Neighbors called yesterday to say that they'd seen a cow down trying to calf so I went to see.
She wasn't trying to calf--is several months bred with a 6-7 month old steer calf alongside. But she was down flat on her side and seems almost paralyzed, but able to switch her tail and move her neck a little--not stiff, but more flaccid. Some blood out of her left ear where she'd been struggling a little and maybe banging it on the ground--and I mean a little as there is not really signs of her thrashing much even though she was there atleast 16 hours. She's right up by the front fence--not off hidden like you usually find sick or calving cows. I first thought someone had shot her off the road for the hell of it, but found no marks on her. It looks like she was just walking along, fell down and stayed right there.
Old experienced vet comes out, says mineral problem, and hangs an IV, peritoneal minerals, shoves some down her throat, and says let's see what that does.
She seemed to respond momentarily to the IV, but not really. This morning I find her still laid out, set her up on her chest again, but she can't hold her head up and it kinda droops along her side. Call the vet out to look at her and it's the young vet this time. He looks at her and says Botulism poisoning or some other clostridial type because of the kinda flaccid paralysis.
He gave her a couple of his best guess injections, took some blood, and asked me if I wanted a post mortem at $85 plus any lab fees. You think he's thinking she might die even after his best guess injections? I had to chuckle at that...even over the $1100 registered cow laying there dying.
Anyway, she's been hanging on now for over 36 hours laying there and ain't gonna get up without a healing from above. If that doesn't happen before sunset today I will put a couple of pistol shots in her head and drag her off to the coyotes and buzzards. Boy, that pisses me off.
I hate to see her go as she was a good young one (that calf was her first, the second one inside her), but even scarier is that I may go out tomorrow and see a couple more laid out, too. Anyone got any ideas? The vet took some blood to study, but I don't know if that will tell him much--hope so.
It's been a bad year...don't mind having a cow a number of years--atleast long enough to forget what you paid for her--and then have her go on, but this one isn't even 30 months old.
She wasn't trying to calf--is several months bred with a 6-7 month old steer calf alongside. But she was down flat on her side and seems almost paralyzed, but able to switch her tail and move her neck a little--not stiff, but more flaccid. Some blood out of her left ear where she'd been struggling a little and maybe banging it on the ground--and I mean a little as there is not really signs of her thrashing much even though she was there atleast 16 hours. She's right up by the front fence--not off hidden like you usually find sick or calving cows. I first thought someone had shot her off the road for the hell of it, but found no marks on her. It looks like she was just walking along, fell down and stayed right there.
Old experienced vet comes out, says mineral problem, and hangs an IV, peritoneal minerals, shoves some down her throat, and says let's see what that does.
She seemed to respond momentarily to the IV, but not really. This morning I find her still laid out, set her up on her chest again, but she can't hold her head up and it kinda droops along her side. Call the vet out to look at her and it's the young vet this time. He looks at her and says Botulism poisoning or some other clostridial type because of the kinda flaccid paralysis.
He gave her a couple of his best guess injections, took some blood, and asked me if I wanted a post mortem at $85 plus any lab fees. You think he's thinking she might die even after his best guess injections? I had to chuckle at that...even over the $1100 registered cow laying there dying.
Anyway, she's been hanging on now for over 36 hours laying there and ain't gonna get up without a healing from above. If that doesn't happen before sunset today I will put a couple of pistol shots in her head and drag her off to the coyotes and buzzards. Boy, that pisses me off.
I hate to see her go as she was a good young one (that calf was her first, the second one inside her), but even scarier is that I may go out tomorrow and see a couple more laid out, too. Anyone got any ideas? The vet took some blood to study, but I don't know if that will tell him much--hope so.
It's been a bad year...don't mind having a cow a number of years--atleast long enough to forget what you paid for her--and then have her go on, but this one isn't even 30 months old.