Heifer found dead on her back

[Bez>]

I posted this a long time ago on Ranchers - it is a true story:


Last night it poured. Real hard and the wind was cold. So much for calving on grass this year. We should have calved on snow in March. The weather was perfect.

Well it is wet. Real wet. We have had almost 14 inches of rain over the past 9 days. The front lawn is under a foot of grass and the cows are standing in water and deep mud in the pasture. Their bellies are so dirty it is disgusting. And the latest calves honestly think this is normal weather, having never seen a sunny day in their short lives. Time to do some re-arranging

So this morning we decided to let them out - yet again onto the lawn for a bit of a break. I ran the bulls out of that slop we call a pen and put them back into the summer pasture. They can stay there by themselves for a week or two while this mess gets sorted out.

The yearlings are finally out in a decent pasture with some good slopes for water run off - so they will be ok for now as well. When it finally starts to dry we will put everyone back where they belong.

But I digress .....

We have about 20 left to finish off. And being as the youngest daughter was out - good old Dad stayed up to make sure everyone got home safe. At around half past midnight I noticed an animal seemed to be making some noise, and being as how I had just looked out the window a few minutes before that and seen everyone bedded under the apple trees I gave it little thought. But the noise seemd somewhat strange. Like a loud grunting.

So, being the curious type I grabbed the spotlight and walked out onto the back deck to see what the noise was. I could still hear it but I could not see it - so barefoot I stepped onto the lawn - carefully avoiding the rather runny flat piles of "stuff".

Lo and behold - just around the corner and a bit out of sight from the deck - one of the girls was on her back and kicking up a storm.

Cast!!

She is heavy bred and so round that the little hump she laid down on threw her over and she could not get up. Much longer from the sounds of her and she would have been dead. I fed her all winter - I was NOT going to lose that calf!

First time I have seen this - heard of it though.

So, I run back in the house and grab the first pair of footwear I can find. Yeah - wouldn't you know it - right by the door. My good black dress shoes. Bare foot in my only good shoes - out I go. Now at the risk of giving someone a bad visual I was also in my house coat and rather commando beneath.

Of course it was still raining - but now I have a mission - so rain be damned. Run to the cow and give a quick attempt at wrestling her over. Horned Herfs have some nice handles to grab onto - no luck. She throws me off and I bury myself in - yeah - in my now open housecoat - right into one of those rather runny flat piles of "stuff". Face first.

Not to be discouraged - up I get. Off to the shop at a trot to grab a rope. Quick half hitch around the horns with a release knot and I step off to the side for a good pull. "Come on old girl help me out here." Rope comes off her horns and now I go backwards into a low spot with about 6 inches of water in it.

Clean on the back and filthy on the front I did not give up!

I considered calling for help but all were tucked in so nice and comfy - so I discarded that option for the moment.

Another loop around the horns and a good pull. This time she grabs a piece of dirt and staggers to her feet. Darn - I forgot the release this time!

So I jump the old girl while she is still a bit wobbly and grab the loop. She shakes her head.

At 6 feet and a bit and 230 with not a lot of jiggle I am a big boy. Now I have done a bit of bulldoging in my day - and I am not good enough to make money at it - but I have always been known as a person who could "hang on." And I did.

But those animals were a bit smaller than this one - she's a big old girl at 1500 pounds and somewhat stronger than me.

Off across the yard we go. Her p!ssed at this guy on her head and me scrambling to get the rope off. Next time it can stay there until we run her in the squeeze. Rope comes loose and off I come - right into the drainage ditch on the side of the driveway. Almost two feet of water - and cold! Thank heavens she stopped when she did or I would still be laying there.

So I walk to the house - picking up the light on the way. Throw my housecoat on the deck - let the rain take care of it until tomorrow morning. I left the shoes too. I even found the one that came off in the ditch.

I'll wash them under the hydrant tomorrow and then dry them out. Walk through the house straight into the shower - hot water does wonders but I know I will be stiff tomorrow.

As I write this wife hollers - "Do you know what time it is? Get off that computer and come to bed!!"

Yeah she thinks I have been sitting here on my arse all night. I'll let her know in the morning because she will want to know how my housecoat got so dirty and "Why is it out there in the deck?"
----------------------------------------------
Any round sided animal - especially a heavy bred cow can get cast - if it is a cow that gets cast - you had better be there soon or she is dead, dead, dead.

You know - when I think on it - I am not sure what time youngest got home that night - maybe it is well that I went to bed!

Best to all,

Bez>

 

[Jay Davis]

Never seen it myself either but obviously it does happen. If it were lightning, you might find she still had a mouthful of grass. We had a lightning storm last year that killed two cows 1/2 mi apart from each other and they were out in the open. Not a mark on them, but they were standing before the storm and on their sides after. Each had a big mouthful of that lush green spring grass that looked like it hadn't been chewed..

On the topic of cows not being able to roll over.... I'll take your word for it....BUT, I have seen a 3 month calf roll over. It wasn't easy. She rocked several times before she got enough momentum to flip. Still that may be because at 3 months their legs are still proportionally longer than a grown animal...maybe it gives them enough leverage. Either way it was an interesting sight to see.

 

[George Monk]

we lost one of our favorite old cows (15 years and 13 calves later) in the ice storm this winter due to exaclty this phenomena. The depression was barely noticeable but with the ice it may have well been a mountain. I look at the spot just the other day with much remorse.

 

[rainie]

To Pheah. Sorry for your loss. I rode pasture (community pasture) for twenty years. I've seen this happen far too often, and it is the absolute worst way to find an animal. You spend the summer caring for these cattle and then loose them like this.Depending on what side they lay down on they can live for acouple of days. If they lay down on the wrong side and get cast and start to bloat , they have a couple of hours.They don't have to be old cows either. They can be healthy yearling heifers.I've found them cast on perfectly flat ground, and you can see where they were scratching trying to get up. Probably it's just because they take on a big belly full of feed and water. Not much you can do.I remember selling a good young cow one time because of the amount of feed and water she would take on. She would just balloon up. I thought she was an accident waiting to happen so I sold her before I found her with four legs up in the air.

 

[rainie]

I also remember riding up to a cow one time and thought she was dead for sure from a distance. The ravens were hopping around on her and picking holes in her. She had been down I am guessing for at the very least 2 days, from the amount of manure behind her. Was very surprised to see she was still alive. Damn ravens did a number on her though. I gave her a little pull, didn't take much, and she got right up. She was really shaky and stressed. Didn't even hardly move when I walked up to take the rope off her head.We left her alone for a bit, to get her bearings again, while we checked the rest of the cattle in the field.We watched from a distance when she went for a drink of water and started to graze with the rest of the herd.We went back the next day and treated her raven holes. She made it through the rest of the summer with no problems. Lucky cow. I don't know how much longer she would have lasted.

 

[CWT Angus]

Had it happen to me as a teen with my fair steer. Got down in a small trench with the feet on the outside higher than the body & thats all she wrote.
Sorry for your loss.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Had a similar deal happen with my Jersey 2 years ago. Fortunately I saw her as I was headed out to work, and she looked obviously stuck. Unfortunately husband had already left. I ended up putting a rope around her head and horns and used the truck to pull her around so her feet were pointed down-hill, then she was able to rise.

I wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't happened here.

Katherine

 

[SCRUBS620]

When you say they bloat and die, is it a true bloat in which excess gas builds up in the rumen? I have never seen it and this is the first I have heard of it but it seems to me that they probably suffocate from the weight of the rumen on their lungs. They are not made to be in that position and gravity reverses everything. A full rumen on a big cow has to weigh alot. If she is pregnant that would take up extra space and make the situation even worse. Does this sound right or is there something that causes a true bloat when they are in that position? (the link with the explanation did not work for me)

 

[Roadapple]

Bez>
, If you could re-enact that and get it on film, I think we could make some money on that story.

 

[randiliana]

When you say they bloat and die, is it a true bloat in which excess gas builds up in the rumen? I have never seen it and this is the first I have heard of it but it seems to me that they probably suffocate from the weight of the rumen on their lungs. They are not made to be in that position and gravity reverses everything. A full rumen on a big cow has to weigh alot. If she is pregnant that would take up extra space and make the situation even worse. Does this sound right or is there something that causes a true bloat when they are in that position? (the link with the explanation did not work for me)

Here is a quote from that article.

"When a goat is on its back, the weight of the rumen puts pressure on the diaphragm and makes breathing difficult. The heavy rumen blocks the esophagus and traps the gas that the boat normally releases by belching at 1- or 2-minute intervals. At the same time, pressure on the blood vessels compromises circulation. With the respiratory and vascular systems both compromised, the goat soon loses consciousness. Death can occur between five to thirty minutes or so."

And the link to the full article.
http://kinne.net/dorsrec.htm

 

[rainie]

If the cow is laying on her right side, when she gets cast she doesn't have much time. I've found them like this bloated like a balloon, gasping for air. On one occassion, I saved a cow like this. I stuck her with my pocketknife to release some of the air, as she was nearly gone. Once the pressure was released off her lungs she started to breathe easier which bought me enough time that I could go and get what I needed to tip her back up. If she is cast on her left side it's still not good, but they won't bloat up. This is gaseous bloat, as there is a lot of frothy bubbles, and it's not the weight of her stomach on her lungs, unless she is lying totally on her back.

 

[SCRUBS620]

When you say they bloat and die, is it a true bloat in which excess gas builds up in the rumen? I have never seen it and this is the first I have heard of it but it seems to me that they probably suffocate from the weight of the rumen on their lungs. They are not made to be in that position and gravity reverses everything. A full rumen on a big cow has to weigh alot. If she is pregnant that would take up extra space and make the situation even worse. Does this sound right or is there something that causes a true bloat when they are in that position? (the link with the explanation did not work for me)

Here is a quote from that article.

"When a goat is on its back, the weight of the rumen puts pressure on the diaphragm and makes breathing difficult. The heavy rumen blocks the esophagus and traps the gas that the boat normally releases by belching at 1- or 2-minute intervals. At the same time, pressure on the blood vessels compromises circulation. With the respiratory and vascular systems both compromised, the goat soon loses consciousness. Death can occur between five to thirty minutes or so."

And the link to the full article.
http://kinne.net/dorsrec.htm

Thanks, so it might be both factors contributing to death - much appreciated.

 

[SCRUBS620]

If the cow is laying on her right side, when she gets cast she doesn't have much time. I've found them like this bloated like a balloon, gasping for air. On one occassion, I saved a cow like this. I stuck her with my pocketknife to release some of the air, as she was nearly gone. Once the pressure was released off her lungs she started to breathe easier which bought me enough time that I could go and get what I needed to tip her back up. If she is cast on her left side it's still not good, but they won't bloat up. This is gaseous bloat, as there is a lot of frothy bubbles, and it's not the weight of her stomach on her lungs, unless she is lying totally on her back.

I got the link to work - thanks. Here is a quote from the last paragraph of the article. It seems that it could be one of many causes.

"Dorsal recumbancy can cause death from any number of things, including bloat, suffocation, shock or heart failure. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent dorsal recumbancy because the great majority of cases are simply accidental. Filling in depressions and being a watchful herdsperson may help, but accidents are a very real part of raising livestock."