Hello

Help Support CattleToday:

midlagecrzy

New member
Joined
Feb 1, 2023
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Can a person post anything here as long as it's about cattle? Are there rules about you have to be here so long or anything like that?
 
Thanks! The reason I got on here is because we had a heifer that got bred too young probably and she couldn't birth the calf. We knew she was getting close but we couldn't find her. We looked everywhere for about 4 days before I finally found her and when I did the calf was front legs and half of a giant head sticking out of her backside. Tongue hanging out and dead and stinky already. No idea how long. She was still standing surprisingly. I had pushed her out of the woods when she heard me and the other cows were in the clearing. I went to get the puller and she went back in the woods. It was late and cold I thought there was probably no chance of getting her loaded up to take to the vet so I went in until the morning. Went out the next morning, fully expecting to find her if not dead at least down, but she was still standing when I found her and we couldn't believe she actually followed the other cows into the pen for some feed. She never would before. Got her to the vet and they were able to pull the dead calf. It was probably 100lbs. They kept her overnight and she seemed to be okay but very mad! That's been a week ago today. She still moving around very slow and appears to me to be losing weight. I don't think we can get her back in the pen much less loaded up. I thought maybe she needed some B12 for her appetite but there's no way we can get close enough to give her a shot. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Welcome to CT!

Did the vet give the heifer any antibiotics after he pulled the dead calf? Sounds like she probably has an infection, especially with a dead calf in her for that length of time. I would suggest doing your best to get her caught again, even if it means bringing in 20 of her closest friends (at which point you sort her out). I'm a firm believer in Vit B Complex for sluggish calves and it may help your heifer, but I suspect there's a lot more going on and she'll need a lot more than that. What is your location? Do you have access to a chute, headgate or some way to restrain her? Once you get her in, can you take her temperature? Sooooo many variables!
 
Welcome to the board. I agree with TC - vet "should" have treated her with an antibiotic for sure. You should find out what the vet gave her - if anything. A dead calf can cause a lot of infections - in a lot shorter time than what you described.
Short of using a dart gun - you need to get her in. Hard to treat if you don't know what to treat for. Temperature will tell you a lot.
 
Welcome to CT. Can't offer much more than has already been suggested other than ask the vet if she/he might be able willing to come out and dart her and do their work there where she goes down.
Got some nearby cow people that could help you?

In future, include as much information as you can about the animal(s) in question. Breed, age, docile or ornery, as well as as much info about your own location as you are comfortable with. Ya never know, one of us may live right up the road from you....
 
All good advice. Best wishes on your heifer. And agreed…if you know or suspect an unwanted breeding in the future there are drugs that can assist you if timed correctly. A good vet or well experienced "farmer colleague" can also help you make those decisions and guide outcomes if/when uncertain.
 

Latest posts

Top