Call the vet!

[J. T.]

Not meaning to steal Caustic's thunder, 'cause he's already spoken on the topic, but Beginners, if you have a cow in trouble, call the vet instead of getting on-line and hoping for a response. It has never crossed my mind to go to these boards when I had a cow that needed a vet's attention. I gaurantee you that if I broke my leg and the bone had pierced my femoral artery, I'd be calling 911 if I was able. I wouldn't get on line to see if anybody had any ideas as to what I should do!

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Amen to that!

Call Vet First...

After crisis is over...you can go online to get other's opinion...

Just good common sense...

 

[Bez!]

Common what????

Bez!

 

[Victoria]

Good post, it can't be said often enough.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

The only thing i would add is that some times it takes a vet for ever to show up. during that time it might be helpfull to some to get a idea what there up againts. but they need too let folks in on that detail before hand.

 

[TheBullLady]

I was going to point that out as well. The vet should be your first inclination, but judging from a LOT of the posters lately, there are a lot of areas where you can't FIND a vet! Or if you do, they won't come out to your place. Looks like that's the "way of the future" too. We're fixin' to lose our local vet, and he's been trying to find a replacement for months. Not far from A & M.. who would have thought?

 

[AngusLimoX]

It is a credit to this board that people will come here and get advice that I think in some cases would be more useful than having a vet's opinion. I deeply regret calling the vet on one occassion, I don't think I would have given up and lost the pair.

And now you want to discourage us from coming in here for fear of critisizm for not calling a vet.( Thats a statement not a question ).

Whether to call a vet or not is a humanitarian decision, and a business decision. It is also the decision of the person on scene to make that call!

I don't really care whether you agree with my or anyone elses decision to call a vet, it just matters to me whether you have any useful advice to offer.

If you want to critisize someone for not calling a vet, do it in the thread, otherwise how will we learn? ( Do it at the time,don't lurk and once the outcome is known post "well we knew that was gonna happen".

One of my posts may be one you are talking about, but somebody with something to offer also mentioned that she normally called the vet in my situation. That was helpful, even if not applicable.

If it is not an obvious emergency situation I see no problem posting in here. I have seen posts in here where the person had no idea the trouble their cow was in if they hadn't asked. In those cases it would have been another "why did my cow die" post.

As a newbie to the board I have been very impressed with some of the quick and accurate ( and successful ) advice.

( Then there are others that just wanna grab a high horse and spout from "above" ).

This board is a "new" tool for all of us to use. Some may wish it wasn't here for us.

 

[msscamp]

Good post, AngusLimoX! Sometimes I think it's too easy for people to forget that each one of us has to start somewhere, that what comes easy to one may not to another, and that hindsight tends to be 20/20. Just my thoughts.

 

[J. T.]

The reason for the post was to HELP the beginners, not to criticize! It seems that some posters get on line instead of helping the animal.

 

[AngusLimoX]

The reason for the post was to HELP the beginners, not to criticize! It seems that some posters get on line instead of helping the animal.

And some posters get on line so they can better help the animal. Do you begrudge them that?

Broad accusations can and will lead to resentment.

And if you had that femoral artery bleeding that you mention, and the ambulance is 90 minutes away, would you wait, or ask for help online if it was available immediately?

Ahhh , the armchair quarterbacks, will I ever be free of them!! :lol:

 

[lakading]

The reason for the post was to HELP the beginners, not to criticize! It seems that some posters get on line instead of helping the animal.

And if you had that femoral artery bleeding that you mention, and the ambulance is 90 minutes away, would you wait, or ask for help online if it was available immediately?

Personally, I would keep my hands off the keyboard and keep them applying firm pressure to the wound. ;-) Of course, there we're getting back to that common sense stuff. :D

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, I agree call the vet. Just got a vet bill today. I had twelve heifers at another place didn't have time to work them. He did the following:13 all vaccinations, dehorned 3, made 3 sick calls in one week for one heifer who has carried a chest cold for a month now. Left me a bottle of Nuflor, a bottle of lutalyse, treated another's ones eye infection two different days.The total bill $240.00 What do you think. I was suprised at the national average GROSS INCOME for a large animale vet was only 42k a year. Unbelievable. What they go through for so little pay. Of course the fact is that a cow is only worth so much. If they were too high they wouldn't never have any work.

 

[lakading]

Ok, I agree call the vet. Just got a vet bill today. I had twelve heifers at another place didn't have time to work them. He did the following:13 all vaccinations, dehorned 3, made 3 sick calls in one week for one heifer who has carried a chest cold for a month now. Left me a bottle of Nuflor, a bottle of lutalyse, treated another's ones eye infection two different days.The total bill $240.00 What do you think. I was suprised at the national average GROSS INCOME for a large animale vet was only 42k a year. Unbelievable. What they go through for so little pay. Of course the fact is that a cow is only worth so much. If they were too high they wouldn't never have any work.

Let me guess...the Nuflor was a good chunk of that. That stuff is pretty dang salty.

 

[AngusLimoX]

The reason for the post was to HELP the beginners, not to criticize! It seems that some posters get on line instead of helping the animal.

And if you had that femoral artery bleeding that you mention, and the ambulance is 90 minutes away, would you wait, or ask for help online if it was available immediately?

Personally, I would keep my hands off the keyboard and keep them applying firm pressure to the wound. ;-) Of course, there we're getting back to that common sense stuff. :D

Nope , you are liar, or you are somewhat dull. If you could get immediate help you would get that message out, even if it meant momentary release of pressure on the wound to type.

Seems like the first one to invoke the term "common sense" claims to possess it.

Actually try to think about your response.

 

[lakading]

Wasn't the first to "invoke" common sense.

Not a liar or dull. Sorry to disappoint.

I gave my response all the thought it deserved.

You go ahead and type away. I can think of a few other resources that I would consult in that instance before I gave the internet any thought. He!! I may even try to drive myself to the hospital instead of bleeding all over my computer for 90 minutes.

 

[Gale Seddon]

ARMTco, I'd say you got quite a bargain on all that! I'm so thankful that our vets make farm calls and really feel for those of you out there who don't have vets who do. I work (in the office) for two large-animal vets; they have long unpredictable hours, seldom get more than one day a week (if that!) to call their own, juggle their schedules constantly for emergencies (and there are many), and work their butts off for their clients' cattle (and goats, sheep, llamas, alpacas, and the occasional pig). I think most people around here really appreciate them, as they should.

 

[lakading]

ARMTco, I'd say you got quite a bargain on all that! I'm so thankful that our vets make farm calls and really feel for those of you out there who don't have vets who do. I work (in the office) for two large-animal vets; they have long unpredictable hours, seldom get more than one day a week (if that!) to call their own, juggle their schedules constantly for emergencies (and there are many), and work their butts off for their clients' cattle (and goats, sheep, llamas, alpacas, and the occasional pig). I think most people around here really appreciate them, as they should.

I sure hope they appreciate them. You can bet that they would miss them when they were gone.

For that job and those hours, I'd have to specialize in either small animals or show animals. I can't believe how much some people pay to treat an animal to which they are emotionally attached.

 

[Scotty]

I was going to point that out as well. The vet should be your first inclination, but judging from a LOT of the posters lately, there are a lot of areas where you can't FIND a vet! Or if you do, they won't come out to your place. Looks like that's the "way of the future" too. We're fixin' to lose our local vet, and he's been trying to find a replacement for months. Not far from A & M.. who would have thought?

Go to extentionvetmed.edu or something like that. Texas vet extention service. There are many publication one can order if they want to(should) bone up on things. Anything from how to palpate, pull calves, select animals and on and on. I think many new comers can and will benefit from such things. AnguslimoX, Alot of know it alls on here. Alot of know nothing. Most of those that will rib you do know alot and have alot to offer if they jsut would. Instead they choose to rib and chastise. They would rather be wizeguys than anything else. Never hesitate to ask questions, but in this case I agree. The vet should have been called first if available. Some times people just go about it the wrong way.

 

[GaryDG]

In life threatening situations yes. But for those of us trying to understand which is that which is not, that is not a meaningful option.

I agree with the earlier post(s) on the subject that this forum is a surperb way of getting quality(filtered) information on a variety of cattle-related issues.

Calling a vet is easy but understanding the underlying issues at a reasonable cost and contributing to others is what this forum is all about.

 

[Ryder]

Whether to call a vet or not is a humanitarian decision, and a business decision. It is also the decision of the person on scene to make that call!

I agree with that.