old cow what to do????????

[maineraiser]

:help: on our farm we raise main crosses we have an old milk cow that we keep around just incase a cow dies with a calf on the ground we breed her back every year. she had a heathly bull calf this year,but the cows health is getting bad,and we have pretty bad winters. what we do to get her health back to normal?

 

[msscamp]

How old is old? What type of health problems? May not be anything you can do, but it's hard to say without more information.

 

[maineraiser]

shes about 12, and is skinny. we have decided to maybe pin her and her calf in a barn and just pour the feed and hay to her. plus worm both of them,what do ya'll think

 

[cherokeeruby']

Vitamin A,D,E shot might help. Drought can leave them needing Vitamin A since there wasn't much green forage to turn into Vitamin A.

 

[Beefy]

milk cows have shorter lifespans than beefers. 12 years is a good record for a milk cow.

 

[Farmhand]

You can try feeding her separate like that. It might help. I'm thinking her time has probably come though.

 

[msscamp]

shes about 12, and is skinny. we have decided to maybe pin her and her calf in a barn and just pour the feed and hay to her. plus worm both of them,what do ya'll think

Worming might help her, but I'd be careful with the calf depending on his age. Read the directions of the wormer. I personally would not confine them to the barn, if you want to put them in a pen where they have access to a barn or some type of shed, fine although not really necessary, but they both need fresh air, sunshine and exercise.

 

[Beefy]

getting the calf off her as soon as you can is a good idea too if shes really in bad shape.

 

[riquezada]

We used to keep an old small milk cow around for the same reason or to raise some calves we would buy. Sounds like its time for her to go.

 

[maineraiser]

they will have a outside pin with a barn.thanks for advice.

 

[Medic24]

You can always try..............

Worm, supplimental feed, and try and get the calf off asap.

About all you can do, until she either puts back on more weight, or shows that she will be a lost cause, there after, time to retire her in which ever fashion you deem fit.

Just MHO.

Either way, good luck to you both! :cboy:

 

[Rod]

I cant tell you how many times i wished I would have shipped them to the sell instead of TRYING to get them better, instead of depositing some kind of a check I was dragging them off to the bonepile!

 

[RebelCritter]

I say sell her. Buy a new one to replace her. Better to get a few bucks out of her than burry her.

 

[MoGal]

I realize some people don't put an importance on minerals/vitamins, but I do. I truly believe your herd health lies in getting them proper nutrition (the correct percentage and amount of minerals/vitamins needed for your area). Always read the label and check it at least every 3 months because they change the content and don't bother to let you know.

My first question to you is what kind of minerals have you got em on? ( and I mean what percentage calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, selenium, Vit. A, D, E does it have in it??) Her body will sacrifice itself to provide for that calf.

 

[Bama]

I cant tell you how many times i wished I would have shipped them to the sell instead of TRYING to get them better, instead of depositing some kind of a check I was dragging them off to the bonepile!

Good info there a little money is better than no money, not to mention the cost of trying to "cure" her.

 

[maineraiser]

the cow is doing great ive spent about 25$ on her. i gave three shots of b-complex and plenty of feed!!!

 

[Bama]

Keeping a old cow normally takes plenty of feed unless she is a real easy keeper. Best thing to do is cut your losses while they are still small. It gets to a point where they will not get the max out of the amount you put in them. Replace it with one that will have a better input cost to output cash ratio.