Lifting a Down cow

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You're very fortunate that she doesnt want to lie on her side.....a lot of them have to be shot because they can't be kept upright. So you're doing okay there. Even though she's lying down, do her hind feet seem to want to knuckle under or are they nice and straight? Keep flipping her over as often as you can. Maybe she'll get to the stage where she can half-haul herself up and change positions.
I'd keep the anti-inflammatories up to her. Don't panic about not being able to get a tractor - it would be a miracle if you lifted her up with it and she walked away as normal! Something is wrong and hopefully it will heal. Yes, chuck some horse rugs on her if its cold but when I've done that, they've managed to plough them into the mud and wreck them.
 
She just seems to be in a normal sitting position and her legs seem pretty straight. The only thing i noticed was she was sitting kinda like resting her weight more on one side with that leg tucked under just a bit. That's why we rolled her on her side then back up to let her shift weight off that side and to the other. My husband seemed to think that she looked relieved this time we had rolled her off that leg and that's when she started kicking it. She does seem very content to just sit there though. Just seems like a normal cow. When we had pulled up last night she was stretching out her neck looking at the truck , probably thinking mmmm feed lol. We are going to call around today and see if we can find those tire tubes to maybe lift her on so she can have her legs where she gets more blood flow. I guess it still has me freaked that she wont stand cause alot of people told me the longer they sit its less likely.
 
how are you goin to ge the tubes inflated? dig a hole under the cow to get em under her but how ya gonna fill em. a truck tire inner tube will lift her but its gonna need alotta air to do it.

can ya grab the opposite feet(the ones on the ground side) and just roll her onto her back and onto her other side

i know ya love this animal but its is a cow and you wold be surprised the things they go thru because you MUST do something to help them...the longer they lay on them legs the less bloodflow and the greater chance of dmage to the appandages and the internal organs as well..a cow is heavy...

think of ways to make something with a lever system..plywood and a 6x6 or something to help lift her
 
We are still trying to get someone with a tractor. Ive even gone so far as putting ads up. I spoke to my vet again just a minute ago and they said there is some kind of liver fluke going around in the area causing cattle to go down so I am going to be bringing him a stool sample as well.
 
Here I go with old trampolines again :D I rigged a gurney out of an old trampoline mat. This I used on a heifer than my neighbor's angus bull bred too young. Ropes or straps put too much stress on a given location and could do some serious damage. That old mat had the stitching broken at some spring eyes. I folded it. Put a rope through a double fold on one side and stitched the rope through the good eyes on the other side. It worked nice. Those mats are pretty darn strong.
 
I just got home from being with her a few hours and I'm feeling really depressed. I had went to the vet to get some more meds for her and I asked if there were any humane ways to euthanize her if it came to that and I was horrified with what he told me. Everything sounded so brutal and barbaric that it made me sick. I have been crying my eyes out ever since. She seems to be doing about the same eating/drinking , she moved herself again. She was facing a different direction and her weight was shifted again. We put her on her side again and massaged and and moved her legs then helped her back up and she went back to eating. I don't know what to do anymore. I want to give her the chance as long as she keeps working with me but I am starting to get really worried at this point. Is there any set time of them being down that they will still get back up? I want to give her every possible chance especially since she doesn't seem to be in pain. I love her and this is killing me. I cant even think or function at this point.
 
Just keep calm, don't panic. If she's not in pain and eating and drinking, just give her more time. I don't want this is sound cruel, but, if she was mine, about this time I would give her one little prod with the hotshot to see just what she's capable of. She might surprise herself - and you! However, I must say this case is different in that you don't know what caused the problem - usually its a hard calving which just requires time for nerves to heal. If you need to put her down, get someone who knows what they're doing to shoot her - that's the kindest. Good luck
 
The longest I've seen being down and get up was a little over a month. I go by their eyes. When you see the glimmer of wanting to live is gone it's time to just shoot them (totally painless to them but frequently a heartbreak for the shooter). Shooting them is a decision you have to make as to if you're keeping her alive for yourself or for her.
 
This may make you feel a bit better but just take note of what Dun said about the eyes. I have just gone to my records(1996) and that huge Friesland cow that I refered to earlier was down for almost 7 weeks. She had Gall sickness aswell as 3 day stiff sickness. It usually takes the heavier animals longer to get back on their feet.
It took a lot of perseverance , 4 crew members, a tripod + block and tackle and lots of meds. She was one of my first cows and I do believe I would do it again(touch wood) as long as I knew there was hope.
I have had lighter cows with damaged nerve/s that are up in two/three days.
As long as she is trying to get up, be patient, continue with anti inflam and give it a few days.
 
honey this is all prt of the bizness..maybe yer gettin into something you should think about not doing....if yer cryin yer eyes out over a animal incapable of loving in return you should think about a cat or a dog maybe...hate to sound cruel but puttin em down is part of the deal...

gary
 
As far as what dun said about the eyes she deffinately looks good in that department. Shes so alert and gets "excited" when we bring the food out. She was even fighting me with her head yesterday when i was giving the anti-inflamatory. She seems to me like she wants to live and isn't giving up. And to dieselbeef, I am not really in the cattle buisness. I have a small heard that consist of mine and my sisters show cattle. They were a school FFA project. Ive had some of these cows since I was 13 and am now 28. When you spend every day for that many years hands on with these girls washing,brushing,feeding, walking, clipping etc. you grow attached ... at least I did. All my cows have papers and names and are not just a number. I know that's hard from some people to understand that and yes with this current situation I cant help but wish I never had cows. My first cow was bought for me by my parents in an effort to cheer me up after the death of my grandmother who I was very close too. I was very very down at the time and these cows gave me something to look forward to and help me get through all that. They are special to me again I understand how some of you don't feel that way. I guess everyone is different. I just want to give back to them everything they have given to me over the years and I hope that if she wants to give me an effort here I can give her the same. I also had a crazy idea last night while I was thinking outside the box. What about a hand held back massager. If i ran that over her legs alot would that help stimulation? I know that sounds crazy but I'm willing to try everything at this point.
 
Massagin can;t hurt and will give you something to do. But unless you know what is the actual problem it's probably a waste of time
 
I just don't want her muscles to deteriorate that's the main reason i wanted to massage and stimulate her legs.
 
Have you tried and IV cocktail of dextrose , vitamin b12 and dexamethasone . Has your vet been out to actually see her ?
 
well thats cool if ya can handle gettin attatched to em,....yer cows are 15 or more yrs old then..likely 16-17 if you showed them 15 yrs ago....old age may have somethin to do with it at this point

didnt mean to come across in an indifferent way...didnt realize hey were yer pets for 15 yrs...sorry
 
Np Diesel I understand how most are about cattle believe me I hear it all the time lol. Actually the cow in question is between 5 and 6. She is the product of a neighbors bull jumping the fence right after we bought the land there on now. Her mother was the first born out of my first cow. I have lost both the mom and the grandma in the last few years they were around 15ish. I guess that's why I am so attached to this one cause out of those first 2 cows I had she is whats left of them. We still have a few around the 12-15 mark, but this one is one of our younger ones which surprises me. As far as meds she has had Banamine, Dex, B-12, Calcium, and LA200. I think she had been given one more thing but at this point I just cant remember , I'm so mentally drained from all this. I finally got in touch with my vet that I used to use when I was in school. Hes not near where my cows are now so I had contacted a vet closer to her. He told me today that as long as she is still eating/drinking that he would give her time. I also asked him about euthanizing and he said you can do it the same way they do dogs and cats. Has anyone had experience with this method? I guess at this point I'm going to take it one day at a time and see how she does. If she wants to fight it with me I will give her all I have. At the point she seems like she doesn't want to try I will probably do the put to sleep method. I will just probably have my husband there for it cause I wont be able to deal. Also does anyone know how long it takes for there muscles to deteriorate or there joints fuse like the vet was talking about? Is it days or weeks? Again that is my main concern for her at the moment. I put a sigh up at the corner gas station where alot of farmers go to eat asking for help with a tractor. I just pray someone calls me back.
 
I discussed euthanasia with my vet last year, and he told me he preferred not to do it because of the carcase contamination - it had to be immediately disposed of in such a way that no dogs or other animal could access it and ingest the chemical. I don't remember which drug he was talking about, but I suppose it's standard for euhanasia. He shot the cow for me, which is really the kindest option of all the possible methods.

As long as she is moving about regularly, turning herself, you shouldn't need to worry about muscle deterioration beyond the obvious - from lack of use rather than compression through sitting on them constantly. A cow who cannnot move herself will suffer muscle cramps in a matter of hours, certainly a day or two - the best thing you can do in that situation is regular turning and also lifting 2 - 3 times daily, which is a lot of work for the cow nurse.

Good luck with her. Keep us posted. Is her eye better now?
 
Yes her eye is completely better and she can see out of it now , may just have gotton dirt in it from laying on her side before the neighbor found her. Me and my sister had flushed out the eye with water and after that it started to improve. She is eating and drinking good still. I still have yet to find anyone with a tractor willing to help us lift her. Best I can do is we put her on her side and I grab each leg and work them so to speak. I take them and I pull them out and push them in and rub with my hands and squeeze her legs and muscles. When she seems to be laying on one leg too long without shifting weight we move her to the other one . At this point its all I can do. Its really sad with so many people around that have tractors that not a soul would help. Ive been on my knees praying for this one. As far as the euthanasia shot were not really worried about the dog thing or contamination. I don't live on the land so there are no dogs there and we have always buried our girls in the past. I guess it would give me comfort thinking she would just go to sleep. We lost a few of my older ones but it was like they just died I've never had to even think about making this kind of decision and they were elderly so it was there time. Shes so young it seems so unfair :(
 
As far as euthanasia, I've seem a few animals put down using chemicals and they don't always just "go to sleep". I've seen some twitch and shake and look like they were suffocating. I think the most "humane" way to put an animal down is a well placed gunshot.
 

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