Lost a highland calf this morning in birth, first lost calf for us. Momma (3y/o healthy heifer) had no chance at delivery, completely shocked at the size of the young bull. He was bigger than our two month old calves running around here.
I tried to pull his carcass with a neighbor but eventually had to choose the grizzly bike, and that was a serious tug.

That stuff isn't normal with highlands, this was our ninth calf and have never seen this.
We got this cow along with a 3 y/o highland bull last Summer from a couple who couldn't care for them due to lack of space. But I'm suspecting that she was bred by an angus or large breed, rather than the highland bull.

My question: Momma was really traumatized, she was shaking, laying on her side for a few hours. She couldn't get her front legs under her and I got a few more neighbors and we got her on her stomach and she responded with a bit of perk. She's having a really hard time standing; her back legs are weak. We finally got her standing up after about 11 hours after the calf pull, and she stood there with our guidance for about ten minutes. She finally went back down.

She's laying and eating and drinking at this point--perked up, but those back legs look weak. I'm hopeful she makes the night okay out there.

Have any of you cow guys dealt with this? Thoughts? Experienced only please...

Not a cattle guy and can't help that way.

But I do wish the best for your animal and the humans involved.

Good luck with it all.

I'm no cow guy. But that sounds like a real hard pull. I'm wondering if her pelvis is broken? Hope not.

Sorry you lost the calf. Hope that mom makes it.

Sounds like she might be a little spraddle legged, it happens. She's in shock and rightfully so, she's been through a lot. Keep a bucket of water near by and maybe a touch of food, she'll come around. Sorry for the loss, it's always a bummer

A hard birth like that can lead to some paralyses in her back legs. Hopefully tomorrow she'll be getting some control of her legs and want to get up. A vet can give her something to reduce swelling and inflammation. Keep her laying upright, prop her up with a bale or something. Keep us updated on her situation.

A hard birth like that can lead to some paralyses in her back legs. Hopefully tomorrow she'll be getting some control of her legs and want to get up. A vet can give her something to reduce swelling and inflammation. Keep her laying upright, prop her up with a bale or something. Keep us updated on her situation.

Thanks, guys.

maybe get vet out tomorrow for a dexamethasone shot to help with the swelling . AS mentioned a bale or two, water to keep her upright on her stomach

I’ve seen this several times a year growing up on a dairy farm. It was usually with first calf heifers and bull calves. Some bulls produce larger offspring and recovery is iffy. Best to keep her up and on her feet as much as possible. If she lays to much, I’d be surprised if she recovers. Not sure what a vet will do other than give you a large bill.

Cows are tough though and I wish the best for you.

Thanks fellas, you guys sound spot on with the scenario and your theories....I appreciate the advice in dealing with it.
I did have some bales along her sides today until she got control of her balance while laying.

I'll pop them beside her again for the night.

Big bull, your cow needs to go to the sale barn

We have had similar issues over the years. A pull can be extremely taxing on the heifer and time will tell you what you get. You are doing all the right things with getting her water and food but don't try to get her to do something she doesn't want to do. If she won't stand don't make her. If she stands but lays back down let her. Good idea to do what you did with the bales to give her some support. A heifer can have a uterine prolapse up to a week after a tough calving, although it usually happens within a couple of days. Check for that daily. If you have never sewn one up call the vet. If she isn't up in a couple of days I would call the vet to take a look at her.

If she gets up tomorrow try to keep her in a pen with good footing for awhile. If she doesn't get up you should work out a plan to get her up using a hip lift with a loader for a while every day until she can get up on her own. Often when a cow realizes she can't get up she tries to quit. Don't let her. She's got the advantage of being a young animal she can recover from this.

As others as said. She should be ok.
Keep water available. Consult a vet
If possible.

She might get up if she is watered and fed. For future reference you can get a calf puller which you can brace against her hind legs and start winching the calf out if he's loaded properly with nose and front hooves coming. The device is a few feet long so once you get him started you can leverage down against the cow's hind legs and the calf pulls out in a more natural downward slant lessening the chance of injury to the cow. Valleyvet.com or medical-tools.com might have what you need. Just get it out and make sure you know how to use it before you need it.

In addition to all the other advice above, I would be, or having someone be standing coyote over-watch all night. If she can get up
she is sitting prey, be a damn shame to loose her to a yote.
Jeff

was that her first calf ? any idea if she went over term?

norm

Hate to say it but seems like more often than not when they don’t/can’t get up for more than a few hours...they never do.

Stay with her all night . Then you'll know.

Hoping the best for her, poor girl.

I've seen that happen before, and usually they will get up and go back to acting normal. However, often times the longer they lay without trying to get up, the harder it will be for them to do so. If it was my cow, and one that I planned on keeping, I'd get a vet out and have him take a look at her. He can tell you more about her than any of us can.

I only know of dealing with this on the holstein farm here for the last 15 years. Every so often a big bull puts a lot of stress on mama. As already stated , she needs rest as her pelvis muscles and demeanor are stressed. Some anti flammatories may be needed and worst case scenario is a vet bill . Hopefully she recovers. They have equipment for dairy cows, that assist them in standing and some areas do swimming pool type rehab if it is a pricey milk cow. I wish all the best of luck to mama highland!

If you live in an area where there are black vultures also known as the Mexican Buzzard they will eat a live animal that is down. Be on the look out. The Turkey can also do it but they are not nearly as aggressive as the black headed ones.

I've had to hold them up with the tractor and slings. I would give her a few days to stand on her own and then start lifting. Raise her up to where her feet are barely touching the ground. Do this at least twice a day and more often if you have the time. Slowly increase the time she is in the sling and slowly increase pressure on her legs. She should get to a point where you can slack off completely and she will continue to stand. This can take a few days to a few weeks. I wish you the best of luck.

Jim

1) Plenty of good advice above about keeping an eye on her. especially possibility of a prolapse after pulling the calf.

2) If the heifer was bred or AI'ed to the same bull as all of your other heifers, but she is the only one that threw a big calf, might consider sending her down the road. Given that birth weight and calving ease tend to be genetic, if she was the only outlier.. "Here's your sign..."

Good luck with which ever option you choose...

She has already stood by herself?

She should have it made.


Sometimes a little banamine helps.

Giving a down cow a shot of banamine, dexamethasone, MultiMin is always a good idea. If she's eating feed the easiest thing you can do is crush 1 325mg aspirin per 100 lbs in her food.

Hoping for the best.

Not yet....
She made the night, she's not shaking and out of shock I think.
She tried to get up for breakfast, got close but just not enough strength in those back legs. She looks good other than that.

I'm going to get some reinforcements, hopefully we'll help her for that final push. Not out of the woods yet.

The pregnant heifer in the pen next to her looks like she may calve today, although that my be stress though due to Ruby's stuggles. Groan....

Thanks for the input and concern fellas!

Took some pressure off of momma today, backed her rear onto some hay bales to get some blood into those legs.
Gave her some electrolytes too, instant energy. Still hasn't gotten up solo...fingers crossed.

Whatever happens, we're blessed to have solid caring folks around us.

Hope it turns out well later today.

Nice looking critter.

Every year we have a couple hard pulls on our two year olds.

Sometimes they are slow to get up or stagger around when they do get up. I think they pinch a nerve.

Most are up and going within an hour or two, however we've had them down for days. Only one in the last 10-15 years didn't make it.


What would you guess the heifer weighs?

Calf weight?


Our Angus heifers weigh +1200lbs and every once in awhile we pull a calf in the 80-90 lb range.


As was mentioned buy a calf puller, especially if you're going to buy bred stock.

Momma 925#? Calf was probably 75#, but it was oversized.

Encouraging to read that you've had them down for awhile and still made it. I'll keep everything she needs near her, she wants to survive.

I would bet that she makes it.

Hard to do but if possible keep her legs tucked under her in a natural position.

Longest I ever had one down was 35 days.

Yikes!

Dang! That’s a long time!

Looks like your heifer has obturator paralysis-pressure from the calf inside her pelvis has compromised her obturator nerves.

Keep her well bedded, turn her so she's not laying on the same leg all the time. The sling to lift her is ok, but don't let her hang from it over 15 minutes at a time. Try to help her get her feet under her so she holds her weight herself. Massage of her leg muscles helps too.

If you can find a pair of "hip lifts" or "hip clamps" I prefer those over the under belly sling. Again 10-15 minutes at a time is enough to have lifted.

As stated earlier an anti-inflammatory such as dexamethasone or Banamine would be helpful.

If you've had her standing already, I'd bet you will win this battle.

I've hauled , feed, and water to down heifers for many days, Most get up. Our biggest problem with large calves, and heifers is , the calf paralyzes the spine.

Good Luck!

I can’t offer any help but I do find these threads interesting. Mostly though I’m always impressed by the kindness and care that ranchers put into their stock. It seems to me that it’s a genuine care for the animals, not the dollars. 👍

Best of luck broomd!

first time Ive ever said a prayer for a cow.

As long as the cow us trying you need to be doing your part. You'll see it in her eyes when it's time to call it off.

Guys, I lost her. She slipped back into shock, weak, completely exhausted and started shutting down. The hard weather -- rain and wind today didn't help. True Grit, she gave me that look.
Butcher just left here with her.
It's a kick in the nuts after trying like hell to save her over the last 36 hours.

Thanks for the thoughts and insights here, it's all very appreciated. I've learned a ton going forward.

Sorry to hear.

We care a lot for our livestock, and it hurts my heart to lose one.

Imagine you are the same.

I know better, but I always feel like I failed them somehow, when I lose one. Reckon if I lose that compassion, I'll quit ranching.

Yep, you said it friend. I feel like I let her down or failed her, dammit. We care greatly for our highlands.

We butcher our steers etc, and keep things in perspective, but losing one like this just stings like hell, she was a sweet cow.

Be danged.


I did not see that coming.

Me either.

Thats too bad !

Thought she would make it

Damnit I hate to hear that. Hopefully she'll be alright to eat, the one we tried eating under the same scenario had an off taste for some reason. Next time you have to pull a calf make sure you pull down and try to pull when she's trying to push.

Sorry to hear this one. I love them little highlands.

I have heard it said, "If you can keep it outside". No good losing livestock, worse yet when it's family.

Sounds like you gave it a hell of an effort. Really nothing more you could do. I feel for ya.

Had cattle many years. It's always tough but a very elderly lady told me many years ago, " if you don't have 'em you can't loose 'em". It's part of the game but dang it all anyway. You showed you really cared and tried hard. That's all you can do and I tip my hat to you! Good luck!

We have a member here that goes by cowdoc so he could advise you about the mechanics of bovine birth but if I had any cows at all I would own a calf puller. The first calf you save will pay for it not to mention saving a cow. The downward pull seems to do far less damage than a straight out pull. As I said learn how to operate the thing and know where it is at all times. All it costs is the original price and will last forever if kept under a roof. My neighbor and I got so good at it that all the cow people around were calling us.

I sure hate to hear that she did not make it. My last one was down for 8 days before she was finally able to stand on her own. It was another week before she was able to walk good enough to turn her out. She took a lot of work but is still with me 3 years later and giving some mighty fine registered angus calves. Sorry once again.

Jim

That sucks.

That's a darn shame. Sounds like you tried hard, just wasn't in the Good Lord's plan.
Jeff

you tried with everything you had, some times it's just not going to happen, so don't beat yourself up over it , we all learn from those tough life experiances,
I have had to put horses down that could not be saved, and saved 1 that took 2 months I hope the next one comes out well for you.

norm

Sorry for the loss of your cow. Sometimes the best efforts go south.

A general rule of thumb I use is to not pull harder than what 2-2.5 strong men could pull by hand. Calf pullers are a necessity of course but you can exert more pressure than should be used with one. After you've done it for a while you develop a feel for how hard to pull. A good slick OB lube is a necessity too. Bottom line is you can hurt a cow by pulling too hard.

If you can't make progress by traction, it's time to resort to C-section or fetotomy. If live calf, obviously a section. If fetus is dead, fetotomy is first choice. The calf is cut up enough to be delivered without excessive traction.

I realize not everyone in the cattle business has access to a veterinarian that does bovine practice. That's a can of worms I'm not going to open right now.

^^^The local vet my niece works at recently quit doing large animals, and this is dairy and beef country, not to mention the myriad of equine facilities! Mind boggling!

Sorry to hear this! I’m not a cattle farmer but both my neighbors are and one of them is a veterinarian even he will lose one like you did once in awhile.

broomd, sorry about the cow and the calf. I always thought they were neat looking critters. I've never had anything hands on with them, just seen them in pasture.

Do you milk yours as well as butchering?

There is a great deal of wisdom and experience in Cowdoc's posts here. Save and read again next February.

You did what you could, she did what she could; go forward from there with the knowledge you gained for the long-term and the sadness that will be with you always, in the memory background, I hope. Do what you can to put it behind you. This is what doers do.

Large animal veterinarians are (or can be) a good partner in your livestock business. We mostly work with herd health management and preventive measures, including reproductive issues, trying to avoid the problem you described and dealt with. We are in business to keep your agricultural enterprise economically vigorous and rewarding.
The decision your niece's employer made is a personal one, but becoming more common for a host of reasons. I won't try to list all of them, but the work is physically and mentally challenging and the older we get, the greater the struggle to find good help or to get a decent night's sleep. Graduating young veterinarians often have crushing student loan debt and are not as attracted to a rural area and a traditionally modest income. Farm experience is less common in the incoming classes and these students have grown up with more technical innovation than previous generations, which points them towards small animal or pet practice.

One of my sons accompanied me on ranch calls and expressed interest in becoming a veterinarian. Scary smart, physically fit, enthusiastic and tech savvy. I didn't try to talk him out of it, but he chose otherwise and earned an MD and a PhD on scholarships, worked at MN Mayo and is now teaching at Nebraska U Medical School. Good income, no night calls, no back-breaking loans for establishing a hospital and no HR problems. Seems sensible to me also.

Some uplifting news after last weekend's tough outcome.....
Heifer Tinker had her first calf this morning, a little jet black heifer. A first black highlander for us.

Momma did great work--calved easily. Baby is working the colostrum like a pro and is feisty on this brisk morning.

Excellent!

Nice looking black Highlander. Good luck with the little one and Be Well, RZ