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syork

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The holstein calf I raised on the bottle, is down. To no fault of his own. The cows for some odd reason tried to kill him yesterday. I cant git him up by myself. I dont know if i can try to pick him up with the tractor without hurting him. I cant tell if anything is broke. We are in the middle of a bad snow storm. Its slacked off for now. I got him covered in tarp till I can figure out how in the heck am I gonna git him up by myself. He is almost a year old and he weighs bout 500 pounds. I have straps that i use to tie down hay, was wondering if i can make a makeshift thing to put around him and lift him up with the tractor? I have a bucket but I dont want to roll him in case he does have something broken. I dont think I can roll him by myself if that is ok to do. Alright im in a bind. Any ideas? :help:
 
Run the tractor loader towards his backside and stop right before you touch him. Lift the back half on the edge, then the front half on the edge, and keep working him on to the backside of the loader. If you can lift 150 pounds, you should be able to do this.
 
The cows have been around him all winter. I dont understand why in the heck they want to try to kill him? :???: I like to have never got the cows off of him. They had him down was ramming him with their heads and whatnot. I cant tell from his position if he has anything broken. I am trying not to hurt him any worst than he already is. He is eatin his grain and hay while hes down and drinkin water. I shoved on him this morning tryin to git him to move no luck. I need to git him up or roll him over or something to see if anything is broke somewhere. Thanks herfordsire I will do that. I just didnt want to make things worst. If he does have something broken I will have to call my brother to shoot him. I dont have the heart to do it. He is such a pet. He follows me like a big dog and just wantes attention every time I go in the field. He is such a sweetie. I hope he gits out of this. Poor thing.
 
HerefordSire's idea is an excellent one for moving him. Is there any way you can get a vet over to check him out? Hate to see you put him down without knowing for sure that it couldn't make it.



HerefordSire":3lkmi6oj said:
Run the tractor loader towards his backside and stop right before you touch him. Lift the back half on the edge, then the front half on the edge, and keep working him on to the backside of the loader. If you can lift 150 pounds, you should be able to do this.
 
I agree that is how you should move him, but check him thoroughly to see if you notice any broken bones or potential for internal injury, or get a vet out to scan him over before you try to move him. Then get him somewhere warm and dry and figure out what the heck is wrong with him...hope he turns out OK
 
ideally it would be good to know why he is down and how he got down in the first place.

did he slip on ice or just cast himself or is he actually ill.

its very common for cows to gather around and push on a downed herdmate. for this reason you need to separate him from the main herd--also so he can eat. move him with the bucket.

i would let him rest for a while with food and water and once the shock and stress of everything has worn off some i would get a brother or somebody to come help me lift him. dont be surprised if he doesnt help, b/c cattle tend to get weak in the head easily and sort of give up. i like to lift them by the neck and the tail and hold them standing for a while. IF you can get him up, you may have to do this for several days until he gets his confidence back or if he is just weak in strength then you are most likely fighting a losing battle. if you absolutely have to you can put a long strong metal pole on your hay spear and put some old tractor tire intertubes over that and lower it and slide them under the calfs front and back flanks and raise him that way. but you still need some help steadying him or else he will just slide out...
 
Beefy the cows turned on him. They was all beatin up on him. Thats what I said in my first post. They just started picking on him then it snowballed from there. I like to have never got them away from him. What I dont understand is he got back up walked about 200 feet and then he collapsed. When he collapsed he wouldnt get back up. I am trying to find a vet it is impossible to find one around here. My brother had some really wide straps so we got him hangin in the barn from the straps trying to see if he can git his feeling or whatever back in his feet. He didnt even protest when we were tryin to rig him up to where we can hang him safely where his hoofs were touchin the floor. He just laid there. I think he has gave up. I looked and felt all around while he was up. The only thing im concerned bout is the fact his hooves on the back end will not stay on the floor. Its kinda hard to describe he balls them up and refuses to put them down to where he can bear weight. I am wonderin if maybe he has some swellin goin on or somethin goin on with the nervous system? If only we had a dang vet that will answer the blasted phone. :mad:

I let him back down off the straps to give him a break, and he just fell to a heap on the floor its like he dont want to try. He will put his front hooves on the floor just not the back ones. Hes eatin really good and drinking. We got him in the barn where its warm and out of this cold and snow. I hope we can git him back on his feet.
 
Sounds like he might have done the "splits" when he went down. I would give him a shot of an anti inflammatory,,use a steroidal one in his case. Make sure you have food and water for him where he can reach and keep him warm and as comfortable as possible. He may or may not get up again. I have seen cows get up from this and I have seen cows put down because of this. The main thing is do not let him give up, so spend time with him just talking and petting him ,especially if he is all alone.

Ya ya I know, its a steer, but he was a bottle calf and bonded with you so make sure you keep that connection going.

Good luck with, him I hope he recovers..
 
hillsdown said:
Ya ya I know, its a steer, but he was a bottle calf and bonded with you so make sure you keep that connection going.

quote]
Nothing wrong with compassion, no matter what the animal is.

Doesn't matter now, I guess, but is it possible this animal went down and the cows were trying to help him up? good luck with him. Sounds like he has just given up.
 
grubbie":mmpet6sh said:
hillsdown":mmpet6sh said:
Ya ya I know, its a steer, but he was a bottle calf and bonded with you so make sure you keep that connection going.

quote]
Nothing wrong with compassion, no matter what the animal is.

Doesn't matter now, I guess, but is it possible this animal went down and the cows were trying to help him up? good luck with him. Sounds like he has just given up.


I've never owned any holstiens but according to the conversation that I've heard, they as a breed don't fight for life as most beef breeds will. I know blanket statements are not good but some animals including people will give-up easier than others.
 
Went to check on him this morning. He died. :( I swear this is the one thing i hate bout cattle business, is losing one over something stupid like the cows beating him down. I knew he had given up and I was just hoping that he wasnt.
 
syork":173sv0nk said:
Went to check on him this morning. He died. :( I swear this is the one thing i hate bout cattle business, is losing one over something stupid like the cows beating him down. I knew he had given up and I was just hoping that he wasnt.
Sorry to hear that. Always hard to lose 'em,...seems like it's even harder when you've worked so hard to get them going. You sure tried.
 
Sorry for your loss,I know how you feel I just lost a 4 day old last night myself.Pretty much the same thing that happened to yours. The cows attacked this baby,even it's own mama. I don't understand it.
 
I lost one last week. One day he was out with the herd eating, etc., the next he couldn't stand. The vet came out at gave him an IV and shots, but he died over the next night. Oddly enough, he was a Holstien steer, too.
 
syork":2biw7o3n said:
The cows have been around him all winter. I dont understand why in the heck they want to try to kill him? :???: I like to have never got the cows off of him. They had him down was ramming him with their heads and whatnot. I cant tell from his position if he has anything broken. I am trying not to hurt him any worst than he already is. He is eatin his grain and hay while hes down and drinkin water. I shoved on him this morning tryin to git him to move no luck. I need to git him up or roll him over or something to see if anything is broke somewhere. Thanks herfordsire I will do that. I just didnt want to make things worst. If he does have something broken I will have to call my brother to shoot him. I dont have the heart to do it. He is such a pet. He follows me like a big dog and just wantes attention every time I go in the field. He is such a sweetie. I hope he gits out of this. Poor thing.


This animal is not a pet. The longer he is down the more likely it will be you need to shoot him. The cows tried to kill him cuz they were working out the pecking order and apparently he got beat down and is the low cow on the totem pole. That is what cows do. Although I cant say I have seen one injured that badly before. He must have been frail or had something wrong with him from the start. 500 pounds and a year old is pretty small even for a bottle calf.
 
syork":2lggu27r said:
Beefy the cows turned on him. They was all beatin up on him. Thats what I said in my first post. They just started picking on him then it snowballed from there. I like to have never got them away from him. What I dont understand is he got back up walked about 200 feet and then he collapsed. When he collapsed he wouldnt get back up. I am trying to find a vet it is impossible to find one around here. My brother had some really wide straps so we got him hangin in the barn from the straps trying to see if he can git his feeling or whatever back in his feet. He didnt even protest when we were tryin to rig him up to where we can hang him safely where his hoofs were touchin the floor. He just laid there. I think he has gave up. I looked and felt all around while he was up. The only thing im concerned bout is the fact his hooves on the back end will not stay on the floor. Its kinda hard to describe he balls them up and refuses to put them down to where he can bear weight. I am wonderin if maybe he has some swellin goin on or somethin goin on with the nervous system? If only we had a dang vet that will answer the blasted phone. :mad:

I let him back down off the straps to give him a break, and he just fell to a heap on the floor its like he dont want to try. He will put his front hooves on the floor just not the back ones. Hes eatin really good and drinking. We got him in the barn where its warm and out of this cold and snow. I hope we can git him back on his feet.


Sounds like a sciatic nerve or spinal injury. Its time to put one between his eyes. I had one like this once and he was down for two weeks. He would go to try and get up and when he would go to take a step his back legs would just bow up under him. The remaining two weeks he laid there eating and drinking and then I blasted him and sent him to his maker.
 
hillsdown":wuhlkrx5 said:
Sounds like he might have done the "splits" when he went down. I would give him a shot of an anti inflammatory,,use a steroidal one in his case. Make sure you have food and water for him where he can reach and keep him warm and as comfortable as possible. He may or may not get up again. I have seen cows get up from this and I have seen cows put down because of this. The main thing is do not let him give up, so spend time with him just talking and petting him ,especially if he is all alone.

Ya ya I know, its a steer, but he was a bottle calf and bonded with you so make sure you keep that connection going.

Good luck with, him I hope he recovers..


Wont work for injured spine or torn sciatic nerve. Trust me I did everything you could imagine.
 
syork":10kzuukg said:
Went to check on him this morning. He died. :( I swear this is the one thing i hate bout cattle business, is losing one over something stupid like the cows beating him down. I knew he had given up and I was just hoping that he wasnt.


I am so sorry to hear that, I feel for you because when you bottle feed a calf and are with them all day for such a long period of time how can you not become attached to them..

And again everyone, I do know that cattle are not pets.

I also know that being passionate and compassionate makes one a better herdsperson.. :cowboy:
 
cowman30":23mqvb2k said:
hillsdown":23mqvb2k said:
Sounds like he might have done the "splits" when he went down. I would give him a shot of an anti inflammatory,,use a steroidal one in his case. Make sure you have food and water for him where he can reach and keep him warm and as comfortable as possible. He may or may not get up again. I have seen cows get up from this and I have seen cows put down because of this. The main thing is do not let him give up, so spend time with him just talking and petting him ,especially if he is all alone.

Ya ya I know, its a steer, but he was a bottle calf and bonded with you so make sure you keep that connection going.

Good luck with, him I hope he recovers..


Wont work for injured spine or torn sciatic nerve. Trust me I did everything you could imagine.

Cowman I agree and I have seen more than my share of broken legs, spinal injuries etc. with dairy cows . It comes with the territory when you have a free stall barn and concrete floors...

Too late now as the poor fella gave up.. :(
 

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