Bull Hurt - Need Advice

[iamamy]

I have been so fortunate and have never had a herd bull hurt...until now. The vet says a spinal injury. He had treated him with steriod injections, and was making improvement, but suddenly declined. He is in the barn, but has stopped getting up. I am taking water and food to him. I am going to check on hip lockers today to assist him in standing. Anything else I can do? I hate to lose him. And, worse case scenario, does anyone know the withdrawl time on steriod injections?

 

[Lucky_P]

Depends on the corticosteroid preparation, dosage, and route of administration.
FARAD says 0 days for Dexamethasone, 7 days for isoflupredone acetate (Predef 2x) ... these would be the 2 that I used most in cattle, when I was still in practice.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Heavy mature bulls that get hurt bad enough that they don't get up, usually never get up. Their just to heavy. If it's a recent injury and he hasn't lost much weight grind him into hamburger. If he's lost several hundred lbs. shoot him, he isn't getting back up.

 

[A.J.]

Sorry to hear about your bull. It sounds like you've done about all you can do. My last one got injured and got to where he couldn't get up anymore either. It's very frustrating, but once the big ones go down, my experience is there's a slim chance of them getting back up. I would ask the vet about withdrawal on what was given to him, and start checking around with local processors to see if any would come onsite. I hope you can get some salvage out of him to soften the blow. Hard replacing a good bull.

 

[76 Bar]

Anything else I can do?

Based on your remarks the prognosis for recovery is dire. Review the administered drug withdrawal time line and slaughter him ASAP for consumption or put him out his misery post haste.

 

[iamamy]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to me and share your advice. The drug was Dexamethasone. We are going to work with him today. If we do not have positive results we will take the appropriate actions. Thanks again.

 

[Dsth]

around here no lockers will butcher any beef that can't walk into the slaughter house. Dates back to the mad cow disease. Maybe the rules have changed now but I ended up putting a cow that had trouble calving out of her misery because I couldn't take her to the locker or find a private butcher to take her. An old vet told me if they don't get up on their own in three days, they wont get up. Trying to assist them to get up is not much good but makes you feel better that you tried. Hope he gets up but it doesn't sound good.

 

[Brute 23]

Have a vet put him down. In my experience, the odds are if they cant walk it off they wont be able to breed long term. No use making him suffer and pouring a bunch of money in him.

 

[sstterry]

Depends on the corticosteroid preparation, dosage, and route of administration.
FARAD says 0 days for Dexamethasone, 7 days for isoflupredone acetate (Predef 2x) ... these would be the 2 that I used most in cattle, when I was still in practice.

I hope we see you around here more often Lucky_P, you and Buck are great assets and sources of information to this Board.

As a side note, what kind of Burger would an older Bull or Cow make? Would it need to hang like a regular beef carcus?

 

[TCRanch]

Real sorry about your bull. And yes, prognosis is grim. Putting him down is incredibly hard to do but the alternative is letting him suffer. I learned the hard way with a cow with a spinal injury; 10 days of hoisting her with a hip lift, Dex, Banamine. Bless her heart, she'd roll to her side to let her calf nurse. My efforts, though well intended & trying to save her, weren't helping and I wish I had recognized that sooner.

Sstterry, I don't know about an older bull but we processed an older, fat cow and she was delish! Burger & roasts.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Depends on the corticosteroid preparation, dosage, and route of administration.
FARAD says 0 days for Dexamethasone, 7 days for isoflupredone acetate (Predef 2x) ... these would be the 2 that I used most in cattle, when I was still in practice.

I hope we see you around here more often Lucky_P, you and Buck are great assets and sources of information to this Board.

As a side note, what kind of Burger would an older Bull or Cow make? Would it need to hang like a regular beef carcus?

I've had packer buyers tell me that bull carcasses are extremely dry. They claim you can take a bull carcass soak it in water and it will absorb its weight. Then you take that, mix a little cow fat in and they've got A LOT of okay hamburger.
Hang'em like any other beef.

 

[Dempster]

Younger bulls with some fat cover will butcher fairly well. Many local lockers will cut a piece off as soon as they hang them if you want to test the meat before it is processed. I would have them cut off a ribeye steak, take it home and cook it. If it cooks up well, keep the ribeye and some roasts and grind the rest. If it doesn't cook up good, then you can decide if you want all hamburger from it. I've had 2 year old bulls butchered like I would steers that ate similarly, though that was before their 2nd year of breeding started. If this bull has been working all summer, it will eat quite a bit worse.

 

[iamamy]

I appreciate you all so much taking the time to give your advice. As bad as it hurts the heart and the pocket book, I'm afraid I'm going to have to put the fella down. He is not doing well. We lifted him again today, but he has very little interest in eating. I don't mind putting in the work if he can heal, but I don't want him to suffer and him still not be able to do his job. Thank you all again.

 

[76 Bar]

I appreciate you all so much taking the time to give your advice. As bad as it hurts the heart and the pocket book, I'm afraid I'm going to have to put the fella down. He is not doing well. We lifted him again today, but he has very little interest in eating. I don't mind putting in the work if he can heal, but I don't want him to suffer and him still not be able to do his job. Thank you all again.

Its never easy to put one down. Take comfort that you made the right decision and limited his suffering.

 

[darcelina4]

He could also have Blv. A fatal sign is when they can't get up from tumors in the spine. I would not eat meat from a downer cow bull myself as I worth about disease transmission.