What to do when a cow dies?

Help Support CattleToday:

jmorrison0722

Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2016
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
I have 11 head grazing freely on 55 acres. Yesterday I found one of my older bull calfs dead. He was closing in on a year old I believe. I'm not experienced with cattle so I don't know what to look for, but I couldn't see any obvious signs of what caused his death. This of course raises several questions for me. What do I do with his body? What do I need to do with the rest of the herd? Do I need to get a vet out to inspect the dead calf, or even the rest of the herd...or is this just something that happens from time to time and are there signs or symptoms I should watch for in the others?

Any suggestions or advice is appreciated.
 
First call a vet to come cut him open, and check the rest of the cows. Second rotate to a different pasture, or pen the cows up if you can easily enough.

It could be anything, but usually if an animal drops dead for no reason, it's best to move out of that pasture if you can easily, just incase it's a something he ate that killed him. Have a vet look at the dead, and the cows, and that should help you draw a conclusion of what to do next.
 
If there is a knacker in your area contact them. Could maybe look them up on the internet under "animal rendering" or check wit ha LA vet or may the extension service. Other then that, you could dig a hole (needs a back how probably) or just haul it off to a distant corner and let the critters clean it up. Depending on where you are it may be that you have to compost it to dispose of ot legally. Might want to check with the state dept of ag to find out what is legal.
 
if it is a far away place drag to back corner and let the wildlife have a feast. Some rendering plants will pick them up if they are fresh. Some land fills will take them, last one I took cost me 25.00 and they pulled it off trailer for me.
I would be trying to find out why it died also.
 
Call the rendering truck, around here sometimes they charge sometimes it's free.
Thankfully I'm not up to date on local current policy.

Make sure all are up to date on a good clostridial, blackleg, red water vaccine such as Covexin 8 or Alpha 7 ect.
IF you don't have the Vet out, at the very least discuss with him what happened.


edited to add:
Jeff, I just checked your previous posts and realized how new you are to cattle.
Definitely contact a Vet to figure out what happened and any existing risks.
If you have a good neighbor that has experience with cattle seek them out for advice and possible help too.
best of luck
Butch
 
sim.-ang.king":31jli3jv said:
First call a vet to come cut him open, and check the rest of the cows. Second rotate to a different pasture, or pen the cows up if you can easily enough.

It could be anything, but usually if an animal drops dead for no reason, it's best to move out of that pasture if you can easily, just incase it's a something he ate that killed him. Have a vet look at the dead, and the cows, and that should help you draw a conclusion of what to do next.
grat advice. I have same situtation last week
 
Is there drought where your at ? it could be anything from blackleg,to prussic acid poisoning..from Johnson grass to wilted wild cherry leaves.. I would move the cows till I found out...
 
Watch the rest of the cows close. Looking for ears down, dull eyed, slobbery/foamy mouths, bloated up, slow movers that aren't staying with the herd. Listen for frequent coughers, wheezers.
 

Latest posts

Top