wbvs58
Well-known member
Well Jeanne, if you weren't up so early dealing with the heifer you may not have found Java in time.
Ken
Ken
Had one two years ago. Was able to pull it.Had to pull her this morning. Normal presentation. Simmental bull simangus cow. View attachment 3607
Definitely not the calving experience you want. Glad the cow is ok. Hopefully smooth sailing here on out.Had a first for us AND our vet. First calf heifer, about 1200#, bred to easy calving bull.
Saw on camera she was not getting it done. Couldn't SEE her backend. We go out at 4am and she had 1 leg and head. Calf is dead. My nephew is amazing with calving difficulties. Neighbors call him for help. Couldn't push the head back but heifer was down. Got my little Mini zapper, got her up. Pushed head in. Got 2nd leg out. Ok. Piece of cake. Small calf. Pull. Nope. Put rope in handles and made a come along. Nope. Got out the calf pullers (only tried using once). Nope.
Called vet.
Thank God my regular vet came out. Clinic has about 6 large animal vets, mostly new.
He felt and felt and felt. Said calf had fluids in bellie.
Never had this before. Thought about taking a big needle and puncture bellie, but knew that would not be good for heifer. Cut head off, went INSIDE the calf and punctured the stomach inside calf, so all the fluid came out the neck of calf right on the ground.
Calf came right out.
Vet raises reg Angus. Said this was not a genetic defects that the sire or dam was carrying. Said it was a fluke developmental issue with the calf.
The picture of your calf's bellie is about the size of this calf AFTER vet got at least 5 gallons of fluid out.Had one two years ago. Was able to pull it.
I had a young steer with this kind of waterbelly one time as well. I get all the fun stuff!I think "waterbelly" has been used to describe this condition in unborn calves. An accumulation of fluid in the belly due to improper fluid movement in the calf and exchange with the cow. I don't know if "waterbelly" is the correct term or not, but I see it used for this.
I think the more common use of "waterbelly" is in feedlot steers that develop urinary calculi in the urethra, blocks the urine flow, bladder overfills and bursts and urine accumulates in the belly. Detected early, a little surgery to redirect the urethra externally can be done and the animal immediately slaughtered even if not finished. My understanding is that more salt in their diet will help to prevent the calculi.
My calf had fluid in the STOMACH. It was not urine. No smell at all. Looked like red water.Not sure . She said it was a hugh bladder.
I can hear her coming.Well I guess it was my turn this morning. Came backwards which is perhaps why I could pull it. Also its back feet had severely contracted tendons or some similar defect. This calf actually had some life in it postpartum (very briefly) but I did not encourage it.
View attachment 28859
I did have a hairless calf, but I had to euthanize it. I guess that makes two oddities I've never encountered before. Next year should be pretty boringSorry for all of you dealing with these "odd ball" problems... especially the "water belly" type things. Not saying a word because we are also spring calving... one dead one that the cow will get sold... not grafting a calf on her... one other had a dead calf and grafted a calf on her and in 24 hours it was HER BABY.... and leave her alone... that pair is doing fine.
By the way @Silver ... didn't you have the calf with no hair? Is it still around?
Did the hairless calf start failing or just totally not built for your climate?I did have a hairless calf, but I had to euthanize it. I guess that makes two oddities I've never encountered before. Next year should be pretty boring
Its eyes were bugged out horribly. And it couldn't blink. The eyes filmed over and turned white. It looked awful. There were skin issues too, it was getting sores / rashes. Putting a blanket on it seemed to cause immense discomfort, even pain. It became obvious that I wasn't doing it any favours by keeping it in the land of the living.Did the hairless calf start failing or just totally not built for your climate?