Down Cow with diareah

[randumchatress]

I am new to this board so please bear with me if I dont post correctly.
We have a small farm. 21 cows my husband had originally intended to buy babies and raise them out to sell. Well A bull made it to our pasture and we had five heifers pregnant. The bull was apparently a beefalo from the looks and size of the babies. The first one lost her baby and was down for a week but five cortizone shots and lots of work she was up walking in a week. she still has trouble with her hoofs bending but she seems to have it under control.The vet showed me to grab her tail when she got up and help steady her. We just had one more thursday we pulled her baby and her baby lived. She is down and we are doing the same for her. She is walking a little but not good yet. She will spin and go down. We pulled the third cows baby out on friday momma and baby were doing fine. NOW its sunday all three of the cows are suffering from very wet dark brownish green diareah and the cow that just went down is grinding her teeth not eating and not trying to stand anymore. Also I dont think the last cow lost the after birth. I am having the vet come by tomorrow or next day we have only one vet that works on farm animals in the area os pinpointing a time is tough if there is somthing I can do now to help them I would appreciate the info. It seems when it rains it pours. I was so glad to find this forum.

 

[Vicky the vet]

ok, if this is for real...the cow that is down is grinding her teeth because she is in pain, she likely has an ulcer and it may be perforating. Dexamethasone will promote this happening. Dark green diarrhea is not good. If there is indeed a vet around, get them out NOW, not in a day or two. This is likely an emergency.

V

 

[randumchatress]

ok, if this is for real...the cow that is down is grinding her teeth because she is in pain, she likely has an ulcer and it may be perforating. Dexamethasone will promote this happening. Dark green diarrhea is not good. If there is indeed a vet around, get them out NOW, not in a day or two. This is likely an emergency.

V

NO JOKE!! I just got off the phone with the vet he is not coming but told me to try and get some hay down her and give her 25 cc penacillan. He will be here in the morning to give her somthing longer lasting. I am really at a loss. I have been able to get her to drink. The other two are getting up and eating some but they seem so weak. Thanks for answering even though you thought it may be a joke.

 

[1848]

The vet showed me to grab her tail when she got up and help steady her. We just had one more thursday we pulled her baby and her baby lived. She is down and we are doing the same for her. She is walking a little but not good yet. She will spin and go down. We pulled the third cows baby out on friday momma and baby were doing fine. NOW its sunday all three of the cows are suffering from very wet dark brownish green diareah and the cow that just went down is grinding her teeth not eating and not trying to stand anymore. Also I dont think the last cow lost the after birth. I am having the vet come by tomorrow or next day we have only one vet that works on farm animals in the area os pinpointing a time is tough if there is somthing I can do now to help them I would appreciate the info.

I feel sorry for you, especially since you are new to this. The spinning and going down could indicate a severe mineral deficiency (ie: magnesium), it could also be why they are not shedding their afterbirth. Do they have access to salt and mineral? What kinda of nutrition have these animals been on (pasture, feed, etc), and what was their body condition prior to calving? Is there a chance you perforated the bowel when pulling the calves? I agree that the grinding of teeth could indicate some severe pain. If you don't get the vet out there soon, your animals may not get up once they are down

 

[TheBullLady]

Randum.. I think you took Vicki's post the wrong way... she is saying it's NOT a joke, and that you should be very concerned. Her advise is ALWAYS the best.. she would never take a situation like yours as a joke.

 

[randumchatress]

Randum.. I think you took Vicki's post the wrong way... she is saying it's NOT a joke, and that you should be very concerned. Her advise is ALWAYS the best.. she would never take a situation like yours as a joke.

I thought she ment I was joking it does sound rather like a bad movie. Even the guy from green acres had happy endings. The cow that has me most concerned just slipped under the fence and is laying in a gully and we cant get her out. So the vet will be sorry he didnt come today. She has started to eat a little hay and she is laying almost in a little stream. We dont want to shoot her we will see what the vet has to say. Truly I didtn take what Vicki said light ly I got off line immediately and called the vet. Thanks for the response.

 

[randumchatress]

The vet showed me to grab her tail when she got up and help steady her. We just had one more thursday we pulled her baby and her baby lived. She is down and we are doing the same for her. She is walking a little but not good yet. She will spin and go down. We pulled the third cows baby out on friday momma and baby were doing fine. NOW its sunday all three of the cows are suffering from very wet dark brownish green diareah and the cow that just went down is grinding her teeth not eating and not trying to stand anymore. Also I dont think the last cow lost the after birth. I am having the vet come by tomorrow or next day we have only one vet that works on farm animals in the area os pinpointing a time is tough if there is somthing I can do now to help them I would appreciate the info.

I feel sorry for you, especially since you are new to this. The spinning and going down could indicate a severe mineral deficiency (ie: magnesium), it could also be why they are not shedding their afterbirth. Do they have access to salt and mineral? What kinda of nutrition have these animals been on (pasture, feed, etc), and what was their body condition prior to calving? Is there a chance you perforated the bowel when pulling the calves? I agree that the grinding of teeth could indicate some severe pain. If you don't get the vet out there soon, your animals may not get up once they are down

The cows have access to barrels of molasses and protien liks this is also supposed to have calcium and minerals in it. We keep cotton seed meel and salt available. They have hay and pasture we cut our own hay. I buy bread once or twice a month for them as well. I have the vet coming today for sure. MY husband works out of town but before he left he checked on the one that slid down in the gully and took her hay she is eating a little now. I am feeding her baby. I wish I could put pictures here to show the size of this baby. it was about 80 lbs at birth.
I will post again what the vet says. Thanks to all who have responded.

 

[Medic24]

Please keep us informed, I am interested to know what may be wrong and how they are doing.

My No.1 and I will pray for you and them!

Good Luck! :cboy:

 

[randumchatress]

Please keep us informed, I am interested to know what may be wrong and how they are doing.

My No.1 and I will pray for you and them!

Good Luck! :cboy:

The cow that slid in the gully is not doing good. The vet gave her an iv of calcium and somthing else and also a boost iv and several cortizone shots . He said he did all he could for her and if she doesnt get up by tonight she probably wont. Well she hasnt gotten up and I am praying as well. I really wish I had not gotten so attached to these cows. My husband warned me not to,but then he is always working and I am always here. I appreciate so much someplace to tell this to. The vet said the other two cows are looking good. Both babies are doing well too. I quess I will be loosing the one that is down but she will have till this weekend. I have her surrounded by hay and she has fresh water. Its all I can do till my husband comes back. He works out of town. Thanks agian and forgive me for rambling on.

 

[1848]

Sounds like it is time to recruit a local dairy man and a big tractor to hoist her out of the ditch and get her on her feet.

 

[randumchatress]

Sounds like it is time to recruit a local dairy man and a big tractor to hoist her out of the ditch and get her on her feet.

I will go to the farmer that helped me deliver her calf and see if he can help. I had thought of that but there is no way to get a tracter in there. Perhaps he will see it in a different way. I had started to clear a path for her. maybe it will work.

 

[1848]

Good girl, you got the army coming now. He will help you get her out!

 

[randumchatress]

Good girl, you got the army coming now. He will help you get her out!

WE got her out!! He hooked her back legs with at chain and drug her up the hill it was all he could see to do. We cleared a path and pulled. I have her wrapped in hay under a tarp. I went and got her a b12 and cortizone shot and borrowed the hip lifts. I am going to give her till tomorrow before I hook her up. THANK YOU ALL for your words of incouragement. I will post her progress. I am trying to be optomistic ;-)

 

[TheBullLady]

Good luck! We're all rooting for you!

 

[1848]

Nice work! Got my toes, legs, arms, and fingers crossed.....Oh ya...my eyes too............ :roll:

 

[randumchatress]

Nice work! Got my toes, legs, arms, and fingers crossed.....Oh ya...my eyes too............ :roll:

I appreciate the crossed body parts. I have been over to her so many times and she just wont move on her own. My husband came in last night , he works out of town, and he is trying to turn her but she just wont even stir or try. Before she slid in the gully and laid in that water for so long she would try to get up and I could steady her with her tail. NOw she wont try she wont eat. The vet told me he did all he could for her with the iv's and the shots. We will keep trying for now but I am wondering now if Im praying for her or me.. This is not an easy business and my hats off to all of you who make a living at it. God bless you all for your conerns and words of encouragement.

 

[1848]

You did great. If I was your husband I would have been real proud. If the vet said he did all he can do, then without a hoist to get her on her feet, she will probably continue to worsen. You did all you could do, and you did the right things. Sometimes it just dosen't go in your favor. You proably won't want to eat her due to the injections she was given by the vet. Some places will come and haul downed cows away (while alive), and maybe give you a little money for her. Have you tried hitting her with a cattle prod? "Don't blame yourself" if she dosen't make it. I'll keep the parts crossed for the cow, and I'll pray for you...

 

[randumchatress]

You did great. If I was your husband I would have been real proud. If the vet said he did all he can do, then without a hoist to get her on her feet, she will probably continue to worsen. You did all you could do, and you did the right things. Sometimes it just dosen't go in your favor. You proably won't want to eat her due to the injections she was given by the vet. Some places will come and haul downed cows away (while alive), and maybe give you a little money for her. Have you tried hitting her with a cattle prod? "Don't blame yourself" if she dosen't make it. I'll keep the parts crossed for the cow, and I'll pray for you...

Well She is trying to move. She has sort of lifted her front legs and shifted herself. She cant seem to move her back side at all. My husband built a pen around her and we put her baby in with her. We borrowed a hip lift from the vet but we think she may have hurt her hips when she fell. MY husband said he will give her till sunday to see if she tries to move her back side. she shifts a little when he hit her with the shock stick. I hope this makes sense. I wish html was on so I could post her picture and her baby. The baby is so huge. I have my parts crossed to. Along with a knot in my stomach. All we can do is what we can do.
Thanks. I always say its not how far we fall its how well we bounce. I believe cattle farmers are rubber butts. LOL ;-)

 

[1848]

It may be necessary to give her a drench of electrolyes (or put them in the bucket of water). You might be able to put a rope halter on her if she can't move and get them down her. Her leg and hip muscles could have been pulled a little when she was pulled from the ditch so there is still a chance she is not paralyzed; just weak and sore. Sometimes a very large calf and a difficult birth can cause this. My neighbor had a cow who was down following birth. He hoisted it up a couple times a day to let the calf suckle. Some will recover from the temporary paralysis, and others never do. Hopefully yours will. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out...

 

[randumchatress]

It may be necessary to give her a drench of electrolyes (or put them in the bucket of water). You might be able to put a rope halter on her if she can't move and get them down her. Her leg and hip muscles could have been pulled a little when she was pulled from the ditch so there is still a chance she is not paralyzed; just weak and sore. Sometimes a very large calf and a difficult birth can cause this. My neighbor had a cow who was down following birth. He hoisted it up a couple times a day to let the calf suckle. Some will recover from the temporary paralysis, and others never do. Hopefully yours will. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out...

What exactly are electolyes? Do I need to go to the vet or can I get it at the co-op?