question on a sick cow

Anonymous-0 · May 9, 2009

i have a cow to have her calf friday morning andthere is after birth dragin on the groung probly 5 ft long , ive been watchin her close all weekend and this evining its still there , should i pull it out or just wait a while shes walkin around with her tail in the air thanks for help

730 virgil · May 9, 2009

call a veteranian QUICK!

Anonymous-0 · May 9, 2009

Get some Oxytocin... think that is what it was called anyways. Will "clean" her up and probably some penicillin to take care of any infections. Used to happen all the time when we were milking.

kyplowboy · May 9, 2009

How strong is your gag reflex? How gentle is she/how close to her can you get?

Call a vet like virgil said or get to work your self, I have found that a tobacco stick with a bout a half a foot of barb wire works good if you can get close 'nuff to her. It's easier than get'n her up, just might want to burn the stick when you get it out. If it's drag'n the ground you might want to step on it as she is walking away but you need to get it out, if she has not lost it on her own after a day and a half she might not and she could die. If you don't do it your self you are going to need a vet or a bottle and a sack of milk replacer.

Dave

Anonymous-0 · May 9, 2009

Ya call the vet if she dont pass it herself. I dont think you ever want to pull it out like that. Could be wrong thought.

Coloken · May 9, 2009

If it bothers you, call a vet. If you don't know what you are doing you can cause more harm than good. Last advice we had when I was in the cattle business was to leave them alone.

kyhayman · May 9, 2009

I leave it be for a week, thats what the vet told me anyway. If its longer than a week then he comes out and cleans the cow. Check the selenium content of your mineral mix. I used to have almost every cow retain a placenta. I booseted the selenium in my mineral mix (mineral blender mixed it to the maximum selenium content and now I rarely have one except on a heifer.

Davidj · May 9, 2009

(quoted from post at 17:59:57 05/09/09) i have a cow to have her calf friday morning andthere is after birth dragin on the groung probly 5 ft long , ive been watchin her close all weekend and this evining its still there , should i pull it out or just wait a while shes walkin around with her tail in the air thanks for help

As long as she's eating, you're ok. I've seen them go several days without cleaning. Some guys cut them off (scissors, sharp knife) about mid udder so it doesn't drag or get caught. You'll screw up her uterus pulling it out as there are "buttons" along the uterine wall that hold the placenta (cleanings) in place and pulling will tear the buttons from the wall and cause infection, not to mention ruining her fertility. Removing it is a job for a vet. The oxytocin might work, or prostoglandin which'll put her through a heat cycle. If you're askin' though, ask your vet and you'll be sure. Good luck... David

phillip d · May 9, 2009

Don't panic.Don't put your arm in her either,will introduce more bacteria and will end up making her really sick than.If she is quiet enough to get close to,you can give it a gentle pull from outside,but not very hard,or you will cause tearing and lead to more problems.5 cc's,or ml's of oxytocin may help.Also,3 ml's of a prostroglanden will help her out too,we use Estrumate here,not sure what's available there.If it's still there 4 days from now,than it would be a good idea to consult with your vet.I've seen them disenfect them ,uterine drench with dextrose to shrink and help release the placenta too.If they do that,you will be better off treating her with penicillian for 4 days,about 40 ml's a day,maybe even 5 days.If you get a cow with metritis,she can get pretty sick,can also lead to a displaced abomasium (flipped stomache)because when they have a fever,they don't eat,which can cause a fresh cow to get a DA.Hope I didn't scare you,but you need to handle retained placenta's carefully.PD.

blinwmiaol.com · May 9, 2009

Don't pull on it to hard. It doesn't hurt to give it a decent tug but if you exert to much pull it can rip loose from the "buttons" or caruncles where the placenta attaches to the uterine walls. This can cause bleeding and permanent scar tissue making breeding back more difficult. Normally the afterbirth should pass with in 8 hours of birth. At this stage you will not have an infection to deal with but if she doesn't clean soon you will have. I would give her a good shot of oxytocin, I always given between 5 and 10 CC im and then within 5 minutes give the afterbirth a good tug. If it doesn't comeout then, cut the remained off so it is not dragging behind her, leave a bit hanging so the weight of it will help keep a gentle force to slide out.
If the cow begins to show a fever at all or goes off feed, get the vet out immediately. They may have to break the caruncles manually and will pack the uterus with antibiotic bolus's as well as supportive therapy for the fever and infection. An RP isn't the end of the world, just watch her to be sure she doesn't go septic from the infection.

teddy52food · May 9, 2009

We used to have a local guy here that cleaned the area cows cheaper than the vets. When he got done he would take a big chew of snuff to show how clean the job was!

Anonymous-0 · May 10, 2009

Are you sure it is afterbirth and not a prolapse.
check search engine " calving difficulties in beef cattle"
by Oregon State University.
useful info.

JEH · May 10, 2009

I wouldn"t pull on it at all, like other posts say you can cause damage internally. I would tie up the after birth high enough that it not draging the ground. As it loosens up inside this will help gently pull what loose out. Had two this year do the same thing, both fell out on there own, but as stated earlier if it still there after one week I would get vet to come and clean her for you.

cjk · May 10, 2009

We have had this happen. Advice was to give a gentle pull. Didnt work. Vet came out and gave her a shot and it dropped the next day and all is well.

Charles Santhuff · May 10, 2009

Old cattleman said to tie something light on to it, like an old shoe, and let her alone. It will come out in a few days.

Nebraska Cowman · May 10, 2009

I would't worry about it

RodinNS · May 10, 2009

You can try oxytocin. I wouldn't be shy about giving her 10-15cc either, but I don't find it helps much after the first few hours anyway... but if you have a bottle, you've nothing to lose.
If she doesn't drop it in 5-7 days, get the vet in. It's usually rotten enough then that it can be pulled out, then flush the uterus with Metricure.
In the short term, get the selenium up to snuff. It probably wouldn't hurt to give the rest injections because if thisone is lacking, they're probably all lacking... and you can depend that every bloody one after this will do the same thing. Selenium is cheap... just follow the label.

Rod

question on a sick cow

Anonymous-0

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730 virgil

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