ran a calf to death? How to avoid?

[spencerpstewart]

hi,

We had a calf on the loose for a couple days and I ran it till it to death. It's prob around 140 lbs, so not tiny. It had been on the run all day and I sort of cornered it till it went on it just sort of sat down. I immediately pinned it on its side and it was ok, but VERY hot and breathing hard and rough. I tied its legs, threw it on my shoulders, and then started carrying it to the fence line. after about 5 mins I set it down to take a rest and it was dead.

What did I do wrong? SHould I have let it stand for longer? Rest before I moved it? Not picked it up?

The whole situation sucked and I dont want to do it again. I'm a run a lot and although the terrain was tough I figured I'd just chase it on foot till it tired out. I did and it died.

thanks, Spencer

 

[IluvABbeef]

I think you just answered your own question. :roll: You ran it to death, you overworked it, and you just made things far worse than what they started off with. Ever heard of CALM handling?? Yes, you shouldn't have chased the crap out of this calf, just let him be, coax/bribe him back in with feed, anything that avoided chasing. And even better, not push it so hard that you made it run to freakin' death!

I'm resisting the urge to call you something I'm probably going to regret when this thread is let go... :bang: :hide: :x

 

[spencerpstewart]

this is the beginner section. I am asking for help, not a chastising. Do something else with your life bc your not helping. ARE YOU A DOCTOR? A SPECIALIST? A LONG TIME RANCHER? Yes, obviously we tried to get it back the softer way but it didnt work.

Do you have any science behind what happened? We live in very wild country and the calf had been loose for days. It would've died in the mtns had we not got it back to its mother. I was desperate and wanted to just get it back asap.

Please dont respond unless you plan to help. This has not been a nice day and I am not an animal abuser.

Thanks

 

[snake67]

Pretty much any person can kill an animal.

Let me see - heat, stress, terror at being chased by a human, rough ground, dehydration, rough handling and the beat goes on.

Takes brains to raise them and care for them

You appear to lack that one fine quality

Might try hard rock mining - some of those outfits appreciate strong backs and weak minds

Bez

 

[WORANCH]

Well I guess you live and learn. :bang:

 

[spencerpstewart]

thanks. I appreciate your comment. at least it wasnt hate mail. I will live and learn.

I wont be back to this board, though.

Thanks, Spence

 

[H and H]

I'm really hoping this is a bad bad joke...

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Bad story, Spencer. Hope you learned something from it.

 

[3waycross]

If you do it again you're an idiot. If you learn from this then it isn't a total loss.

I really doubt that you meant to kill the calf or even injure it. BUT you made some real bad choices and then some more on top of that.

I don't know all the circumstances but if his momma was where he needed to be then he probably would have got there by himself eventually.

Be a better stewart of your animals next time....please!

 

[wbvs58]

I don't think you ran it to death. It would have been exhausted though and doing a lot of heavy breathing. When you put it up on your shoulder, the pressure on the abdomen chest and diaphragm would have prevented it from recovering its breath and consequently would not have been able to recover from the oxygen debt. It would be a bit like being bear hugged.
Ken

 

[Nite Hawk]

I guess one could run a calf to death, but normally they are usually pretty tough, and normally you will run out of wind before they do.
We had a jersy calf that completely on her own with no one and nothing chasing her would run and run and run, and not stop, and it never bothered her, but it was not real hot either.
Now there is a couple of possiblilities,
Heat stroke? as you said the calf was very hot. Was it a real hot day? That possibly contibuted to the problem.
Maybe a weak heart? Possibly.
I am guessing that you were carrying the calf in an upright position, if not be warned cattle do not do good upside down for any length of time, especially if they have a full stomach.
Usually it takes more than 5 minutes for full grown upside-down cow to die, but die they can and will if they cannot get flipped back over and upright again. Their stomach is so heavy that it smothers the lungs and they literally cannot breathe.
Wbvs58 might be right about the pressure on the abdomen preventing it from regaining its breath.
We had a calf once leave Momma behind and slip through a fence and take off with a herd of range cattle, and we had to go and catch it and bring it back.
They will do it once in a while, not all calves are bright in the head.I have seen smart ones and some calves that are dumber than a stump.
I lean more towards possibly overheating / stress, or maybe the calf accidently burped up cud and choked. Can happen.
If you have to run a calf down again that escapes on you, if it is a real hot day, if you can, try and wait till it is a bit cooler before chasing it, and if possible a few extra people to help you herd it in the right direction, instead of just all over the place.Try moving it at a much slower pace instead of at fast forward, as you don't want a repeat problem.
Usually if you get excited, so does the animal you are chasing, although some animals are naturally very high strung and nervous.
Nite Hawk

 

[ALACOWMAN]

they can run theirself to death,, i had one get through the fence to the hayfeild couple summers ago moma right there beside it ,,, cattle all go to the oaks,, calf runs the fence row back and forth, trying to figure out where his dumb ass got in... when i found him, he was down and over heated.. didnt last 10 minutes after i took him to the barn to cool him down... wouldnt beat yourself up to much.. i know a grown man that worked for Nasa in the patriot project, that ran a grown bull to death, and been raising them for years.....

 

[spencerpstewart]

Thanks for all the help. I certainly don't want anything like this happen again. For those that gave some constructive insight, I really appreciate the info and comments. For those that are responding in a "beginners board" with no intent to help, I have no idea what motivates you.

I am truly grateful for the helpful posts.

It was hot(high 80's) but after I caught it we sat for 10mins and the calf was ok. The death happened in the 5 mins btw the time I picked it up and then sat it down. It's terrible to remember but I'm pretty certain I was restricting the diaphragm.

Thank you.

 

[salebarn junkie]

I think it was something elese if you were on foot you would have gave out before the calf did. When a calf gets out it usually runs the fence i would have cut the bottom srand or two and and slowly walked it down the fence running cows or calves has never worked out real well for me. I would have liked to watch the show though.

 

[Brute 23]

Stuff happens.... the rest of yall need to get off yalls high horse. For all we know the calf had some thing wrong with.

Live and learn. With out knowing the whole situation its hard to make a recomendation on what to do next time. Usually I will try feeding the heard close to the fence line and some times they will work there way back. Some times its easier to snap a pic and get a hold of the neighbor. See if they can pen it with theirs and sort it out. IF you want it back asap you get a horse and rope.

Its always tough dealing with that size calf. Its trying to herd water.

I think it was something elese if you were on foot you would have gave out before the calf did. When a calf gets out it usually runs the fence i would have cut the bottom srand or two and and slowly walked it down the fence running cows or calves has never worked out real well for me. I would have liked to watch the show though.

Good post. :nod:

 

[Galloways1]

Stuff happens.... the rest of yall need to get off yalls high horse. For all we know the calf had some thing wrong with.

Live and learn. With out knowing the whole situation its hard to make a recomendation on what to do next time. Usually I will try feeding the heard close to the fence line and some times they will work there way back. Some times its easier to snap a pic and get a hold of the neighbor. See if they can pen it with theirs and sort it out. IF you want it back asap you get a horse and rope.

Its always tough dealing with that size calf. Its trying to herd water.

I think it was something elese if you were on foot you would have gave out before the calf did. When a calf gets out it usually runs the fence i would have cut the bottom srand or two and and slowly walked it down the fence running cows or calves has never worked out real well for me. I would have liked to watch the show though.

Good post. :nod:

I agree with Brute 23. We don't know the whole situation

I have worked, sorted, chased, been chased, and handled hundreds of thousands of cattle in my life. Stuff happens. Some cattle handle stressful situtations better than others. I have seen cattle kill themselves, because they panic.
That size of calf can be a real treat. If it's mother wasn't looking for it, it makes it worse.

 

[cowmilker]

I would prefer to be a member of a forum that offers helpful advice to a beginner.
To Spencer- there are ALOT of helpful people here- lots of different personalities. Sometimes people have bad days. Craig

 

[bigbluegrass]

I find it easier to handle a young calf with a cow. If the cow was a good cow, I would have let the cow out with the calf. Then once they pair up (give them a few minutes) I would move them back together. Either make a gate in the fence or cut the wire and fix it later. The cow should want to get the calf and then head back to the herd... but they don't always do what they should. It would work good if you have the right kind of cow. Could make things worse if you had a wild cow.

None of this will do you any good now. $hit happens. You must be a good athlete to run a calf that hard on foot in rough country. And then carry the calf back to the fence. :tiphat: Wow!

 

[backhoeboogie]

I moved the herd once. Just across a fenceline and down the alley into the next pasture. The cattle traveling the farthest came from the far side of the pasture. A month old calf didn't make it across and just laid in the pasture. I walked that calf a quarter mile maybe. It trotted some. Put the calf in the pasture and all was good. An hour later that calf was dead. The calf seemed fine when I left it.

It made no sense that the calf had laid down in the first place. The day before it was as healthy an any other in the herd. The only thing I can figure is that dogs had been running it or something similar to that. Something stress that calf prior to me getting to the pasture.

Laying stress on cattle is the worse thing a person can do. I know better than to stress one out. I never run cows or calves. I do push them through a working chute.

You may have done less to that calf Spencer and it still may have died. You need to chalk this one up to a lesson learned and move on. If anyone ever comes to help you work cows and they hoot and holler, stop working. Keep your cows calm. If one gets out, bait it back in. Patience is what it takes. Stress affects a cow's immune system. Google about that and you'll wise up.

Folks here may seem a bit crusty. That's just how it is. Some of them would bend over backwards to help you but they aint here to win political races - they'll tell it to you like it is. You learned a hard lesson. We all have learned hard lessons. That is why we have been hardened.

You'll learn many more lessons too.

 

[SSGenetics]

I think you just answered your own question. :roll: You ran it to death, you overworked it, and you just made things far worse than what they started off with. Ever heard of CALM handling?? Yes, you shouldn't have chased the crap out of this calf, just let him be, coax/bribe him back in with feed, anything that avoided chasing. And even better, not push it so hard that you made it run to freakin' death!

I'm resisting the urge to call you something I'm probably going to regret when this thread is let go... :bang: :hide: :x

This is a little harsh coming from someone who does not even own any cattle.... :roll:

Spencer, live and learn.... stick around the boards, plenty to learn from here. :welcome: