I have a heifer cow who had a calf, the calf was born dead and had to be pulled out of the heifer. The heifer will not stand now, she has movement in her back legs. She is eating and drinking normal. But will not stand. Is there anything that I can give her, or anything that I can do to make her get up?
cow can't stand after having calf, but has leg movement
- Thread starter ladybug
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
Gale Seddon
Well-known member
Calving paralysis? Here's a very short article about it with a few suggestions about what you can do. You could also search on Cattle Today for more information. I would contact the vet and get some advice:
http://livestock.iptime.org:8000/~lives ... F/F110.htm
http://livestock.iptime.org:8000/~lives ... F/F110.htm
Massey135
Well-known member
Give her a few days. Iv had em down for 2 weeks before they got up. Iv also had em never get up. Give her 30cc dexamethasone eod in the meantime. If she's not up by a week you might have to use the hay forks and lift her up.
Suzie Q
Well-known member
I have an injection in the fridge called Key. If you give her a kick and she can't get up we have been told to inject her with it. TOUCHWOOD we have not needed it yet.
I did look after a cow next door who had calving paralysis while they were away. I took her food and water and then the old owner of this property said she needed to be lifted for half an hour twice a day or she would die. I didn't have the implements to do this, but apparently next door have but did not tell me. It fits over the hips and lifts them up with a front end loader. We have always had a front end loader and would have been able to do that if asked.
They came back from the weekend and ended up shooting her.
I did look after a cow next door who had calving paralysis while they were away. I took her food and water and then the old owner of this property said she needed to be lifted for half an hour twice a day or she would die. I didn't have the implements to do this, but apparently next door have but did not tell me. It fits over the hips and lifts them up with a front end loader. We have always had a front end loader and would have been able to do that if asked.
They came back from the weekend and ended up shooting her.
A.J.
Well-known member
Sorry to hear that. How long has she been down for? Not sure if you have some type of sling or some of the hip lifters you can use with a tractor to help her get back on her feet. Their muscles and nerves can go downhill fast. If you can get her up for even just a couple minutes at a time, that will do alot of good. If you can't get her up right now, I would try to roll her from one side to the other periodically to keep her from being on one side for too long. An anti-inflammatory might help her some as well. I've seen some act similar to yours after a difficult calving and wind up getting back up on their own after a little while to recuperate. It's tough deciding what to do. I would contact the vet first, to see what their thoughts are on her so you don't wind up doing more harm than good. Hopefully she will get her strength back and be back up soon for you.
2/B or not 2/B
Well-known member
The fact that your cow can move her legs is good. There are anti inflammatory steroids that can help decrease the pressure on the nerves in her pelvic area. They are prescription only and they are best given sooner than later, so it would be good to call a vet and get what you need. Hard calving also sometimes leads to infection. A couple of uterine boluses would be a good idea. If she can't get up, keep her comfortable and well fed and watered. She may get up tomorrow or she may stay down for days, weeks, indefinitely. Whether or not to give up depends on whether she makes progress. Last season, we had a heifer down for two weeks. She stood on the night before we were going to put her down. She is bred back now for one more try.
Good luck!
Good luck!
bigbull338
Well-known member
if you have a frontend loader get a set of hipplifters an lift that heifer sun morning.if you dont have a set get emm.but she needs lifting asap.
she sounds promising. keep her plenty of water and hay and roll her from one side to the other if she doesnt/cant switch sides on her own. depending on the severity, it could take a few days to several weeks.
hillsdown
Well-known member
Give her time, bring her nice hay and clean water as well as make sure she has a straw pack to lay on . NOT the hard ground. Best place for her is a building that has secure sides so when she does try to get up she can brace herself on a wall to keep her stable .
Like was said by others if she can scoot around on her own she will more than likely get up . You need to give her antibiotics to prevent a bedsore infection as well as anti inflammatoires like Dex or predef to get the inflammation down.
I was just through this, and did not give up even though most would have. At 4 weeks to the day I went out one morning and she was STANDING !!!
TLC and perseverance goes along way sometimes.
Best of luck . :tiphat:
Like was said by others if she can scoot around on her own she will more than likely get up . You need to give her antibiotics to prevent a bedsore infection as well as anti inflammatoires like Dex or predef to get the inflammation down.
I was just through this, and did not give up even though most would have. At 4 weeks to the day I went out one morning and she was STANDING !!!
TLC and perseverance goes along way sometimes.
Best of luck . :tiphat:
Suzie Q
Well-known member
I thought I might add that calving paralysis is usually from a large calf that has pinched a nerve.
Farmerjon
Well-known member
My youngest daughter's next to last cow calf project, her heifer had a large calf, doc thought it spent to much time in the tract causing a pinched nerve. Four days of hauling grain and water to her as well as milking her and bottle feeding the calf. She finally got up and walks okay now, drug her back toes for a month, was a little worse for wear for showing but held up well. Daughter told judge about it when he questioned her cow's condition and won reserve grand champion. Sold the cow to a family that wanted a family milk cow, have her back now that they realized that was a lot of work. She carries a lower body condition score and I worry about her hurting her hips if she ever slips on ice, but otherwise, knock on wood, she has delivered five more calves in five more years! Oh, we didn't lift her, just kept her comfortable and used some antibiotics given to us by the vet, don't remember if bute was involved or not.
George
Well-known member
Were you watching the heifer while she was calving,and did you pull the calf right away as soon as you realized the heifer was in trouble?Or did you find the heifer with the calf hanging out of her stuck and the calf was dead and then you pulled it?
The cow is now in the barn, she is trying to stand by herself. She is still eating and drinking very well. I would like to thank everyone for all the information they gave us. We are trying all of your suggestions, we are hoping that she will soon be back to normal. We will keep you updated of her progress.
2/B or not 2/B
Well-known member
This is good news, I hope she stands soon. When our cow finally stood, she lost her coat in patches on her knees and hips from the weight and pressure of lying down so long. This fur grew back quickly and she continued to walk stiffly for some time. We encouraged her to take it slow. It's almost been a year now and you can't tell.
user1
Well-known member
Roll her from side to side and massage her legs. You need to keep the blood flow to the legs, remember if your legs get numb it is hard to stand. Also when a heifer calves like this get her up in a few minutes instead odf letting her rest for a long peiod of time after she calves.
