Had a nearly 3 year old Hereford heifer go into labor Wednesday. Initially saw some discharge and 1 hoof. Kept watching to see if she was progressing. Nothing. She didn't seem to be interested in pushing at all.
What time of day was this? Any possibility of her having been in labor all night or all day without you knowing it?
Showed very few signs of discomfort. She would get up and go graze, drink, etc like it was just a another day. Husband went in to feel around. Wasn't able to get a good hold of the second hoof so we called the vet. Vet came. Baby is breech. They pulled the calf. It was dead. Full term calf, perfectly formed, excellent size.
Sounds like she had been in labor long enough that the delivery process shut down.
The vet said in his opinion he would butcher the heifer now because as he worded it, "She's lazy". He said "There is absolutely NO reason she shouldn't have been pushing more. She's just lazy and didn't want to." He also added that she's apt to have the same thing happen over and over again. After the birth, he used 3 hot shots to get her up. He said she was "sulking", and then added, "See what I mean about how lazy she is?"
What would you do?
I would never cull based on the opinion of the vet. First off - he/she only knows what they are seeing, and there is a very high chance that what they are seeing is far from the whole picture. 2nd - they know nothing about this particular animal, and are not in a position to judge or condemn based on one encounter. 3rd - vets generally do not have all the facts when they are called out to assist/correct a problem because most of us don't know what happened between the time the problem started and the time we noticed a problem existed, nor can we continously babysit until the time the vet gets there. 4th - the vets job is to help, not tell an owner what to do with their animals. This particular vet sounds a bit full of himself, and I believe I would strongly consider finding a different vet - preferably one who is a little less judgemental. We've had a number of vets over the years - mainly due to retirement, re-location, and selling out their interest in the local vet clinic - but I can honestly say that we have never had a vet who told us what to do with our cattle. To me, telling you to cull this cow due to her being "lazy" is a breech of ethics, highly unprofessional, as well as being irresponsibile - but that is just my opinion.
I mean, just because a heifer has a breech birth her first time calving, is that a reason to cull her?
Not in my book.
The fact that she wouldn't push, is that because she's lazy, as the vet stated or because of the breech calf?
Have you considered the possibility that it could have simply been due to the fact that she was exhausted?
I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.