Sick dairy cow

Have a 3 YO jersey in her second calf. I noticed her breathing seems a bit constricted (like a stuffy nose) and have noted yellowish nasal discharge with a bit of it around her eyes too. Eyes are clear looking so far, so I'm not sure there's pink eye or not. Her appetite hasnt changed and she doesnt seem to be running a fever. Any ideas or suggestions?

Hi Katlynne,
I don't have any experience with cows, but I wanted to bump this post, in hopes that some cow people will respond.

Sounds like pneumonia

LA 200 dosed to weight

You can try a magnet too if there is a chance she has hardware

Hi Katlynne, what comes to mind is trying raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar. If your dairy cow gets her water from a tub or trough, it's easy to just add to her water there. Unfortunately I don't have quantity suggestions for you, but there's a lot of info out there about giving apple cider vinegar to cattle and ACV really can do some amazing things when helping animals that are ill. You mentioned pink eye in your post and you're not sure if she has it or not. Pink eye is a symptom of iodine deficiency and one excellent source of bioavailable iodine is kelp. I mix kelp 50/50 by weight with the mineral salt that I give my small herd which they have access to free choice. Hope this helps.

If she's still up and eating well, bright eyed, straight back (not standing hunched), ears pricked up like normal and not drooping or cold to the touch, then she's not trying to die on you. Good news.

If her breathing is still poor, I must concur with Steve, sounds like pneumonia. Personally I wait on the antibiotics (LA 200 is a good all purpose one, yes) until they start acting fairly sick, but you might want to get some on hand in case she goes downhill suddenly. She may also snap out of it on her own. If she's otherwise perky, I'd say just keep an eye on her.

Snotty breathing suggests pneumonia, but if her breathing were fine and she just had inflamed eyes, Vetericyn eye spray is a good fix for pinkeye, though you should perhaps also take James's nutritional advice to prevent re-occurrence. I use Fertrell Cattle Choice, which contains kelp, calcium, trace minerals, and probiotics, but I haven't found her to go for it on its own so I sprinkle a spoonfull over her daily treats.

I usually only worry about hardware if she's off feed, but a magnet is always a good cheap prophylactic. If there's any chance there are old nails or bits of stray wire in your pasture (and who hasn't got some of both?) the magnet will catch anything she swallows and prevent it going on to perforate her gut. Like most prophylactics, it works best if you feed her one BEFORE she eats something she shouldn't have. Will not help with stainless steel or shredded aluminum cans, so try not to mow over those if you are near a road.