# Lost a calf today



## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

We had a cow that we had to take into the vet today, Not really sure what was wrong with her, but we had to pull a dead calf; not sure if the cow is going to survive yet. She is lousy, and we back pored her with Ivomec last December when we bought her.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Sorry to hear that. Sometimes something inside does not go right and issues arise.

I hope the momma cow pulls through.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Sorry for loss of the calf but most cows are sold for a ""reason"". I had 3 cows I sold out of my small herd. One of them has labored breathing on very hot days,one didn't give milk after calving & one had calf die at 2 months of age


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

Tx Jim said:


> Sorry for loss of the calf but most cows are sold for a ""reason"". I had 3 cows I sold out of my small herd. One of them has labored breathing on very hot days,one didn't give milk after calving & one had calf die at 2 months of age


That sucks.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

CowboyRam said:


> That sucks.


I'm sorry for your loss. I've heard all my life "if you own livestock every so often you're bound to lose some of them" & it's true.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

Ya. it sucks when you lose them. I also raise Nigerian Dwarf goats and my I had one doe that lost three out of four, and my other doe lost two out of three this year. I have not figured out what caused that. My thoughts were either I gave the two does too much C&D before they kidded, or maybe they were mineral deficient, as I ran out of mineral last summer, and never got around to getting more.

This calf had not turned, the vet was only able to get a hold of one hoof, but we were able to get it out. It was a big calf. She did clean this morning, but we have not got her up on her feet yet. Pull that calf took a lot out of her.

As they say life goes on.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

Could the reason the calf was stillborn was because she was deficient in some minerals?

In your opinion, is this cow provided she recovers, would you get rid of her this fall?


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

How long has it been since she was on her feet?

She could have lost the calf for a lot of reasons IMHO. Sometimes, nature just takes it's course if there was something physically wrong with the calf, I believe. No one that I know, has a 100% success rate for years on end.

Larry


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

CowboyRam said:


> Could the reason the calf was stillborn was because she was deficient in some minerals?
> 
> In your opinion, is this cow provided she recovers, would you get rid of her this fall?


Yes, it it possible. Just hard to say. Sometimes things just do not go as nature intended.

Have you given the cow CMPK since the calf was pulled?

I keep the tube type on hand at all times. (I did not know there was an injectable until recently) No telling how many cows in our community it has saved.

About keeping her. It just depends on her age and how good of a cow she has been in the past.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Could just be one of those things. It's been years since its happened but I had a stillborn calf this year, will keep the momma as her first three were all good healthy calves that grew quick, momma's also nice and mellow so a keeper there as well.

Lost a cow yesterday, healthy calf but she had a prolapse to end all prolapses. Never seen one that bad before, first calf heifer, about a 45 pound calf so not a monster by any means. I can't remember any of our beef cows having that issue before, happened several times when we still milked.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

I don't really know the history on this cow; we bought her last December, but she is a young cow.

The calf was pulled at the vets office. He gave her an antibiotic and a steroid, not sure what it was.

The good news is that she got up on her own late this afternoon.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

CowboyRam said:


> The good news is that she got up on her own late this afternoon.


That is really good news.


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## woodland (May 23, 2016)

CowboyRam said:


> We had a cow that we had to take into the vet today, Not really sure what was wrong with her, but we had to pull a dead calf; not sure if the cow is going to survive yet. She is lousy, and we back pored her with Ivomec last December when we bought her.


Had a "lousy" day here too. Had a two week old calf die after tubing it with electrolytes for two days but suspect he had something internally wrong. Had a cow go down two days ago from other cows riding her in the mud and put her down today since she wouldn't eat or drink. Used the hip lift but either had a pinched nerve or broken back. To top it off we vaccinated our yearling steers and put them in a field with a bale feeder for a couple of hours while we processed the heifers and bale shifted and caught his head and suffocated him. The neighbor says if you got livestock you're going to get deadstock too. Been a rough spring for most guys up here too.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Sorry to hear that. If the calf had not been dead long the cow could survive. Had a Holstein that on the day she was due go into labor. Could not get the calf out when she started to struggle had the vet down and ended up pulling the calf apart as it had been dead for weeks the vet figured. the cow did not survive that.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

woodland said:


> Had a "lousy" day here too. Had a two week old calf die after tubing it with electrolytes for two days but suspect he had something internally wrong. Had a cow go down two days ago from other cows riding her in the mud and put her down today since she wouldn't eat or drink. Used the hip lift but either had a pinched nerve or broken back. To top it off we vaccinated our yearling steers and put them in a field with a bale feeder for a couple of hours while we processed the heifers and bale shifted and caught his head and suffocated him. The neighbor says if you got livestock you're going to get deadstock too. Been a rough spring for most guys up here too.


That really sucks.

We lost a cow last week, I think she was trying to have a calf and it was breach. We seen her that afternoon and thought she was fine, then during the night she died. You could see where she was struggling. I am glad we did not lose this cow. I don't think the calf was dead long, as it was not decomposed at all. Only time will tell.


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## skyrydr2 (Oct 25, 2015)

Been there done that, it sucks when you loose one even worse when both go, mom and baby...
My momma "Red" as we call her is young and on her 3rd calf. I got her because her first calf was a runt so he thought she was only going to have runts LOL she makes beauties
These are hers the one in the background is the runt at over 1.5 yrs the one with haulter is just 8 months.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

We are still not out of the woods with this cow. She got down the other day and we have still not got her up. I am not sure what to do with her. I was ready to get the gun the other day, but dad talked me out of it. She can keep her head up, but just can't seem to get up. I don't really know what to do with this cow. Dad has been giving her corn, and she gobbles that right up. I am getting tired of messing with this cow.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Unusual with a beef cow, but perhaps calcium or some other mineral deficiency possible? Seems to be kind of a balancing act, is it worth a Vet call or not is the $64 question that needs to be answered.

Larry


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

Ya that I don't know, we already have one vet bill with this cow. It did appear like she tried to get up today, maybe if she gets a bit stronger she will. I guess we will just keep doing what we have been, maybe fortune will smile upon us and this cow will get up. Only time will tell.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Hip lifters. If she stays down long she will lose her muscle condition. When they struggle trying to get up and can't, they waste energy.

I have been working on a cow that became cast in a creek bed after a heavy rain/flash flood this past weekend. We lifted her twice a day. Lifted the rear with hip lifters, lifted the front with a wide strap under the sternum. Took two of us and two machines.

A tube of CMPK is the first thing I give a cow that is down for any reason.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

If she is eating and drinking good that is a good sign. Usually if the first 2 things are taken care of it is a matter of her being weak. As mentioned you need to lift her a couple times a day and keep doing it til she gets her strength back, also you should be moving her so she does not lay on one side all day.

Had my oldest cow go down after calving and picked her up and milked her by hand once a day for almost a month before she made it back into the barn. I think she was 10 years old or older and was making over 100lbs when she finally got tested. That is a lot of hand milking.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

Well that cow she finally gave it her last breath this morning. Maybe pulling that calf just did to much damage, or maybe she had some internal damage. At least we tried to save her.


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