Old Cow...can I keep her alive long enough to calve?

[dun]

I wouldn;t worm her, just hay and starteena. Our Granny waited and finally gave us 3 heifers in a row then her last calf was a bull. Hard to believe it's been a year and a half since we buried her. I really don;t care what folks think about getting attached to some cows. Grannys daughters and grandaughters are built just like she was, box car on legs. They all calve just like she did and raise great calves.

 

[Nesikep]

I have 1 cow in another maternal line.. she's 6 years old and hasn't had a heifer yet... It's too bad because I think she's the most promising in her line (I have 3 on the cull list this fall, 2 for prolapse and one can't grow a calf)... she's got good teats, temperament, hooves, no prolapse (2nd generation of that) and is a good, thick cow.. She's quite roan and I hope she doesn't pass too much of that on.

The one with the potato-sack bag I have a video of I'll try and put up tomorrow...
for now this will have to do.. She did need to go into the chute to get the calf hooked up this time... Partly because she's a mean witch after calving... 5 days later she's sweet again

Dun, What's strange with my granny's line is that her mother was a framey cow, she would pack some fat here and there, but always looked a bit thin.. but you'd never say by looking at her daughters... rather "full of themselves"... and a few of the granddaughters pretty impressive too.

Time does fly, it's been a year since I buried Tizia (Rosie's sister) due to a stroke

 

[Putangitangi]

I had a cow (which calved for the last time at 18). At 13 she was very thin coming up to calving and produced twins for the first time in her life. The following year she was dry, but bearing in mind the hard time she'd had the previous year, I kept her on. The next year she twinned again! The last three were singles and I shouldn't have let the final one happen. She was incredibly thin by the time she calved, the calf was about 48lbs and the cow never fed her properly (couldn't produce the milk) and then fell down a hill and died five months later. That last daughter, my hope for continuation of that line, was very poor. Her two calves were good at weaning, then fell to pieces. I'm still waiting for the one I still have to reach killing weight at three. I'd never keep another cow that long again.

 

[inyati13]

The descrtiption "lost weight" doesn;t really say much. What is her body condition score?

I never looked at the criteria for body condition. Based on this I have to admit, many of mine will fall into the 8 score. I probably have a few in the 7.

 

[aprille218]

Do you have anything other than just grass hay to feed her for hay? Adding some alfalfa, peanut or pea hay will really help her too along with the creep feed/grain. You can even get some alfalfa pellets/ cubes soak them to make a mash to add to the grass hay. Also make sure you have colostrum supplement to feed to her calf. With her being in poor shape you'll want to give it some.
Aprille

 

[Wisteria Farms]

OK... here are some photos for you...
First photo... Granny a couple years ago. In good shape. Its sad to see this because she looked so good compared to how she looks now...

Next three photo's...Granny now.

Last photo... is what we did last night to keep the winds off her as she CHOSE to lay OUTSIDE (my guess is because she could see the other cattle from outside)...

To answer your question... yes, we usually have an assortment of hay simply because we buy whatever we can get our hands on and then divvy it out to whoever fits the bill best....(we didn't have any pea hay however(??) but we did have some Alfalfa squares and I did give her some of that but it made her poo really loose (and I didn't have a lot of it) so its gone and I'm back to just the straight grass hay. We prefer straight grass hay (good quality) as in years past we got larger BW's from feeding alfalfa mix all winter...

As for the colostrum... yes... I keep the good stuff ($27/bag) on hand but in this case my plan is to get the calf on Granny for atleast a few days before pulling it off her and starting it on the bottle. There's no way she can feed out a calf in her condition so I'm not even going to try but I AM going to try to get her own colostrum into the calf if at all possible.

I just hope I can post pictures of her and her calf and it all has a happy ending... this waiting is insane.

 

[Nesikep]

She does show her age...

Here's that udder embarrassment...
[youtube]4mhECCMxi1w[/youtube]

You can see how I said she has to kick her bag to the side to not step on her teats... that's after milking out 2 gallons... I never buy colostrum... I make sure I have enough on hand and milk the ones I can

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Her laying down alot is the worst of what you've mentioned, just going on condition she aint that bad.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Wisteria, Beautiful barn!!! I really love it!
Looks like you are keeping her comfy! Is she able to stand at all? (I think that you said she walks to water?) Get the probios for her. It will help her to not have diarrhea. It is probably not a good idea to make any big changes to her feed, just increase the grain slowly. Is your area selenium deficient? Do you give Muse or Bose injections? If they are deficient, it will help with the muscle weakness. I give it at birth to the calves also. Vit A and D shot also works wonders. Perks them right up. I think the cow and the calf would both benefit from these. I would give to the cow now, and the calf at birth. Discloser- My area and feed are entirely different from yours, so please run it by your vet first. But should be safe.
I think that she may surprise you when the calf is born. The extra weight will be off her legs!
I know that you were "not looking for advice," But it appears that you really love your cow, so I am just trying to come up with ideas that might help you and her make it through this.

Nes, you and your girls are awesome!

 

[branguscowgirl]

Her laying down alot is the worst of what you've mentioned, just going on condition she aint that bad.

I agree. I think her legs are tired from the extra weight from the calf. Either that or she just needs a nutritional boost. Which she is getting now!

 

[Nesikep]

If she's a concerned mother, when the calf is born she'll have some motivation too!, might change her outlook on life a little.. it's surprising how having a calf can change them

 

[cowgirl8]

We had an old cow last year go down right before she was due to calve. We brought her to the house and fed her really good in hopes she'd get up again. Two weeks went by and we were about to put her down when she went into labor. She didnt have the strength to push the calf out, so with a little help she delivered a healthy bull calf. For about an hour, she talked to him but was never able to stand and let him nurse. I milked out some colostrum for him and then left them to bond. About an hour later we went out and she was dead. It was the saddest thing ever . She hung on long enough to calve..We grafted the calf on a heifer whose calf was born dead and he found him a new mommy who took care of him like he was her own. I really wished it had been a heifer calf. He looked just like his mother and she had been a really good cow, never a day of trouble out of her.

 

[Wisteria Farms]

Debating on having the vet come out and palp her just to see the condition of her calf... (how big it is and if we might be able to take it).
The problem now is, she is NOT walking to water. I suspected this yesterday and put a couple straw floaters on the waterer and they didnt move all day. So, mid-day I took her some water. She drank about 4 gallons. Last night I took her more and she drank another couple gallons. Still eating grain and hay like a champ but with not getting up at ALL, now I'm concerned that we get the weight off of her if at all possible by delivering that calf. Just don't know FOR SURE when she was serviced so am afraid of taking it too soon on the assumption that she bred back as usual. Not sure that will be enough relief to help her get going but will also give her the A&D shot today. No..we've not had any selenium deficiency issues here but will ask vet. I just know that in general... the longer you're down, the harder is is to get back up... those old muscles can't lay there days and days and then exect a miracle so I'm not wanting to delay anything I can do to help her. And yes... she is a really good cow and I do think she's hanging on for this calf... When I go out there, she's happy to see her food and rotates from side to side (probably for her own comfort) and moo's when she hears others getting fed so I don't see any dullness or depression... just a very strong-willed old girl dealing with her issues.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Awe, what a good story cowgirl8! Sad, but worked out for the calf in the end.....

Wisteria, maybe a vet check is in order, as you said. Calf could be close and pinching a nerve.
If her tail and back legs have flaccity and decreased sensation, there is probably not any chance that she can push that calf out........

 

[branguscowgirl]

You have a good cow vet, right?

 

[Chuckie]

We have cows in the 20's still producing. These are the heifers we want to retain. They just had a sale close to me where 2001 Angus cows were selling anywhere from $3750 and up without calves at their side. Their numbers were not spectacular. So, cows are producing longer if you give them a bit of grain and Rumensin to help utilize the feed that they are taking in. Mostly the older girls.
A thirteen year old cow doesn't alarm me at the age other than something else is going on. Unless she is very shy and is being pushed away by more aggressive cows. Does she have bad teeth? Something else is going on other than her age.
I do not get rid of any cow as long as she has a good calf and is in good condition.
I read where many people unload cows at 7 years of age, and some younger, but they still have many more calves to give if it is a good cow. If it is a cow giving low weight calves, then I am for selling her. Otherwise, she stays.
If you take care of your cows nutritionally, the older cows will be around to produce for a while.

 

[branguscowgirl]

We have cows in the 20's still producing. These are the heifers we want to retain. They just had a sale close to me where 2001 Angus cows were selling anywhere from $3750 and up without calves at their side. Their numbers were not spectacular. So, cows are producing longer if you give them a bit of grain and Rumensin to help utilize the feed that they are taking in. Mostly the older girls.
A thirteen year old cow doesn't alarm me at the age other than something else is going on. Unless she is very shy and is being pushed away by more aggressive cows. Does she have bad teeth? Something else is going on other than her age.
I do not get rid of any cow as long as she has a good calf and is in good condition.
I read where many people unload cows at 7 years of age, and some younger, but they still have many more calves to give if it is a good cow. If it is a cow giving low weight calves, then I am for selling her. Otherwise, she stays.
If you take care of your cows nutritionally, the older cows will be around to produce for a while.

I love your attitude about 'older cows' Chuckie! I couldn't agree more! I also think something else is going on here with Wisterias cow.

 

[Nesikep]

We just have to try and figure out what else is going on... 13 isn't old, I found it about the time when they stop running and throwing their butts in the air though..

In another thread (was it "prolapsed heifer still down"?) someone mentioned keeping an injectable solution of dextrose I think it was to help give a down cow energy? It wouldn't be helpful at this point, but after she calves perhaps

 

[Wisteria Farms]

OK.. well, lets go ahead and throw the "nutrition" aspect out the window because my cattle (even my other old gal 14) are all in good shape... here's a picture I took yesterday morning when I was taking pictures of Granny (because I knew this would come up)...these are the few that were up at the feeder...everyone else was still sleeping...LOL

I KNOW the problem... and as I stated early on...she calved in mid May last year...a bullcalf that sucked the life out of her and she went INTO winter in less than prime condition. With winter being especially cold/snowy/windy AND with her teeth most likely beginning to or already failing, she just didn't make it through winter as well as everyone else. My fault in this, and I realize, is not pulling her from the herd SOONER than I did.

Thanks to all who've offered constructive words of encouragement... The vet is calling me back to let me know when they'll be here so I'll let you know what she says...and yes, she's a good large animal vet who does the farm calls for the practice in our area...I trust her.

 

[Wisteria Farms]

BTW... she is FIFTEEN... not thirteen. She's a February '99 model.

And the vet called. She will be here after she finishes preg checking 40 head and grabbing a quick sandwich...so I'll know something soon.