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Help with unknown steer death

curtis

New member
My first post here, trying to help my brother out. He moved to the country a couple years ago, very much like Mr Douglas on Green Acres.

He had 3 head of cattle and 2 horses on his previously abused/ruined pasture. They have been back on this pasture for more then a month.

He came home from a couple days away to find a dead steer. the steer was in small metal building that they use to stay out of winter weather, rather then out in the pasture (clue?) but being dead a couple days don't know if it was bloat. My thoughts were poison plants or bloat, but what else should he worry about, in regards to the remaining animals?

farm is middle IA, steer was over a year old.

We had cattle while I was growing up, but got out of that before he was old enough to learn anything, so he knows zip I only know what I remember from growing up.

I suggested putting them back on hay for 2 weeks or more and let summer set in... Oh yeah, and I also suggested getting rid of the animals and plow & reseed the pasture, join this or other such forum and start fresh in 2 years. But i don't think he is going to do that :)
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
Hard to say not knowing what he's vaccinated against in the past? Then again it could be just about anything. I agree....autopsy would tell alot. Sorry to be of no help...
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Putting out a bale of hay in the pasture so the cattle can get some of both is not a bad idea...Helps prevent grass tetany and bloat-- and often the early grass around here is pretty washy and they're not getting much good out of it and could almost starve to death on green grass...
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
OT, from what I know, you are right on.
The green grass in this country has everything a cow needs
EXCEPT dry matter, and dry matter is a nutrition requirement.
We have found that putting out an old bale of anything, hay,
straw, etc.; the cows (tho they won't eat it like when they are being
fed in the winter time) will eventually eat it to satisfy their
dry matter needs. It has helped with conception rates of
young cattle as well.

Since in the post that started this thread, the steer has
been dead for a couple of days at that point, the cause will
remain a mystery...because it could have died from anything.
Probably it was never vaccinated for anything either... :?
 

curtis

New member
the cattle were vaccinated with the basics that calves get. probably nothing beyond that. Lightning, probably not, due to better targets and the lay of the land. So does that make a food issue still the most likely? again, I'm trying to help save the other two. So can act on more then one thing.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
It could have been overeating (entertoxemia). If it was a poisonous plant,
chances are the others would have shown symptoms by now, IMO.
It could have been pneumonia...as was said earlier, there just is no way of knowing.

Heck, there's a small chance it could have been something far out,
like rabies. :shock: Just so many things that cattle can die from, unless someone saw some symptoms
or an autopsy was done (too late now), we're just shooting in the dark.

Since we are guessing, I'd say it most likely was something respiratory,
as that would be the most common thing to affect cattle.

Good luck!
 

curtis

New member
Do you guys kinda get a kick out of city folks moving to the country and thinking all there is to cattle and horses is a fence around some grass and a bucket of water? Honestly I think my brother and his wife thought it was almost that easy.

want to know how "city slicker" they are? they got the farm (60 acres, about 35 pasture) then got 18 chickens, 1 rabbit, 3 goats, 3 cattle, 2 horses, 3 cats, and a dog. :lol:
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
Obviously they like animals. Nothing wrong with that, as long as they
learn how to care for them. Actually, I think most of us would applaud
them for that...unless the animals are abused. Then we draw the line.

There is responsibility in having animals, regardless of how many.
You can't take that lightly, so hopefully they'll stay open-minded
and do a little research along with asking questions from
someone reputable. No one was born knowing how to care for
livestock, we all had to learn from someone, somewhere.
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
None of us ever get a kick out of someone loosin an animal. We've all lost them at some time or another...for reasons too numerous to mention. The best we can do is try to learn from our mistakes....learn as much as we can in the way of preventing illness and death in our animal herds. But there will always be the odd case where somethin wierd and out of the ordinary takes it's toll on one of them.
 

Hereford76

Well-known member
sounds like your friend learned the first rule in ranching... something always go wrong when you leave. i bet if he just doesn't go anywhere until those other couple steers are marketed he wont have a lick of trouble.
 

Clarencen

Well-known member
Dieing is natural, everything has to eventually die, Dying is the last thing an animal has to do.

I lost a 2yr. old heifer a few days ago, she had a calf about 3 weeks old. I suspect either grass tetaney or nitrate. A day or two before I fed the last lone bale of hay I had reserved for the calves, maybe it had something in it.

Grass in the early spring hasn't built it's factory yet. The nutrients in it are what has been stored in the roots. Some things might be missing. The wheat grasses and other tame grasses are often responsible, sometime winter wheat.

Both grass tetany and nitrate effects how oxygen gets to the cells. You found this steer in a shed, makes a person think it was something else. He went there to find comfort or isolation. Maybe something like blackleg.

The first sign of blackleg is lameness. I lost a heifer in the weaning pen a few years ago. One day when I fed she didn't come to feed just stood out of the wind by a shed, when I drove her to feed she was a little lame, but she started to eat, the next morning she was dead. This was in the winter but she was already badly bloated. She had been vaccinated for blackleg
both at branding, then again in the fall, but sometimes vaccines don't take. I never had her posted, but I suspect it may have been blackleg.

Cockleburs are poisonous in the two leaf stage. Often, especially calves, will eat them in the spring. Then I would look for something like old batteries. Often cattle are poisoned from liking old lead battery plates, or paint cans, I think they are looking for salt.
 

curtis

New member
Cocklerburs are in good supply on that place. all the invaders are.

He did put out baled hay and was going to pin them up for a bit on hay only. so hopefully this will pass with no further loss.

I sure wish he would cut some other things out and do some work to improve that pasture. Has water and shade, soil is decent. Just need decent grass.

I'll be there this weekend and will use the info here to try to help things.
 

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