy was now only doing small poos and he - or possibly Floss - was having a sniff.) (I was not told this until later, after I started making enquiries, or I would have investigated sooner.)
Tuesday teatime was a little early, at 4.30pm. On arrival, Davy was in Flossie's stable, eating the bits of hay from the floor in the corner, where the bits that fall out of the haynet lie.
Tuesday evening I went up at 9.40pm, Davy was lying down and not right. Teatime hay gone, but no interest in nighttime haynet.
He would get up but wanted to lie down again, lefthand side behind ribs a little more firm than I would have liked. Haltered him and walked him around for an hour or so. He did manage one small poo.
Not improving : periods of seeming fine, you'd think, "Oh, he's getting there", then he'd slow down, drop his head, want to lie down, or try to kick up at his stomach. No sweating, but breathing a little bit laboured. By 10.40pm, he looked more bloated and at 11pm I phoned the vet.
The vet called back and talked it through, we decided it would be worth her coming out. She said that we could let him lie down if he would be more comfortable, provided he wasn't thrashing about and looking as though he would hurt himself. This we did, and he did manage a few farts while we waited for the vet. She arrived at midnight.
All signs normal except gut sounds rather quiet, especially on left. He did another small poo as we took him round to the milking parlour to stand for his rectal exam. The rectal found some impaction in the left. Pain killer, drench of much warm water and 4 big tablets (presumably effervescing). More farting ensued, by now Davy was much more his normal self, bright and alert, ears pricked. The vet was with us an hour, and by the time she left he was interested in a flap of hay.
This morning he was a little quiet, but got up and came for fuss. Hay eaten, but no water drunk. Some poo in stable (hurrah!), looked fine if a little dry.
We gave them lots of walking about and few little bits of grazing 11.30am - 12.30pm, then left them in the yard with some pickings of hay in the cattle feeder and Flossie's stable.
4.30pm afternoon yard, Davy was again in the corner of Flossie's stable picking up the dreggy wisps of hay from the floor.
A few nice piles of healthy poo in the yard, can't tell if that was all Flossie or half and half. A nice healthy poo, not trodden in, in Flossie's stable - most likely to be Davy, and fairly recent.
He was still a little more firm on the lefthand side than I would like.
He ate his tea as normal, then set to on eating his hay - but then stretched his jaw a few times and stopped eating the hay.
I'm off to look in on him again shortly.