Most disgusting thing I've ever done

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Herford×Angus

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I saw a bred heifer yesterday with a little blood on her tail, so i put her in the pen so i could keep an eye on her she was calm and went straight for the feed. This morning I went to check her and she had her tail up and back arched. She looked like any other heifer when they start calving. So I went back inside for some breakfast. An hour later I checked again and she had a piece of placenta hanging almost to the ground, I thought probably the ruptured water bag. She was still walking around not making an effort to calve, so i thought give her some more time. I come back an hour later and now she's pushing so I watch her for 30 min or so, still no feet. I decided to go in. I put her in the chute put on my gloves and go in. I grabbed a leg and pulled and off comes the claw!! Now I knew the calf was probably dead. I tried again and got a bunch of hair!! So when I was finaly able to pull it, it was backward. I pulled it half way out and it got stuck, there where bones in the legs but no spine. The middle of the calf was only about 3 inches in diameter. When I was finaly able to get the whole thing out all the bones from the spine and ribs got pushed into the neck!!! PS this was my first time pulling a calf by my self. the smell will haunt me for a while :yuck:
 
Good tip seems like everything smells like it now haha. I took a pic of the calf but not sure I wanna post it don't wanna make people sell their cows haha.
 
Herford×Angus":3truaxi9 said:
Good tip seems like everything smells like it now haha. I took a pic of the calf but not sure I wanna post it don't wanna make people sell their cows haha.

please do post pics... I would like to see it.
 
When I was just a kid, a neighbor called and wanted borrow our pullers, and my help for a while. I drove the calf pullers over on an XR 75 motorcycle. Not sure I could even do a strange feat like that now. Anyway, when I got there, we hooked on and started cranking. I thought man, this is the easiest pull ever. No, not so lucky. Both front legs were being pulled off the carcass. We both started pukeing.
 
Yeah while I was pulling it I was still ok, adrenalin I guess. But when I was cleaning up later I had to stop several times! I hope I never have to do that again
 
Nothing stinks as bad as pulling a dead animal out. I have never pulled a dead calf but I have pulled plenty of dead lambs. It takes days to get that smell of your hands
 
Irish Spring bar soap and toothpaste, I deal with dead stinky green and blue pigs all summer long, and that will take the smell off.
I almost puked only once when a bloated pig ruptured...let your imagination play with that for a bit.
 
Herford×Angus":185rpjrr said:
...there were bones in the legs but no spine. The middle of the calf was only about 3 inches in diameter. When I was finaly able to get the whole thing out all the bones from the spine and ribs got pushed into the neck!!! ...
Was it deformed or just disintegrating?
 
Not really sure since I've never had this before. But it looked like the head was deformed. Plus the whole thing was about 8 feet long. she was due in about 2 weeks if the bull got her the first day. Should I still try to graft a calf on the heifer and breed her again or is it a better idea to let her recover and ship her?
 
I'd be concerned about having got everything out. Here I'd call a vet when things got that nasty, since I'd fear uterine infection. I've never had to deal with a calf dead long enough to start falling apart. My worst ones have only had a slight whiff to them.
How much do you like her?
 
I can't really make out that photo, it looks like the hind legs to the right and then 2 forelegs to the top and middle of the image but then on the left around the head there are more leg bones exposed. I might be completely disorientated though?????

Ken
 
I took a cow to the vet who had a dead calf in her. I know the smell too well. I had to leave the cow so I went in and signed her in, then apologized before I left. lol... From what I heard, it smelled the whole place up terribly.. I cant remember the details of how we knew it was dead...maybe PTSD I have from that smell when we went to investigate why she was having issues....lol
 
Horrible experience. Thankfully, I have never had a decayed calf or one that had to be cut up. (Hopefully, I did not just jinx myself!!!)
One thing I would like to mention - a vet once told me, anytime you see blood, go in & check out what is happening. Blood is a good sign something is wrong.
 
wbvs58":7jlxglhl said:
I can't really make out that photo, it looks like the hind legs to the right and then 2 forelegs to the top and middle of the image but then on the left around the head there are more leg bones exposed. I might be completely disorientated though?????

Ken

The exposed bones by the head are actually the jaw bones, if you zoom in enough you can see teeth.
I agree Jeanne next time I see blood I won't wait until the next day to check her. In this case though it wouldn't have made a big difference. She may not have been dilated enough to pull the calf the night before.
 
pricefarm":27ia8u9d said:
Nothing stinks as bad as pulling a dead animal out. I have never pulled a dead calf but I have pulled plenty of dead lambs. It takes days to get that smell of your hands
I have done both,unfortunately.The smell is the worst part.Sometimes a smokey fire will help.I wonder if tomato juice,Dawn and peroxide will work like it does on dogs with skunk smell?
 
sim.-ang.king":1r28glt9 said:
Irish Spring bar soap and toothpaste, I deal with dead stinky green and blue pigs all summer long, and that will take the smell off.
I almost puked only once when a bloated pig ruptured...let your imagination play with that for a bit.
If it is anything like a ripe dead sheep,I am sorry.
 

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