# Cause of death?



## slvr98svt (Jan 18, 2011)

I came home from work yesterday to a dead 5 month bred heifer. She was on a small decline of a hay mound in the barn. Feet were headed up the mound, but i feel as though it wasn't enough of one to cause her not to get up.

Go around back and there is half a leg sticking out of her like she was in labor...

So my question is, could she have been stuck and not able to get up and pushed hard enough to cause labor and push the calf up and out? Or would the more likely situation be premature labor and she was sprawled out and couldn't get up and bloated? Have any of you heard or experienced a cow laboring that premature?

I had 7 years good luck, just stinks my first loss was a nice registered heifer with calf

Thanks,

-Matt


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## JMT (Aug 10, 2013)

Don't have a guess as to whether the labor and leg came first or was caused by straining/pushing to get up. But I would bet money that the feet being a little uphill is why she could not get up and why she bloated and died. It does not take very much of an incline and is made worse by a calf bulge in the belly. Takes just a few minutes of being clear over on the side for bloating to start, then the bloating can make it even harder to get righted up. Can only be about 20 to 30 minutes from good to dead. Really sad part is, that sometimes something as small as a slight push or pull from a not very strong person could be enough to "bump" the cow over.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Sounds like she rolled off the mound, strained to get up, and induced labor straining. Sorry for your loss, it's never dull with livestock!


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## slvr98svt (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks guys, its a bad deal with what if's and why didn't I do this or that all morning. But that pretty much answers my question, I wasn't sure if she could strain enough to force the calf out.

I went in and straightened everything out after moving her and put a couple rolls in there but unrolled and spread it myself instead of letting them trample it around and cause a high spot.

Thanks


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## Thorim (Jan 19, 2015)

Always hard to lose two animals like that, heifer and her calf, it never gets easy losing stock of any kind, for any reason, all you can do is move forward... and not drive your self crazy with would of, should of, could of.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Doesn't take much, I've had one lay down with her feet up hill for whatever obscene reason, wasn't much of a hill but enough she couldn't get up, found her in the morning getting cold.


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## slvr98svt (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks guys, I was hoping it wasn't something like that but figured it was the most likely cause. Live and learn I guess, part of the cycle.


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