Slipped cow

regolith · Jun 30, 2012

Here's a beginner's question.

First calf of the year was born last night. Found the cow, she was due in just under four weeks from now, is partly cleaned, got her out of the dry herd and left her grazing across the fence from the milkers. She doesn't have any milk yet but the plan is to get some penicillin into her (using heaps more of the stuff now that I'm organic farming!) in the morning, start milking her to the test bucket and hope her lactation kicks in.
Usually works. The difference with this cow is that the calf must have started rotting inside her; and it was very, very light, more like a six - seven month fetus (it was the right date - the bulls that were on farm were a different breed). I've no real idea how long the calf might have been dead before birth.

Do you think she'll come into milk?

She's been a good cow will be eight on her birthday in six weeks time. I don't think I've seen a rotten calf delivered since about the year 2000.

As an aside I spoke to a rather pessimistic vet the other day about a cow I'd just dried off who wasn't eating and looked sick, and since she wasn't all that steady on her feet I wasn't prepared to walk her to the shed to be examined. His verdict: "could be one of a dozen things but she's going to die if you wait for her to go down so we can treat her and she's going to die if we don't treat her."
Well, thank goodness she started eating again all on her own!

bigbull338 · Jun 30, 2012

if she wasnt bagged up before she slipped the calf i doubt if you can get her to come into milk enough to pay her way.an if te calf died in her you pretty much have to dr her for possable infection.an then send her to the sale after the meat withdrawl ime runs out.

regolith · Jun 30, 2012

bigbull338":o1ewn70d said:
if she wasnt bagged up before she slipped the calf i doubt if you can get her to come into milk enough to pay her way.an if te calf died in her you pretty much have to dr her for possable infection.an then send her to the sale after the meat withdrawl ime runs out.

Well, that's the fallback plan. I usually find it takes two or three days for a late slip to come into milk, not sure from looking at her and the state of the calf that this one ever will.
I did have one last year that must have calved six weeks early and gave not very much for a long time, but finished up the season as good as any. So who knows?

regolith · Jun 30, 2012

Turns out it was lead deficiency after all.

Twin's still in there, cervix closed down enough that I can't reach in and haul it out. I've left a message with the vet.

GMN · Jul 3, 2012

so is it the cow went into premature labor or aborted because of the lead deficiency or is it she carried to full term and the calves died inside of her because of the lead deficiency? Either way you got to get those calves out, or infection will occur, if it hasn't already, and if she aborted early highly unlikely she will have a normal or any lactation.

regolith · Jul 4, 2012

Calf ain't coming out, nothing you can do for a cow like that.
Actually, the vets don't think there's a twin in there and she's being treated as a cow with big uterine inflammation after delivering a rotten calf. One of us is wrong.
Every second year just about I see a cow drop a calf a month or two ahead of the herd and come into milk. This one wasn't even a full month early.