Has anyone ever tranquilized a cow for anything?

[CowgirlUpNY]

If so, what did you use? Husband and I were discussing having something on hand if we needed to tranq. for any reason so I figured I'd throw the question out to the floor.

 

[Beefy]

had an escaped banana horned "brangus" cow (not ours) show up on the roads one night so we penned her up with some heifers. her horns were growing into her face causing an infection. we had some cowboys from the stockyard come shoot her with Rompum (sp?) so we could cut her horns off. took more than one dart, she was little high strung.

 

[msscamp]

No, so far we've never had a need to tranquilize a cow.

 

[vs_cattle]

Nope so far we havent but if you can get one why not is always better to be prepared for something before you need it like

- Wild cow runs threw all your fenses
- Cow that charges when people are in close range
- Someone elses animals are attacking yours?
- Crazy dogs attcking your herd and you dont want to shoot them with guns? ( I have had wild dogs attack herd and we were cought off guard with out a gun dam dogs wouldent leave them alone even with me and my dad chasing them with sticks and bats dident have a gun around after we finaly hit one the other backed off the dogs where not stayting in one spot but they were not running home but after the cattle so it was a good chase good thing are fences at the time where in good working order the dogs where a German Shep and Rot)
- Numerous others that might come up

 

[dun]

Had one looney tranqed so we could load her and ship her. Took 6 darts to slow her down enough that we could get her loaded. Hauled her to the salebarn, 12 miles, then spent 2 weeks rebuilding the trailer that she had bearly destroyed with her antics during the trip
Not sure what the vet used

dun

 

[rockridgecattle]

We have, we keep a bottle of Atrevet on hand just in case. it has come in handy.

 

[Cow_Town]

Have helped in the tranquing of several over the years, usually where mankillers and one horsekiller. Alot of cattle running the range on Ft. Hood exhibit traits of deer, wild hogs , and grizzley bears. Rompum was what we used. Had a crazy speckled Brahma cow take six darts and keep ripping through the brush until she fell in a washout hole in a little creek. Took an hour and lots of ropes to get her out. By the time we got her in the trailer she was pretty skinned up, but as bad as she was we were just happy to have her caught. Put her up in the pens at the ranch and let her heal up. When it came time to haul her to the salebarn two good dogs did all the work.

 

[denoginnizer]

I have tranqulized quite a few. I dont have any help and find useful in some cases. It is not without risk .

 

[oscar p]

I tranquilize crazy and wild cattle for the public and three sale barns. I use xylazine, it's the generic brand of rompum. There are two things against you. Heat and bloat.If they get to hot in the process of loading they could die. The other is bloat, as long as they lay down with their head tucked to their side they'll be fine, but if they lay flat out they will bloat. I try to never knock them completely out. I try to get them to walk on the trailer with the help of a halter a rope a hot stick and a tractor.

 

[Keren]

A few years ago we unloaded a bunch of wagyu cros jersey heifers at the feedlot. They went straight over the rails in the yards, through five electric fences and took off to the other end of the property. Took us five hours to get them back, as it was a matter of getting them to bolt in the right direction, then getting them to stop, lining them up and getting them to bolt again etc. Could have used a truckload of tranquilisers then!

 

[Alan]

A few years ago we unloaded a bunch of wagyu cros jersey heifers at the feedlot. They went straight over the rails in the yards, through five electric fences and took off to the other end of the property. Took us five hours to get them back, as it was a matter of getting them to bolt in the right direction, then getting them to stop, lining them up and getting them to bolt again etc. Could have used a truckload of tranquilisers then!

Or a good rifle!

Alan

 

[Northern Rancher]

We tranqued a Brahma cross rodeo heifer to pull her calf-it was intertesting to say the least-where she was calving she'd of fenced before I got her roped.

 

[stocky]

I have tranquilized several cattle over the last 10 years. I have tranquilized cows to work on their feet in open pasture and I have tranquilized 500-600 lb bull calves to castrate them in open pastures. Xylazine (rompom) is what I use. The general rule is 1/2 cc per hundred pounds. However, the medicine is horse tranquilizer and it is not exact for cattle. I am told if it is 80 degrees or warmer, the cow can overheat and die. Also, the bloat is a good thing to think about. I use a dart gun and I do not try to put them all the way out. If a cow is already excited, it will take alot more to put her out, and there is alot more risk. Dont get them excited before you tranquilize them and things will work out alot better. There is an antidote to wake them up, but it is very, very expensive. I keep a bottle of it, but have never had to use it.

 

[sjr725]

I've never used rompun on cattle but I have used it on horses ....They wake up with the worlds worst headache! sensitive to light and irritability that he!! wouldn't have! you pretty much just have to lock them in a dark stall for at least 12 hours or so and don't bother them. Does it do the same in cattle?

 

[glitterless]

Hah, try it on an Arab, sjr! Mine got a cocktail of rompun, ace, and butorphanol (???), I think, and still acted like a fool. He's probably under 1,000 lbs but needs more drugs than a draft.

We've had our cattle tranqd for various procedures. All we keep on hand is Ace.

 

[Northern Rancher]

Alot of vets use Ketamine with rompun up here. We hads to tranq a rotten old Gelbvieh cow yesterday-we had bred her with the rodeo cows because of her attitude-sure enough my first malpresentation in 15 years and it had to be her. I was just going to shoot her but my vet talked me into tranqing her and calving her. Some guys who winter calve will tranq a heifer who won't take her calf-claim that it works well.

 

[sjr725]

Ace is funny stuff Glitter - sometimes it works opposite - if a horse is excited at the time of injection it can just really hype them up and make the situation totally unmanageable - I used to work as an excersise rider on TB farm, and have seen the combo you refer to used many times - sometimes good sometimes bad - Never owned a Arab though!