A couple weeks ago my bull didn't come up with the cows. after a couple hours I found him down with very little energy or "get up"I got some cubes and carried 5-10 lbs to feed him. He got up ate a few cubes but seemed to have trouble getting them down with lots of salivating. FYI....I'm a relatively new cattle owner....been around cattle most of my life but not as owner. Called my experienced neighbor for help.He seemed to think prickly pear cactus either stuck in tongue or throat and would get better. I'm in West TX ...pear country. We penned him and have been keeping cubes, hay, sweet feed, water etc. available. My buddy doesn't think he has respiratory problem or temp. Doesn't seem to be getting better or worse. Eats and drinks but with some difficulty but doesn't seem to have any energy. I'm in the process of rebuilding working pens and very limited on what I can do re: shots, inspection etc. I'm thinking a vet needs to look down the throat. Do vets , in the field , use a tranquilizer to down an animal that size for exam ? He's eating and drinking just enough to maintain but not regain any level of energy. Does eating prickly pear sound like a possibility. Anyone have any other thoughts or suggestions . He's red angus about 5 yrs of age.
sick herd bull
- Thread starter Lazykman
- Start date
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jkwilson
Well-known member
Normally a vet is just going to put him in a chute and look.
Take his temp. If you can't restrain enough to do that, you are going to have to get some equipment to do it. It's too risky to tranquilize an animal for routine procedures.
Take his temp. If you can't restrain enough to do that, you are going to have to get some equipment to do it. It's too risky to tranquilize an animal for routine procedures.
Had an apple stuck in a cows craw once. Similar systems except she stood by the water tank trying to drink, but couldn't get anything down. The vet told me to put her in the chute and push a length of stiff hose down into her rumen like I was debloating her - the apple required about 6 feet of hose to get to so there was no chance anyone was going to see anything. The vet said I'd feel the apple when the hose stopped and then I should gently push it down into the rumen. Worked like a charm.
Kingfisher
Well-known member
Good morning. My suggestion if you value your Bull would be to call a Vet. If you had something stuck in your throat would you want folks to stand around scratching there head?Lazykman":hb37mu9u said:
When I see cows with cactus sticking out of their faces I know I'm probably not feeding em enough.Actually, just caught that you don't have a working pen. In that case, I'd put him on a trailer and ship him before he loses too much weight. Prices are decent - you'd probably get yourself enough for a good payment toward a new one.
SRBeef
Well-known member
angus9259":2sx9l45e said:
Don't really want to ship a possibly sick animal do we?
I would call a vet. They usually have a chute they can bring.
Either that or you may lose the bull altogether. jmho. Good luck.
Jim
