Old Cow Down

Help Support CattleToday:

South of Dallas

New member
Joined
May 22, 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Probably kept her to long, but she has always given me a good calf every year - last one back in April. Anyway we had a cold snap last Wednesday, which us the last day I saw her, she was fine then. I found her today sitting in the pasture away from the herd, sitting like a dog and seemed content. She is bright eyed, but wont get up. I rolled her from one side to the other (to get weight off leg she was laying on), and gave her some feed/water. She ate the feed right away, but did not drink. Cows are still eating standing hay, I am having to put out a few bales to supplement and provide a lick tub. Anybody ever had a similar situation? Weather is warm here this weekend, but is supposed to get cold next week and i'd like to see her up before then or i will have to put her down - I don't want her to lay there and starve. All comments welcome and thanks for your time.
 
South of Dallas":20suht1q said:
sitting like a dog and seemed content. She is bright eyed, but wont get up. I rolled her from one side to the other (to get weight off leg she was laying on), and gave her some feed/water. She ate the feed right away.
Whatever it is I think I have the same thing.... :help:
 
Talk to your vet
It could be as simple as getting calcium or mag. shot,
It could be the weight of the calf is to much to bear.
It could be a dose or two of an anit inflam
It could be you need to get her up with the tractor and straps
It could be as simple as not enough nutrition for an old cow in the cold weather, but at either point she needs to be seen by the vet. Especially if you want to save the calf

We had a few old cows this happened too and these were the things we tried. We would skid them home on a big sheet of steel with a horse blanket on the steel. We did our best with them. The first one we spent hours each day hoisting up, and with all, carting water and feed. I will admit we did not try the calcium shots or iv. That might have been the way to go.
We kept them comfortable long enough to take the calf. The first one, we had the vet our to do an emergency C section, she was here any way working on a cow. The next one we did ourselves the emergency C
The last cow that this happened to, she calved on her own. Dang if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes after 4 months of not getting up, did she get up for her calf. However, she lacked milk, so she went to cow heaven, and the calf was grafted on a heifer who lost her calf the night before.
 
There are literally thousands of these posts on Cattle Today. Probably tens of thousands.

Some beginner - may have never owned a cow in his / her life - comes on board to find out why an animal is sick or down.

Or some long time cow owner that has never talked to a veterinarian - comes on board to find out why an animal is sick or down.

What is the cost of a call compared to the cost of a dead animal?

My cow is hurt or sick - in my post I have not sought the advice of a veterinarian - I have provided absolutely minimum information on my cow and she is "down/sick/or appears sick" - what do you think guys? I there a magic medicine I can use? What should I do?

Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever even looks in the telephone book for a veterinarian - or even knows what one is.

I suppose it is cheaper to blindly ask a bunch of strangers - "What do you think about my sick cow?"

"How can I help her?"

We - the supposed hard line cattle folks will often get get villified if we suggest that it might be better to shoot old Bessie and put her out of her misery.

Would you do the same for a dog - or a family member? Is there a People Today or a Dog Today website that we could call to diagnose the prob with a pet or a loved one - using of course the same information flow - absolutely minimal information, no age other than "old", no weight, size, past health conditions, breed (yeah even in people it can be important) and so on.

So I vote to shoot the Beetch - she is down and it is past the 24 hour mark. Never let the sun set on a downer cow - if you are in the business long enough you will come out ahead - and no I am not interested in the "once upon a time I saved a cow after 27 days of rolling, lifting and custom feeding" story - these fairy tales do happen once in a while - but not often enough for me to care - grab a large calibre so she dies fast.

While I am at it - my neighbour hurt his hand yesterday - pretty bad - any thoughts on what we should do about it? Cut it off, vaccinate with some expired meds, use penicillin, increase his feed intake, ice it, put it in a plaster of cow schitt and straw, wrap it in a tensor bandage, isolate from family until feeling better, buy a new suit to make him feel better - or perhaps go to the doctor? (Sarcasm)

The best response to your cow my friend is that it is sick or hurt or old (but what is old?) or a combination of all three - if you can doctor - do it - if not kill her.

Rockridgecattle - does it right - and then sends them to cow heaven.

Hope everyone is having a great day - cooled right down here today - still pretty schitty here though.

Someday someone will come on here and actually tell us they called the vet or shot the cow. And why they did what they did.

Am I the only stupid gawdammsumbitch that feels this way, or does it bother others as well?

Yeah - I know it is a rant - but I have to admit it p!sses me off to see these posts - always the same - day after day after day.

My best regards

Bez+

PS - South Dallas - welcome to Cattle Today

B
 
Bez+":38mx276y said:
Am I the only stupid gawdammsumbitch that feels this way, or does it bother others as well?
Probably not. Probably others feel this way too.

This is not about SoD, you just happened to throw up on him/her. Maybe it should have been a seperate thread.

I am just incredibly grateful you did not respond to my original post almost 3 years ago.
 
angie":3501e0iy said:
Bez+":3501e0iy said:
Am I the only stupid gawdammsumbitch that feels this way, or does it bother others as well?
Probably not. Probably others feel this way too.

This is not about SoD, you just happened to throw up on him/her. Maybe it should have been a seperate thread.

I am just incredibly grateful you did not respond to my original post almost 3 years ago.

Hey - I did offer up my best regards AND I welcomed him to the site!

Bez+
 
Bez+, I think a lot of us, including myself, feel this way. However there are some on these boards think a DVM degree ain't worth the paper it's printed on and have said as much. This bugs me a lot. But I'm not looking to start a peeing match so 'nuff said.

To our new friend SoD, sorry the soapbox got drug out for you today. Most of us don't bite too hard but we do get rattled now and then.

If she's an old girl, looks that good and is sitting spraddled, I'm afraid the prognosis is poor. But if you want to try something get a vet out even if it's for last rites. At least you'll never wonder if you could have done more.
 
Bez+":2o0ca2ff said:
There are literally thousands of these posts on Cattle Today. Probably tens of thousands.

Some beginner - may have never owned a cow in his / her life - comes on board to find out why an animal is sick or down.

Or some long time cow owner that has never talked to a veterinarian - comes on board to find out why an animal is sick or down.

What is the cost of a call compared to the cost of a dead animal?

My cow is hurt or sick - in my post I have not sought the advice of a veterinarian - I have provided absolutely minimum information on my cow and she is "down/sick/or appears sick" - what do you think guys? I there a magic medicine I can use? What should I do?

Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever even looks in the telephone book for a veterinarian - or even knows what one is.

I suppose it is cheaper to blindly ask a bunch of strangers - "What do you think about my sick cow?"

"How can I help her?"

We - the supposed hard line cattle folks will often get get villified if we suggest that it might be better to shoot old Bessie and put her out of her misery.

Would you do the same for a dog - or a family member? Is there a People Today or a Dog Today website that we could call to diagnose the prob with a pet or a loved one - using of course the same information flow - absolutely minimal information, no age other than "old", no weight, size, past health conditions, breed (yeah even in people it can be important) and so on.

So I vote to shoot the Beetch - she is down and it is past the 24 hour mark. Never let the sun set on a downer cow - if you are in the business long enough you will come out ahead - and no I am not interested in the "once upon a time I saved a cow after 27 days of rolling, lifting and custom feeding" story - these fairy tales do happen once in a while - but not often enough for me to care - grab a large calibre so she dies fast.

While I am at it - my neighbour hurt his hand yesterday - pretty bad - any thoughts on what we should do about it? Cut it off, vaccinate with some expired meds, use penicillin, increase his feed intake, ice it, put it in a plaster of cow schitt and straw, wrap it in a tensor bandage, isolate from family until feeling better, buy a new suit to make him feel better - or perhaps go to the doctor? (Sarcasm)

The best response to your cow my friend is that it is sick or hurt or old (but what is old?) or a combination of all three - if you can doctor - do it - if not kill her.

Rockridgecattle - does it right - and then sends them to cow heaven.

Hope everyone is having a great day - cooled right down here today - still pretty schitty here though.

Someday someone will come on here and actually tell us they called the vet or shot the cow. And why they did what they did.

Am I the only stupid gawdammsumbitch that feels this way, or does it bother others as well?

Yeah - I know it is a rant - but I have to admit it p!sses me off to see these posts - always the same - day after day after day.

My best regards

Bez+

PS - South Dallas - welcome to Cattle Today

B

Bez has said it about as clearly as it can be said. Get some professional help or fool around with the cow until you end up killing it. This board has provided me with some very useful and timely advice but it shouldn't act as a forum for medical advice when an animal's life is at stake.
 
Bez you are right, but sometimes we get shot when saying stuff like that.
I will admit the two that went down, they were close to calving (within weeks) so we wanted to save the calf, all that feed into them in a manitoba winter we wanted the calf
The one that was down from end of December to March 15th, hubby wanted the calf because she was a good cow, and last of her line with no genetic ties to the farm...long old story. I wanted to shoot but out voted, so he did the work. Not me. I was there however in the first week or two when he lifted her with the loader for safety reasons only. After that he wanted to make her comfortable only, did not lift....he really wanted that calf. When however she got up after calving he thought "oh great she can look after her calf" that is when i got the gun and handed it to him. My words were cost cost cost and runt calf...she did not raise the calf.

Some times when we say to a poster enough is enough, we get...what was your word..."villified".

And instead of posting here when an animal is sick, the first line of defence should be the vet rather than anonymous replies with drug advice only a vet should give.
 
Bez+":2zqhy1a3 said:
There are literally thousands of these posts on Cattle Today. Probably tens of thousands.

Some beginner - may have never owned a cow in his / her life - comes on board to find out why an animal is sick or down.

Or some long time cow owner that has never talked to a veterinarian - comes on board to find out why an animal is sick or down.

What is the cost of a call compared to the cost of a dead animal?

My cow is hurt or sick - in my post I have not sought the advice of a veterinarian - I have provided absolutely minimum information on my cow and she is "down/sick/or appears sick" - what do you think guys? I there a magic medicine I can use? What should I do?

Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever even looks in the telephone book for a veterinarian - or even knows what one is.

I suppose it is cheaper to blindly ask a bunch of strangers - "What do you think about my sick cow?"

"How can I help her?"

We - the supposed hard line cattle folks will often get get villified if we suggest that it might be better to shoot old Bessie and put her out of her misery.

Would you do the same for a dog - or a family member? Is there a People Today or a Dog Today website that we could call to diagnose the prob with a pet or a loved one - using of course the same information flow - absolutely minimal information, no age other than "old", no weight, size, past health conditions, breed (yeah even in people it can be important) and so on.

So I vote to shoot the Beetch - she is down and it is past the 24 hour mark. Never let the sun set on a downer cow - if you are in the business long enough you will come out ahead - and no I am not interested in the "once upon a time I saved a cow after 27 days of rolling, lifting and custom feeding" story - these fairy tales do happen once in a while - but not often enough for me to care - grab a large calibre so she dies fast.

While I am at it - my neighbour hurt his hand yesterday - pretty bad - any thoughts on what we should do about it? Cut it off, vaccinate with some expired meds, use penicillin, increase his feed intake, ice it, put it in a plaster of cow schitt and straw, wrap it in a tensor bandage, isolate from family until feeling better, buy a new suit to make him feel better - or perhaps go to the doctor? (Sarcasm)

The best response to your cow my friend is that it is sick or hurt or old (but what is old?) or a combination of all three - if you can doctor - do it - if not kill her.

Rockridgecattle - does it right - and then sends them to cow heaven.

Hope everyone is having a great day - cooled right down here today - still pretty schitty here though.

Someday someone will come on here and actually tell us they called the vet or shot the cow. And why they did what they did.

Am I the only stupid gawdammsumbitch that feels this way, or does it bother others as well?

Yeah - I know it is a rant - but I have to admit it p!sses me off to see these posts - always the same - day after day after day.

My best regards

Bez+

PS - South Dallas - welcome to Cattle Today

B

Bez....that is the greatest frickin' post I have ever read! I needed that on this day full of freezing rain, sleet and snow...and high temps of five this coming week....so thank you! :clap:

But now you should get your *ss ready and go to church you ornery SOB! :cowboy:

Oh, and Dallas....you have proved that you can use a computer, so I would suggest that if you dont have a vet to call...to google something like "beef cattle diseases" and you will get an abundant amount of information...and you can use the symptoms to try and narrow down what it may be...that is if its anything at all, other than old age, etc....as you have failed to tell us anything other than you have a cow that wont get up?!?!?! Good luck.
 
rockridgecattle":1g9o6j7s said:
Bez you are right, but sometimes we get shot when saying stuff like that..

I get people pointing guns at me almost every day - I no longer worry about the small stuff like someone giving me a blast on the computer

Bez+
 
We learned a year or so later to set a cost for treating an animal. If that animal did not get better within the cost of the treatment she/he/it was on it's own or shot. We have saved a pile of money, and in the end had a healthier herd cause we weeded out the problem ones. In this day of cattle producing we need to figure on ways of keeping costs down. One way is to ultilized a vet before things get out of hand. Another is to put limits on treating, and to weed out the problem cows.
On a final note and i would say this is shear luck of the draw. We had a cow come down with foot rot this year. So much rain we were thankful only one cow. We were at the point we shipped out the old old cows the non verified cows due to lack of hay, then we preg checked the rest and shipped out any open or genetic not so goods. We really trimmed down. Any how back to this foot rot. We wanted this cow for slaughter for the local bible camp. We really did not have the feed to maintain the cow after treatment withdrawls. So we let nature take it's course. That and we were just so busy...let me rephrase that...we were so discourged with lack of hay and poor prices that we really did not care if she lived or died.
Any how we left her, no treatment, it was not hot here, just fall temps. A week later the vet was out preg checking. She, the cow, jumped the fence and took off. We got her back in and in the vets word, if she could do that she had no foot problems. We took her temp, it was good and we shipped her out to slaughter. Best treatment ever...leave her alone.
 
rockridgecattle":1bc067ba said:
Bez you are right, but sometimes we get shot when saying stuff like that..

Yes, Bez is right in what he is saying. However his frustration is at many people not just one, and it should have been a seperate post. If Bez didn't want and couldn't handle our opinions he would not have asked what they were.
 
angie":n7prlu1e said:
rockridgecattle":n7prlu1e said:
Bez you are right, but sometimes we get shot when saying stuff like that..

Yes, Bez is right in what he is saying. However his frustration is at many people not just one, and it should have been a seperate post. If Bez didn't want and couldn't handle our opinions he would not have asked what they were.

Bez did good in my opinion. Sometimes it's o.k. to place the comment where it might do the best good. And he did. However, I don't see anything wrong either with folks posting cattle problems to see what others think. I learn from it. For all we know, the person may not have the money to spend on a vet, the vet is just too far away, maybe they don't think the problem is too serious yet, etc. Sometimes it's a good way to check to see if what the vet is recommending sounds right!!!
 
BeefmasterB":1ng5n2a1 said:
angie":1ng5n2a1 said:
rockridgecattle":1ng5n2a1 said:
Bez you are right, but sometimes we get shot when saying stuff like that..

Yes, Bez is right in what he is saying. However his frustration is at many people not just one, and it should have been a seperate post. If Bez didn't want and couldn't handle our opinions he would not have asked what they were.

Bez did good in my opinion. Sometimes it's o.k. to place the comment where it might do the best good. And he did. However, I don't see anything wrong either with folks posting cattle problems to see what others think. I learn from it. For all we know, the person may not have the money to spend on a vet, the vet is just too far away, maybe they don't think the problem is too serious yet, etc. Sometimes it's a good way to check to see if what the vet is recommending sounds right!!!

You all must have some expensive vets. Ours doesn't charge a thing when we phone him to get advice on an animal. We give him the symptoms, he gives us some ideas to go on. He will ask questions, if we didn't give him enough information. Sometimes he wants to see the animal, but sometimes he doesn't.

I'm with Bez+. Call the vet, if you don't know enough to post more than just 'cow down' , what could it be. There are a thousand things it could be. Lack of energy, calcium deficiency, injury, nervous system disorder, various diseases.........and on it goes. Generally vets do know more about cattle diseases, injuries and problems than the average cattle owner does, after all, they had to go to school for 7 years to get that little peice of paper. And, you don't have to have the vet come out, he can give you ideas when you talk to him on the phone, and you can decide from there whether or not you want to have him out, or not.

I don't mind reading about people that need help with an animal, but I do like to see that they have talked to the vet or are going to within the next few hours. It never hurts to have a second opinion, and people on this board can definitely do that.

But no-one can diagnose a problem unless there is a good description of the symptoms, and 'my cow is down, her eyes are bright, she eats but doesn't drink' really isn't much to go on. We cannot see this animal, so we must have a darn good description.

Does she have a temperature?
Does she try to get up? Or does she really just lay there? Have you encouraged her?
Is she fat, thin or in between?
Is her calf still on her?
When is she due to calve? Or did she just calve?
How old is old?
What are you feeding and how much? What quality is it?

Above all, call the vet, see what he has to say. No-one says you must have him come out to look at her, but at least give him a good description of what the symptoms are so he can make an educated guess as to what is wrong with her.
 
I agree with Bez
but while we are on the subject Bez I have this cow who went down 3 weeks ago and won't get up
Here is her info
thin bcs of 1.5
blind in one eye can't see out of the other
3 legged crippled in one of the 3 she has left
hasn't bred or had a calf in 3 yrs
teeth she used to have some
teats 2 1 got cut off when she jumped the fence,1 was never there and the other 2 are dry
toes long
body temp frigid
hasn't ate or drink since the 2nd day she went down
age came over on the Ark

So can anyone give me any ideas of what to do? I could call the vet but he is a busy person and they just give them degrees out for showing up at class sober so I thought you guys might be able to save her casue I really would like to save her but meds and vets are expensive and I don't want to spend any money on her but she is to invaluable to lose and if you guys can't save her then I guess you guys aren't any smarter than the vets


any advice greatly appreciated


ps Bez Have a great day and I hope this made ya smile :lol:
 
Bez+":2itz82s0 said:
We - the supposed hard line cattle folks will often get get villified if we suggest that it might be better to shoot old Bessie and put her out of her misery.

:nod: :nod:

- if you can doctor - do it - if not kill her.

:nod: :nod:

Someday someone will come on here and actually tell us they called the vet or shot the cow. And why they did what they did.

Last Thursday one of my better ones got the shot on the X. She apparently slid in the mud, went down (the wrong way) and broke a rear leg. She was 'splayed out' behind, with one rear leg completely flat on the ground and the leg was mishapen. Not a good scene. I hated to do it, but it was the right thing.

Am I the only stupid gawdammsumbitch that feels this way, or does it bother others as well?

You're not alone.

Bez+

Katherine
 
Bez+":spgsp4q4 said:
There are literally thousands of these posts on Cattle Today. Probably tens of thousands.

Some beginner - may have never owned a cow in his / her life - comes on board to find out why an animal is sick or down.

Or some long time cow owner that has never talked to a veterinarian - comes on board to find out why an animal is sick or down.

What is the cost of a call compared to the cost of a dead animal?

My cow is hurt or sick - in my post I have not sought the advice of a veterinarian - I have provided absolutely minimum information on my cow and she is "down/sick/or appears sick" - what do you think guys? I there a magic medicine I can use? What should I do?

Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever even looks in the telephone book for a veterinarian - or even knows what one is.

I suppose it is cheaper to blindly ask a bunch of strangers - "What do you think about my sick cow?"

"How can I help her?"

We - the supposed hard line cattle folks will often get get villified if we suggest that it might be better to shoot old Bessie and put her out of her misery.

Would you do the same for a dog - or a family member? Is there a People Today or a Dog Today website that we could call to diagnose the prob with a pet or a loved one - using of course the same information flow - absolutely minimal information, no age other than "old", no weight, size, past health conditions, breed (yeah even in people it can be important) and so on.

So I vote to shoot the Beetch - she is down and it is past the 24 hour mark. Never let the sun set on a downer cow - if you are in the business long enough you will come out ahead - and no I am not interested in the "once upon a time I saved a cow after 27 days of rolling, lifting and custom feeding" story - these fairy tales do happen once in a while - but not often enough for me to care - grab a large calibre so she dies fast.

While I am at it - my neighbour hurt his hand yesterday - pretty bad - any thoughts on what we should do about it? Cut it off, vaccinate with some expired meds, use penicillin, increase his feed intake, ice it, put it in a plaster of cow schitt and straw, wrap it in a tensor bandage, isolate from family until feeling better, buy a new suit to make him feel better - or perhaps go to the doctor? (Sarcasm)

The best response to your cow my friend is that it is sick or hurt or old (but what is old?) or a combination of all three - if you can doctor - do it - if not kill her.

Rockridgecattle - does it right - and then sends them to cow heaven.

Hope everyone is having a great day - cooled right down here today - still pretty schitty here though.

Someday someone will come on here and actually tell us they called the vet or shot the cow. And why they did what they did.

Am I the only stupid gawdammsumbitch that feels this way, or does it bother others as well?

Yeah - I know it is a rant - but I have to admit it p!sses me off to see these posts - always the same - day after day after day.

My best regards

Bez+

PS - South Dallas - welcome to Cattle Today

B


Bez, We all try to justify what we say and do. A new poster deserved better. JMHO.
 
Angus Cowman":2aml2gc6 said:
I agree with Bez
but while we are on the subject Bez I have this cow who went down 3 weeks ago and won't get up
Here is her info
thin bcs of 1.5
blind in one eye can't see out of the other
3 legged crippled in one of the 3 she has left
hasn't bred or had a calf in 3 yrs
teeth she used to have some
teats 2 1 got cut off when she jumped the fence,1 was never there and the other 2 are dry
toes long
body temp frigid
hasn't ate or drink since the 2nd day she went down
age came over on the Ark

So can anyone give me any ideas of what to do? I could call the vet but he is a busy person and they just give them degrees out for showing up at class sober so I thought you guys might be able to save her casue I really would like to save her but meds and vets are expensive and I don't want to spend any money on her but she is to invaluable to lose and if you guys can't save her then I guess you guys aren't any smarter than the vets


any advice greatly appreciated


ps Bez Have a great day and I hope this made ya smile :lol:

I bet her name is Lucky
 

Latest posts

Top