Dusty Britches
Well-known member
(Keep in mind - I normally would not take these to the vet, but due to circumstances too numerous to list, I found myself in the situation of needing to.)
Ok, so I had to take a cow to the vet yesterday for a final treatment for foot rot. I penned the cows and got to thinking, why not take the weaning calves in to put their Angus Source tags in their ears. That would save us from trying to get back home on Sunday, arranging for help, etc.
So, I sorted them. All of the calves got on the trailer without any problems. I grabbed one extra, because he had e-coli. I went back to sorting the cows, still trying to get Ms. Foot Rot. One of the last two to come up to the smaller pens, I finally got a good look at her. She was fine. Bandage was off, no swelling, no limping. Well, I says, she doesn't need to go.
I made the decision yesterday at 6 am to bring them in at 8, which means I could not call the vet prior to arriving. I figured if he was busy I could just wait until I could use the facilities. He has helped us in the past by letting us use the facilities. So, I knew if there was a vet tech, we'd be good.
As I pulled in at 8:10, the youngest of 3 vet assistants greeted me with, "Doc is about to leave to go work cows on a ranch." Ok, I said, "I really don't need him. I was just hoping to get someone to help me tag this group of calves and to treat one for e-coli."
He said, "Ok." So, can you help me or should we wait for the one of the techs? He said, "I can help!" He sounded excited.
We unloaded and ran them into the chutes. The kid worked the hydraulic squeeze and I tagged. It was going very nicely and quickly. Then about 1/2 way through, one calf would not leave the squeeze. I looked back and the next calf had his head caught between the squeeze and sissor gate behind the squeeze. "Oh, my gosh!" I said.
The kid closed the squeeze and the calf fell backwards, without fighting. He went limp and his tounge hung out. I said, "Did you just kill my calf?"
He said, "I hope not! Let's get Doc!" and he took off.
Before the assistant made it to the inside, I looked back - the calf was dead. I went inside and said - "It's too late. He's dead."
The full time tech and the assistant followed me back outside. The tech asked us to move the remaining calves back to the pens and then she opened the side gate where the calf was. He fell out. The kid poked his eyes and tried to get him up. I said, "He's dead" and walked away absolutely furious. The kid had crushed the calf's head. A minute later, he said, "no look - he's moving, trying to get up!" I came back and said, "No, those are brain injury convulsions."
Amazing how things can be going so well and suddenly turn so bad. I was told the vet would call the insurance company and file a claim to pay for the calf. It was the oldest in the group. I'm still mad, but what can I do? I feel lucky that they'll pay for it. It was a 550 pound steer. I was planning and to take the group to the sale next week. Good thing, too, b/c they will give us a solid idea of what the dead one was worth.
Before you tear up the kid - I really like him. He is a go getter, looks for things that need to be done, tries hard. He is the kind of person everyone wants on their team. He now knows that you should keep the sissor gate closed unless a cow is moving through it.
This is how this happened - he kept the sissor gate open to allow the next calf a start into the squeeze while the one in the squeeze left. We do this alot with our manual squeeze. While the squeeze was closed, the next calf stuck his head between the sissor gate and the squeeze. When the tech opened the squeeze, it crushed the calf's head.
That was my day in the cattle business. I decided not to bring the rest of the calves for tagging. Guess we get 'er done before the sale next week.
Ok, so I had to take a cow to the vet yesterday for a final treatment for foot rot. I penned the cows and got to thinking, why not take the weaning calves in to put their Angus Source tags in their ears. That would save us from trying to get back home on Sunday, arranging for help, etc.
So, I sorted them. All of the calves got on the trailer without any problems. I grabbed one extra, because he had e-coli. I went back to sorting the cows, still trying to get Ms. Foot Rot. One of the last two to come up to the smaller pens, I finally got a good look at her. She was fine. Bandage was off, no swelling, no limping. Well, I says, she doesn't need to go.
I made the decision yesterday at 6 am to bring them in at 8, which means I could not call the vet prior to arriving. I figured if he was busy I could just wait until I could use the facilities. He has helped us in the past by letting us use the facilities. So, I knew if there was a vet tech, we'd be good.
As I pulled in at 8:10, the youngest of 3 vet assistants greeted me with, "Doc is about to leave to go work cows on a ranch." Ok, I said, "I really don't need him. I was just hoping to get someone to help me tag this group of calves and to treat one for e-coli."
He said, "Ok." So, can you help me or should we wait for the one of the techs? He said, "I can help!" He sounded excited.
We unloaded and ran them into the chutes. The kid worked the hydraulic squeeze and I tagged. It was going very nicely and quickly. Then about 1/2 way through, one calf would not leave the squeeze. I looked back and the next calf had his head caught between the squeeze and sissor gate behind the squeeze. "Oh, my gosh!" I said.
The kid closed the squeeze and the calf fell backwards, without fighting. He went limp and his tounge hung out. I said, "Did you just kill my calf?"
He said, "I hope not! Let's get Doc!" and he took off.
Before the assistant made it to the inside, I looked back - the calf was dead. I went inside and said - "It's too late. He's dead."
The full time tech and the assistant followed me back outside. The tech asked us to move the remaining calves back to the pens and then she opened the side gate where the calf was. He fell out. The kid poked his eyes and tried to get him up. I said, "He's dead" and walked away absolutely furious. The kid had crushed the calf's head. A minute later, he said, "no look - he's moving, trying to get up!" I came back and said, "No, those are brain injury convulsions."
Amazing how things can be going so well and suddenly turn so bad. I was told the vet would call the insurance company and file a claim to pay for the calf. It was the oldest in the group. I'm still mad, but what can I do? I feel lucky that they'll pay for it. It was a 550 pound steer. I was planning and to take the group to the sale next week. Good thing, too, b/c they will give us a solid idea of what the dead one was worth.
Before you tear up the kid - I really like him. He is a go getter, looks for things that need to be done, tries hard. He is the kind of person everyone wants on their team. He now knows that you should keep the sissor gate closed unless a cow is moving through it.
This is how this happened - he kept the sissor gate open to allow the next calf a start into the squeeze while the one in the squeeze left. We do this alot with our manual squeeze. While the squeeze was closed, the next calf stuck his head between the sissor gate and the squeeze. When the tech opened the squeeze, it crushed the calf's head.
That was my day in the cattle business. I decided not to bring the rest of the calves for tagging. Guess we get 'er done before the sale next week.
