Cow walking slowly... due to calf soon

[DavisBeefmasters]

Hi all,

We have a cow due to calf on 4/25. Over the weekend she started coming up very slowly to eat and moving her rear legs REALLY slowly and cautiously. We live in California, and everything is just soaked this year, no way to get them out of the mud right now... all the cows are walking slowly with the mud, but she is slower than the rest, but also with her weight was up to the first knuckle in some of the soft spots of the pasture.

I moved her into a different pasture with the heifer calves we're weaning that is about a foot higher than the others for more solid footing (also closer to the house for me to watch her). She walked fine when moving her in.

Do you think she strained her back legs? or am I just expecting a very large bull calf?

Any opinions (including the direct blunt approach) welcome.

 

[BlackBaldyMan]

If she will hold her head up, ears look perky and not caughing, etc. I would say its due to the rain and weather on her and the fact she has the extra weight in her. We get real heavy rain and when its really windy with that the cattle all walk slower with their heads down a little, I would say unless you see her gimping or something like that I would just keep an eye on her, see if she gets worst or not.

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

Holds her head up high... beefmaster big ears always following us wherever we go on the property... just seems like it's a lot of effort for her to get the back legs moving...

...hopefully just the mud she's in, I'll keep watching her... 2 inches of rain coming in tonight again... I know I shouldn't complain, but I thing we're set for a little bit in the moisture department.

Thanks.

 

[Victoria]

Cows can walk funny when pregnant to begin with and the mud sucking her down wouldn't help much. If she can walk fine when moving her I wouldn't worry about her.

 

[TheBullLady]

I bet she's just uncomfortable. The calf may be laying awkwardly, or on a nerve that's making it harder for her to walk. I've had cows like that as well, but never had a problem with them after they calved, or the calf moved positions.