Injured or sick Question

[marksmu]

We moved the cows to a new pasture Thursday. On the way to the new pasture, we had an otherwise healthy cow try to jump a slew and get stuck in the mud. We could not stop the whole herd at the moment or we would have lost them all to the giant pasture we were cutting through, so we kept going and got the other 100 or so into the new pasture and went back for her. It took about 30 minutes before we were back to her.

Got to her and she was still stuck. Roped her and pulled her out. She was too exhausted to get up, so we gave her about 2 pounds of cubes and left her on dry ground. Came back day Friday and she was up and about (had walked about 300 yards to a water trough)...we moved her into the new pasture Saturday (they have never been in this pasture), and on Sunday she was again stuck - this time in an irrigation canal. When we pulled her out this time - she all but gave up trying to breathe.

She was again too exhausted to function. We gave her cubes and left her. I am going back this afternoon to check on her, and if she is still stuck or down, I'm planning on giving her an injection of Agricillin to see if she may be sick? Short of that, I cant think of anything wrong with her...she had been with the other cows and gladly made the about 1.5 mile move to the new pasture until she got stuck.....She is heavy bred so I am thinking she may be about to deliver and just has zero energy left? If she gets stuck again she will probably die there - she does not have enough energy to get out.

Any ideas or suggestions? She is only 6 years old, and has never had any issues prior to this.

I thought about trying to load her in a trailer and bring her up to the pens, but yesterday we could not even get her up to get her into a trailer and I have no way of pulling her into the trailer -

 

[JSCATTLE]

Mark if she is still down bring your trailer and a few panels back up to her and put the panels around her .. feed and water her ... When she does get up you can run her in the trailer and bring her home.. if she has access to the ditch or spot she got stuck in she will do it again ...good luck

 

[Isomade]

Good idea JS, sure beats losing a good young bred cow, and your right she will do it again.

 

[marksmu]

Mark if she is still down bring your trailer and a few panels back up to her and put the panels around her .. feed and water her ... When she does get up you can run her in the trailer and bring her home.. if she has access to the ditch or spot she got stuck in she will do it again ...good luck

No clue what happened to her, but she was dead laying beside the canal only a few feet from where she was last pulled out. Looks like she just gave up. I think there had to be a pregnancy related complication - she was 8-9 months bred...I searched her for snake bites thinking she may have gotten bitten by a water moccasin, but I found nothing. No swelling anywhere, no visibly broken bones, nothing stuck in her feet or mouth...nothing. It really looks like she just gave up.

When we removed her from the field it sure upset the herd though. My one crazy cow was going bat $hit crazy - bucking and bawling - and she had the calves at a dead sprint away from us. She is going to the auction next chance I have. She raises a good calf every year, but I can't deal with her getting the herd all worked up all the time.

 

[Isomade]

Sorry to hear that Mark. Its tough to lose one that far along in pregnancy. I have a couple high strung cows myself, need to get rid of em but hate to lose the production.