Putangitangi
Well-known member
I lost a lovely heifer this morning - shot her, I mean, because there didn't seem to be much hope she'd come out of the seizure she'd been having for over an hour. But if I hadn't seen her and had found her dead, I'd never have known this happened beforehand.
The cows had gathered around her and when I saw them from the window, I assumed they'd found ground-nesting bird or something. A bit later I noticed one heifer lying in the middle of them (must have been her) and thought nothing more of it. When I went to the paddock, she started moving around more and after high-stepping with her front legs, head up, blundering about apparently unconscious of or unable to control where she was going, she went half-way through an electric fence. Then she bellowed in a really distressed manner, stopped and a couple of minutes later collapsed and I started recording. There didn't seem to be much I could do. I think she had a much milder event 20 days ago, then came on heat three days later. (On that occasion I found her grunting, looking like she really needed to cough, slightly incontinent and drooling.) I was waiting to see whether or not my insemination had taken. Now she's underground.
If you've seen anything like it or have any ideas what may have caused it, please tell me! They're on pasture only, we've never seen rye grass staggers or any other fungus-related issues. Her grandmother developed seizures at ten and had to be euthanized. Her mother is six and appears fine, other than some intense behavior around newborn calves which don't belong to her. The family is purebred Angus.
The cows had gathered around her and when I saw them from the window, I assumed they'd found ground-nesting bird or something. A bit later I noticed one heifer lying in the middle of them (must have been her) and thought nothing more of it. When I went to the paddock, she started moving around more and after high-stepping with her front legs, head up, blundering about apparently unconscious of or unable to control where she was going, she went half-way through an electric fence. Then she bellowed in a really distressed manner, stopped and a couple of minutes later collapsed and I started recording. There didn't seem to be much I could do. I think she had a much milder event 20 days ago, then came on heat three days later. (On that occasion I found her grunting, looking like she really needed to cough, slightly incontinent and drooling.) I was waiting to see whether or not my insemination had taken. Now she's underground.
If you've seen anything like it or have any ideas what may have caused it, please tell me! They're on pasture only, we've never seen rye grass staggers or any other fungus-related issues. Her grandmother developed seizures at ten and had to be euthanized. Her mother is six and appears fine, other than some intense behavior around newborn calves which don't belong to her. The family is purebred Angus.