had to have a c-section on our last heifer to calve..of course it had to be after hours..my vet said they would send a bill...im just wondering what its gonna cost...should i be looking for a second job? or is this not going to be as bad as i think it is??
average cost for a c-section
- Thread starter robinb
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
wbvs58
Well-known member
If it was a cattle vet I think you would find the cost would be reasonable as the job would be done quickly and efficiently.
If it was a vet that was primarily small animals and just does the occaisional cow maybe start looking for that 2nd job.
Ken
If it was a vet that was primarily small animals and just does the occaisional cow maybe start looking for that 2nd job.
Ken
Son of Butch
Well-known member
:nod: :nod: :nod:
"Cat & dog" vets as a rule are mostly crooks for the amount of work they do.
Large animal Vets as a rule are usually reasonable for the work involved.wbvs58":12t2ya3q said:
"Cat & dog" vets as a rule are mostly crooks for the amount of work they do.
We had one in 2014, $275.00 but we brought her in so no trip charge & our vets are large animal. An additional $35.00 for follow-up exams. Don't remember the cost of the penicillin but had to give her 30cc every other day for a week. BTW the calf was breech & dead but the heifer did great. We did end up selling her because of potential problems breeding back.
WalnutCrest
Well-known member
A friend of mine had a c-section on a cow (performed by a large-animal vet) and my wife and I got to scrub to help as none of the vet-techs were there at 1am. Unfortunately, the calf was dead and his head was wedged in the pelvis and so we had to cut the calf out (no, it was not pleasant) ... and it was after hours and, from start to finish, took maybe three hours ... I want to say he said the bill was $750?
called the vet office this morning to see what the bill was...im happy to say it was only 325.00. so far calf and mother are still alive...calf has a buckled over ankle that makes it hard for him to stand up. and mother is tired and sore and has no interest in the calf what so ever. i have them penned together and shes not mean to him,just ignores him. ive given him a couple bottles. hoping to keep his strength up til he can get around better and she feels better...but im preparing for a bottle calf also...ugh..
Did you milk her out or give the calf colostrum replacer? Glad the bill was reasonable and good luck!
slick4591
Well-known member
I paid 800 for the procedure three years ago. Same contracted tendon issue but mom was doing her job. About a week and a half later you never knew that calf had a problem.
Luca Brasi
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2014
- Messages
- 209
- Reaction score
- 1
Son of Butch":18g9891b said:
That shows a gross ignorance of what is involved, and the differences between the two. The amount of equipment, facilities, anesthesia and staff needed for the procedure by small animal veterinarians is much more than with large animals, to say nothing of the huge increase in liability and the standard of care imposed by state veterinary boards. By and large, cattle owners understand that it is already a high risk, things can go wrong and it may be no one's fault (except maybe their own if they wait too long to call the vet). Pet owners not so much, and dog forbid when their baby or any of it's babies die on the table. Your, fault, my fault, nobody's fault, they are still much more likely to scream bloody murder that the vet killed their baby. I wouldn't want to deal with those morons for 4 times the fee of a c-section for a cow. The vets are not crooks, they are charging for all that they have to put into it, including the idiot fee.
fenceman
Well-known member
I would say it's more of a charge what you can get kinda deal.
With livestock it's a business decision. Cut and dried.
With pets emotions come into play, and that imo is not very ethical. :2cents:
With livestock it's a business decision. Cut and dried.
With pets emotions come into play, and that imo is not very ethical. :2cents:
Son of Butch
Well-known member
:nod: :nod: :nod:fenceman":3vgahpz3 said:
Yes, doing $1,000 hip replacement surgery on a cat makes no sense to me when you could just do a total cat replacement
for a buck on any farm yard in the county.
wlamarparmer
Well-known member
Hi Guys/Gals,
Do not intend to "stir the pot" or start a feud, but feel I must defend my Profession here. I am a semi-retired
DVM and proud to be such. I started practice in So Ala mid 70's doing large animal, saw lots "hollow tail", pulled
60-70 # calves on 300-400 # heifers, did c'sections, so I know of the economics involved in livestock work. Circumstances, some economic, some my choice led me to 40 yrs small animal practice in Columbus, Ga. At that time
was hard to charge road trip and treatment on a calf that could be replaced at sale barn for less than $50.
I will not deny that a lot of "what the market will bear" goes on especially in metropolitan areas, but these people have invested many years, and in most cases have invested heavily into their practice. Seems the average pet owner expects treatment of their pets to be roughly equivalent to human medicine. We do this out of pocket, no government purchase, use of hospital equip, etc. Few years ago had conversation with friend who is Human Orthopedist, discussing my need for a piece of equipment. He laughed, said I never thought of having to justify, we just tell hospital what we want and its there.
All states have a body that governs the Veterinary Profession, by setting minimal standard of care, licensing, and a body that handles potential malpractice/complaints. Most these board consist of several segment of population, so is not a DVM whitewash. I know some in my profession for what ever reason do not truly practice to that minimum, but every minute they do that they are putting themselves, clients, and patients at risk. But, in most cases they can do that at a lesser cost.
The clinic I currently do small amount work is run with the patient in mind. We have 2 registered Vet Tech on duty @ all times, full electronic anesthetic monitoring, use primarily gas anesthesia, heated pad surgery table, nothing beyond Young spay or neuter is done w/o full lab, Iv fluids with pain reliever on board. My colleague chose when he started this practice (my semi-retirement) that he would do every thing by the book. None of this is paid for except by us/therefore the client.
Had a colleague few years ago, client dog very bad condition, gave client est for treatment, client said why I want pay that for $25 I can go to pound and get another dog. Colleague "Do You want a dog or this dog, if this dog this is estimate"
In my years I have seen instances of what I felt was overpricing, procedures done for 1/2 what I could perform same for, but examining latter was usually justified by lack of supportive work/care. A young healthy spay or neuter can routinely be done with injectable anesthesia w/o bloodwook, etc., 90% all good no problem. Have seen older dogs with tumors done same probably 65% probability success there. But neither these examples live up to the minimal standards of Veterinary Care as described by most state boards, and I will not do that.
We have both state licensing boards, general public, and our clients looking over our shoulder, so it ani't do as I want profession.
Wilson Lamar Parmer, DVM
Auburn 1975
Do not intend to "stir the pot" or start a feud, but feel I must defend my Profession here. I am a semi-retired
DVM and proud to be such. I started practice in So Ala mid 70's doing large animal, saw lots "hollow tail", pulled
60-70 # calves on 300-400 # heifers, did c'sections, so I know of the economics involved in livestock work. Circumstances, some economic, some my choice led me to 40 yrs small animal practice in Columbus, Ga. At that time
was hard to charge road trip and treatment on a calf that could be replaced at sale barn for less than $50.
I will not deny that a lot of "what the market will bear" goes on especially in metropolitan areas, but these people have invested many years, and in most cases have invested heavily into their practice. Seems the average pet owner expects treatment of their pets to be roughly equivalent to human medicine. We do this out of pocket, no government purchase, use of hospital equip, etc. Few years ago had conversation with friend who is Human Orthopedist, discussing my need for a piece of equipment. He laughed, said I never thought of having to justify, we just tell hospital what we want and its there.
All states have a body that governs the Veterinary Profession, by setting minimal standard of care, licensing, and a body that handles potential malpractice/complaints. Most these board consist of several segment of population, so is not a DVM whitewash. I know some in my profession for what ever reason do not truly practice to that minimum, but every minute they do that they are putting themselves, clients, and patients at risk. But, in most cases they can do that at a lesser cost.
The clinic I currently do small amount work is run with the patient in mind. We have 2 registered Vet Tech on duty @ all times, full electronic anesthetic monitoring, use primarily gas anesthesia, heated pad surgery table, nothing beyond Young spay or neuter is done w/o full lab, Iv fluids with pain reliever on board. My colleague chose when he started this practice (my semi-retirement) that he would do every thing by the book. None of this is paid for except by us/therefore the client.
Had a colleague few years ago, client dog very bad condition, gave client est for treatment, client said why I want pay that for $25 I can go to pound and get another dog. Colleague "Do You want a dog or this dog, if this dog this is estimate"
In my years I have seen instances of what I felt was overpricing, procedures done for 1/2 what I could perform same for, but examining latter was usually justified by lack of supportive work/care. A young healthy spay or neuter can routinely be done with injectable anesthesia w/o bloodwook, etc., 90% all good no problem. Have seen older dogs with tumors done same probably 65% probability success there. But neither these examples live up to the minimal standards of Veterinary Care as described by most state boards, and I will not do that.
We have both state licensing boards, general public, and our clients looking over our shoulder, so it ani't do as I want profession.
Wilson Lamar Parmer, DVM
Auburn 1975
im happy to report the calf is doing well tonight.i did give him a bottle of colostrum replacer saturday morning. and then a bottle of milk replacer saturday nite. he had such a hard time staying on his feet due to the weak ankle thing, that i didnt think he could stand to nurse. this morning i gave him just a quart of milk replacer in the bottle and helped him to find his momma..he latched on for a few minutes. tonight he jumped up..still on his tip toes but better than this morning. and he hooked right on to her. so i didnt give him a bottle at all. she is not motherly...not licking him or talking to him, but not chasing him away either. i have them locked in a small pen for now. i have high hopes this will all be ok. my vet is awesome. he is an all around vet i guess..he specializes in equine, which is what i usually use him for, but he also does small animals and cow/pig stuff. the heifer seems to be doing ok..still slow moving but eating a little and drinking. i have given 2 shots of LA 200 per my vet. he says that should take care of it. her incision looks good still..crossing my fingers for the best here..but i wont be rebreeding her.
Dr Palmer, excellent post! And Vets are not exempt from skyrocketing taxes & prices on supplies, meds, etc - just like anyone else in the medical profession.
robinb, yay on the nursing! May take a while to mother-up but letting her calf nurse is half the battle & the calf should grow out of the buckling (I had one this year, took about 6 weeks). Sending good juju for continued progress
robinb, yay on the nursing! May take a while to mother-up but letting her calf nurse is half the battle & the calf should grow out of the buckling (I had one this year, took about 6 weeks). Sending good juju for continued progress
Lucky_P
Well-known member
Had one of my local veterinary colleagues out for one at 10pm last fall, in the middle of the pasture, with cow roped & tied to an Osage Orange tree; reminded me of my old practice days - except that I (the owner) had the cow caught and tied. It was not hard to figure out the calf wasn't coming out the same way he went in...
I don't have the drugs/instruments to do one any more; even if I did, between having blown my knee, and my partner(wife, also a DVM) having had bunion surgery about 2 weeks earlier, we weren't in any shape to do one.
Think the bill was $250...and they gave me a 15% 'professional courtesy' discount.
Would have been glad to pay the full amount and then some. Got a live cow & calf out of the deal ... Sold 'em both at weaning time, and came out OK on 'em both.
I don't have the drugs/instruments to do one any more; even if I did, between having blown my knee, and my partner(wife, also a DVM) having had bunion surgery about 2 weeks earlier, we weren't in any shape to do one.
Think the bill was $250...and they gave me a 15% 'professional courtesy' discount.
Would have been glad to pay the full amount and then some. Got a live cow & calf out of the deal ... Sold 'em both at weaning time, and came out OK on 'em both.
tonights report is still good. calf is strong and sassy..mom is still not interested, but does let him suck if we stand there and talk to her. i wonder if hes sucking during the day when we arent there, because her bag is not tight...maybe hes getting more than i think..but i have yet to see her be the slightest bit protective or caring towards him. his feet are looking alot better every day. any tips to help her like him?
bigbull338
Well-known member
the only time we use a vet is for C-sections.they usually cost $275 to $300.
robinb":157igvbz said:
If he's sassy & his sides aren't sunken then he's most likely nursing when you're not around. Is the hair on his nose flat/sticky? Only had one heifer not mother-up so we penned them together until she finally accepted her calf but never showed much interest until we weaned & she ended up bawling more than any of them. Decided to give her another chance & she's now an amazing mom. There are a lot of Orphan No More & other products but I'd just give it some time.
