Advice please

[hurleyjd]

I have cow that has an injury on the backbone near where the pelvic attaches. No indication of what may have caused it. I think a tree trunk may have caused this injury I did find one about 8 inches in dia where the cows hang out. Had the vet out Saturday. Pumped her with steroids. And we moved her to the shade. She drags herself around with the front legs with the back legs dragging behind her No feeling in the legs at all hotshot does not affect them at all. She eats and drinks what ever I bring to her. What would any of you do keep bringing water and feed when there seems no improvement at all. Would it be more humane to shoot her or keep hauling the feed and water. I can set her up with legs under her and within 30 minutes she has tried to move with the legs dragging behind her. If you have ever seen a dog drag across the ground on their belly then this is how the cow is moving around. Vet did not give much hope for her.

 

[Rafter S]

I hate to say it, but if the vet doesn't have much hope for her ever getting up I don't believe I'd spend much more time or money on her.

 

[Rafter S]

Or send it to A&M: http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Hero-The-Calf-Walking-Again-With-Prosthetic-Legs-242157411.html (Is there a Smiley face for sarcasm?)

 

[M5farm]

Put her down and Move On.

 

[Kingfisher]

I had a dog run over a few years ago. No broke bones. No internal bleeding. Seemed paralyzed. @ 2 weeks later good to go. I believe his pelvis was bruised. Heezagood boy!

 

[M5farm]

I had a dog run over a few years ago. No broke bones. No internal bleeding. Seemed paralyzed. @ 2 weeks later good to go. I believe his pelvis was bruised. Heezagood boy!

IMO a dog is different as you can keep them comfortable and they don't have the weight to move around. Personally I would make myself sick worrying over a lame animial outside and I would be checking on her every few minutes then hauling feed, water and hoping for the best, it takes a toll on a person. I do not want anything to suffer. I would put her down and move on . My 2cents

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Had a young jersey get like that, a number of years ago. Pretty much split her pelvis. Dragged herself like that. There was little to no hope for improvement. It was difficult, but the right thing to do when I put a bullet in her and put her out of the misery of being unable to stand.

If she were mine, I'd put her down. Its never easy even when its the right thing to do.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

Had a bull do the same thing a couple of years ago. Hauled him to the vet. It was a broke spine according to the vet. He did show me a trick though. He took his pocket knife and started lightly poking the bull right along his spine at the shoulders. When he would poke him he would shake his skin like they do when shaking off a fly. He continued down the spine towards the tail. He got about half way down his spine and he quit shaking. The vet stated that he had broke his back there and severed his spinal colum. Anything past the break and he had no feeling. Nothing to be done but put him down. It sucks, but part of having cattle. One word of advice though, a 7.62x54r fmj can go through a bulls head, two feet of bull body, and still have enough energy to go through the side of a steel livestock trailer. :cry2: Could you eat her where you gave her steroids? I am not sure what the withdrawal period is for them.

 

[hurleyjd]

Different vet different cow. Cow had been eating acorns. We treated and when she run out of the chute and went down one the concrete floor. Vet said leave her and come get her in the morning. Next morning still in the same spot as the day before. Vet Said let us put her down and I will borrow the loader next door and load her. He came out with a .22 revolver and shot her hardly a wiggle. I said I have shot cows and it seemed as if they took forever to die. he said to look at their and eyes and draw an imaginer X from ears to eyes and shoot where the lines cross. That is what I will try today.

 

[dun]

One of my top cows did that a couple of years ago. After a week I shot her

 

[branguscowgirl]

I did have a cow recover, but she continued to have feeling and tail tone. Yours sounds much worse. So sorry......

 

[cowgirl8]

I give them until either they start getting sores or are showing no improvement each day. You can usually tell before the sores if there is going to be no improvement, each day they eat less, move less, and get that look in their eye to please end it.

 

[cow pollinater]

Put her down.

 

[bigbull338]

put her down your just wasting your time with her.

 

[peg4x4]

My daddy built a sling out of an old pickup bed frame,some welded on bars and a couple of hand crank engine hoists. He would get heavy duty canvas under the cow,back the rig over her,wench her up and drive to the barn. Handy thingie to have around.

 

[hurleyjd]

I have put her down. Shot her where the lines crossed not a wiggle any where just closed her eyes tight.

 

[Commercialfarmer]

You did the right thing, not good if she doesn't have any appreciation of pain in her hind limbs. Different odds than being able to feel pain.

If you're interested in a little more detail, there's more or less 4 major types of nerves in the spine (some carry info to the brain, some carry instructions from the brain). The deepest and most protected are the "deep" pain fibers. You'll lose the info from the joints telling the brain where the joints are, the info from the brain to the muscles (instructions), and the superficial pain signals first.


Deep pain signal goes last, and if it's disrupted.... not good.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

I know you hate lose them but you did the right thing. I have fooled with a couple dozen in the condition you described. My grandfather forgot more about cattle than I will ever know, but his biggest fault was he did not know when to give up on them. We would hook a hip lift or canvass sling to them and get them up several times a day with a chain hoist. This would go on for two to three weeks till they started to rot inside (if you have ever had one do this you never forget the smell). In all the time we worked down cattle we never saved a single one. Now if one gets down we try to bet her up with a hot shot or a pitchfork as soon as they get down. If they do not get up within 24 hrs we put them down. You are not doing the animal or yourself any good by prolonging its misery.

 

[LauraleesFarm]

As expensive as cows are these days, I would not give up easily, either. I think you knew when to stop in this case, though. You gave her a chance and she deserved that. I'm sorry you lost her.

 

[skyhightree1]

Rough deal.. You did the right thing.