Holstein cow down- UPDATE.. She's up!

[Kat]

Hi,

I have a Holstein cow that is down. 2 days ago she came in the yard and stumbled and fell or layed down and she would not get up. The vet came out. We lifted her and she stood fine. He gave her DEX, Banamine, LA 200, B-12 , wormed her again, etc. Her temp. is normal. The vet did not know what was wrong with her. She had no injuries, etc. She went out and stood in the pond for awhile and seemed to be alright. Well she is down again and this time will not stand even when we lift her. She has some bright red blood coming out of her nose also. She seems really stressed and I am at a loss. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on what it could be ? Vicky are you still out there?

 

[Caustic Burno]

Allright Kat put on a tough hide here cow cost you 400 bucks a year to upkeep vet has already been out, cow is still down.
Cow is suffering how long are going to let that go on what is the look in her eye.

 

[Kat]

She has only been down since last night. We cave her some calcium this morning.( she is not preg, or calved so we know it is not milk fever. The blood has stopped from her nose. I think it may have been from the stress of being moved around) She appears to be feeling better now. She is eating hay and drinking and trying to get up.

I am going to try to get her up again later with the tractor. Burno, thank you for your reply I appreciate your thoughts. I have had down cows before and I do know when it is time to let go. But since I have no idea what is wrong and it is not a pinched nerve or anything, I feel I have to try. We have had her a long time and I do owe her that much.

Could it be a potassium def?

Forgot to add, I am going through this because she is a pet and I really want to do right by her. Any thoughts would be great, I want to try everything before I give up on her.

 

[Vicky the vet]

Hi,

I have a Holstein cow that is down. 2 days ago she came in the yard and stumbled and fell or layed down and she would not get up. The vet came out. We lifted her and she stood fine. He gave her DEX, Banamine, LA 200, B-12 , wormed her again, etc. Her temp. is normal. The vet did not know what was wrong with her. She had no injuries, etc. She went out and stood in the pond for awhile and seemed to be alright. Well she is down again and this time will not stand even when we lift her. She has some bright red blood coming out of her nose also. She seems really stressed and I am at a loss. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on what it could be ? Vicky are you still out there?

Well, I don't like your vet, if they didn't even try to diagnose the problem. Blood would definitely tell you if it's Ca, K or Mg deficiency, but there's also phosphorus....she needs a broad spectrum Ca mineral IV fluid given slow, monitoring the heart, not just Ca. Without seeing the cow, I'm spitting in the wind and hoping something sticks...dex + Banamine can punch a hole in her abomasum....good luck

 

[Kat]

Vicky,

You hit the nail on the head! My husband is disgusted with the Vets here. He literally ( the vet) said he did not know what it was! My husband says let's do what we have to do to get a determination on what it could be. They don't seem to won't to be bothered with it.

That is why I came here looking for advice. We have been doing this for over ten years (raising cows) and we are so tired of the vet coming over and not fiding out what the problem is. We feel helpless at times.

O.k., called for another vet. Vicky are there any other things I should ask him? I don't think they have the lab on site to look at blood (rural town) ... could he give the drip anyways without looking at the blood? Would it hurt her?

 

[born2run]

Holstein...is she milking at all? Or dry? I've seen them go down from anything from leukosis (which is fairly obvious) Ketosis, milk fever, bad case of staph or e. coli.

 

[Kat]

No , she is dry and been that way for awhile. We preg. checked her yesterday. She is not pregnant... Thanks for the Reply.... : )

 

[Vicky the vet]

Vicky,

I don't think they have the lab on site to look at blood (rural town) ... could he give the drip anyways without looking at the blood? Would it hurt her?

I don't even live in a town...the entire county has a population of 25000, and that is 6 townships put together....and we have the equiptment to measure electrolytes, or I can send to the lab and have results same day....

Size of town shouldn't affect quality of practice IF the vet is willing to diagnose, in my opinion. I worked in rural Saskatchewan, and had to ship samples on the bus to the lab and still did it.... I hope this vet can get you the answer you need! If not, monitoring the heart closely while giving a mixed solution IV can be done.

V

 

[Kat]

Vicky,

I talked to the second vet. I asked him, could it be mineral etc. and he said that if my other cows are not showing signs, then it is highly doubtful. I am very frustrated. I asked about pulling blood and he said he would have to ship it off to lab the and it would take about a week!

He also said it sounded like a "down in the rear problem." I don't think so--- if the orginal vet examined her and could not find anything wrong, how could it now be the her back end.

Gee, I guess I will call the next town over and see what that vet has to say. I wish all vets were pro active like you...

By the way, we have moved her to her other side, she still is in pretty good spirits.....

 

[randiliana]

Good luck finding a good vet. That is horrible, that they cannot or will not diagnose for you. How old is this cow?

 

[Bez!]

Kat

You are now spending more in time and money than what this animal is worth.

It has been down for days.

You have let this animal stay down.

Time for the bullet.

Bez!

 

[Kat]

I am on to my 3rd vet. I am picking up a paste today with MG, Ph, Postassium etc.

Bez, She is a pet... I owe her this much. How do you put the a money value on a pet. She is in good spirits and gets lifted up several times a day. If I had good vet care , this would not be an issue. BTW, when we put them down, we have the vet come out and do it or I donate them to a vet school.

The cow is approx. 8.

 

[born2run]

Bless your heart (and I mean that). Makes sense now why you're keeping an open cow. Good luck with her.

 

[Kat]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I really appreciate it ....

 

[Sarah317]

I know what it's like to lose a cow that is a pet . I hope she comes around.

 

[Kat]

Sarah,

Thank you for your kind words and thoughtful reply. I just read your thread. I am so sorry that you lost your cow. I know how rough it can be. You are in my thoughts.

 

[Bez!]

I am on to my 3rd vet. I am picking up a paste today with MG, Ph, Postassium etc.

Bez, She is a pet... I owe her this much. How do you put the a money value on a pet. She is in good spirits and gets lifted up several times a day. If I had good vet care , this would not be an issue. BTW, when we put them down, we have the vet come out and do it or I donate them to a vet school.

The cow is approx. 8.

Well Kat - I have to pose thess questions to you.

You owe her this much?

Perhaps it might be more appropriate to consider this ......

"Are you doing this for her - or are you really just doing it for you?"

Value on a pet, or value on your feelings versus the feelings of an animal being unnaturally down.

If she is not hurting now, I can assure you she will start hurting - how long will you wait?

I stand by my original statements and think you need to re-evaluate your situation based upon my questions.

At some point this animal will get up - or it will not. How long will you wait? Until it gets up or until it dies?

It will not always be happy laying there waiting for you to lift it. And there will come a time when you will not want to lift it.

Regards

Bez!

 

[Kat]

Bez,

First of all, I very realistic when it comes to these animals.

Yes, I am doing this for me , but it is also for her. I do not want to let her down if this is a simple mineral def.

She is doing alright right now. She is eating fine and in good spirits. The 2nd vet advised me to give her time. That is what I am doing. I am giving her the minerals, etc. that they reccomended.

I do not have all the time in the world. Lifting her is very time consuming. We have two companies and a full time farm operation. I do the best by our girls. If she does not show any signs of improvement, I will put her down. But we have not gotten to that point yet.

I understand you points - really and appreciate your reply, but right now I am looking for suggestions on making her well if possible. Thank you again for your point of view......

 

[GMN]

We just had a downer cow last Monday, kept her for a week, Tuesday, had her put down. Longer they are down, less likely they will get up. I know you said she is a pet, but if she is in pain, holding on to her is only for you. She is dry but not bred, is she an old cow?

Have you tried Dexamethazone, good for nerve problems, 10cc's for 2 days, and banamine.

Good luck

 

[Sarah317]

At our farm there was a cow down for a few weeks who ended up getting up on the day she was going to be put down. Nobody really knew why but a back injury was suspected. Keep your faith!