Injured bull report

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HOSS

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Well I think I have made up my mind to spend the extra 100 bucks and have a second opinion on my bull before I take him to the sale. I could never live with myself not knowing for certain if he might be ok with some healing time. For those that don't know my 2yr old Gelbvieh bull jumped over a barbed wire fence and got his penis hung on a barb and sustained an nasty cut. The vet looked at him and did not give him much chance to breed again. That was about 2 weeks ago. Anyway I noticed today that the swelling had dissappeared and he had retracted his penis back up into his abdomen. It had been in a partial extended condition since the injury. It had swollen up to the point that he could not retract it. I am probably going to wait a few weeks and then take him to a vet with indoor facilities. When my vet came out to look at him it was 38 degrees with pouring rain and a 25 mph wind. The vet had to do his exam outside because my squeeze and head gate are outside. He didn't spend a whole lot of time under those conditions. I am hoping he over-diagnosed. It will be worth the money just to know for sure. I may have them perform a BSE to confirm if everything works or not. I am normally not so emotionally attached to business decisions. If a cow needs culling I cull...............sometimes a tough decision needs to be made........but I will admit this bull has won me over with his docility, ease of handling and workhorse attitude. He is a pretty good looking young bull on top of that.
 
your right in getting a differant vet to look at him.an its smart to get a BSE on him to see if he passes with an 85.i know its hard for you to cull a good bull.
 
I'd do the same thing Hoss, just give the bull at least 30 days (or more) and then take him to a vet. The longer you wait the better chance of a favorable prognosis.

Cattle seem to heal up better than most critters, if the cut was just to the sheath and not to the penis itself I'd suspect that bull will heal up just fine. From a vet student's perspective- we learn how to treat problems but don't always get to see the final result of the injury/disease/etc, and that may well result in biased diagnoses. I had two real good vets tell me a "broke" bull needed to be shipped to slaughter. 60 days rest, a BSE, and he went back to work.
 
milkmaid":oc711wj8 said:
I'd do the same thing Hoss, just give the bull at least 30 days (or more) and then take him to a vet. The longer you wait the better chance of a favorable prognosis.

Cattle seem to heal up better than most critters, if the cut was just to the sheath and not to the penis itself I'd suspect that bull will heal up just fine. From a vet student's perspective- we learn how to treat problems but don't always get to see the final result of the injury/disease/etc, and that may well result in biased diagnoses. I had two real good vets tell me a "broke" bull needed to be shipped to slaughter. 60 days rest, a BSE, and he went back to work.

I agree...great advice.

Hoss,
I'm glad you're not giving up on him.
 
I'm glad to hear he's showing some signs of improvement. I would get a second opinion too. A bull is too important of an investment to give up on if signs of improvement are there. Hopefully a more thorough exam will give you some good results. Regardless of the results, you'll know you gave him a good chance and did everything you could.
 
I would give the bull a couple of months before I even messed with him. Just get another one in the wings to take his place though
 
Another advantage of waiting is that prices "should" only improve over the next couple of months so it would seem that waiting "should" be a no loose approach
 
but heres something yall have forgotten.with the high weigh prices for cull bulls.the replacement bulls keep going higher esp during the sprong buying time.
 
Kathie in Thorp":1geb5qh3 said:
ousoonerfan22":1geb5qh3 said:
Hoss,
How's your bull doing?
Ditto. ??

Outwardly he appears fine. I have a 3:30 appointment on Wednesday for a different vet to look at him. We shall see how it goes. Thanks for the concern everybody :p
 

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