Cattle “first aid kit”

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snoopdog said:
Antibiotic, and a way to administer, whether syringe or dart, sulfa. If cow/calf, ob tape, needles, calf puller, etc etc. Most important, Patience, and a good vet's number. If you got em, you're gonna lose em eventually. Second the electrolytes and colostrum. Mostly, I use the fence stretchers. Thermometer!

Fence stretcher ?

You mean the hayes type tensioner that walks up the chain ? For pulling calves ?

Or is this a ploy to give more body length ? :D :D :D
 
I got a rope fer pulling calves. Actually a ratchet strap.
Saved a few that way.
Baling wire
Duct tape
A pen and trailer to get em to the vet when those dont work.
Got a good .41 mag for when all else fails
 
Banamine, baytril, nuflor, sustain 3, la300, penicillin,
bloat treatment, esophageal feeder, baking soda, electrolytes, chlorhexidine, today mastitis treatment, 16, 18, 20 gage needles, 3cc, 6cc, 12cc, 20cc, 50cc syringes, rolled cotton, vet wrap, sterile gauze pads, blue kote spray, wound ointment, lotrimon ointment, flash light with extra batteries, thermometer, a good sturdy brace helper, a means to restrain the animal, several sizes of bolus plungers. Have well thought out protocols and stick with them. Dont panic.
 
In addition to the items mentioned by others, I keep a roll of dental floss in my calving supplies. Fishing line will also work. We check on and weigh each calf as soon after birth as possible. While doing this we sometimes find a newborn that is bleeding from the navel. It usually appears the cow was over enthusiastic in cleaning the calf, or perhaps the calf caught it on something while rising. We tie off the umbilical up close to the belly. I am not sure if that bleeding is life threatening, but some are bleeding pretty heavy and I worry it could be a problem.

We also keep on hand vet wrap, an LA 300 product, a box of 16 gauge 5/8" needles for subQ shots (Most vaccinations are SubQ), a box of 18 gauge 1 1/2" needles for intramuscular (IM) shots, several automatic syringes and a selection of the cheap plastic syringes in sizes from just 3 cc to 45 cc, a bag of good bovine colostrum replacement and some electrolytes. There is usually a partial bag of left over milk replacer on hand too. We also have a calf puller, but we have only needed it once or twice in the last 20 years. Careful selection of genetics can save you a lot of problems. If you are new to cows, I would suggest calling a Vet if you're in a situation that appears to need the puller.

Our cows calve out in the hills. We check two or three times per day to see who doesn't come down for hay, and then locate those cows and their new calves. My calving kit is in the ATV and consists of a calf catcher hook, small halter, a scale, chains and handles (just in case we find a calving problem), iodine for the navel, dental floss, and a flake of good hay or alfalfa for the cow. When the calf is already a few hours old, the hook can come in handy for catching it. The halter is put on the calf to hold it while we weigh and treat the navel. The cow gets the hay as a distraction. The halter also works in case we find a problem, such as twins, and we want to catch the cow. We can just lead the calf down to a pen and the cow follows. We've culled all cows that are aggressive towards us with their calves, so this works.
 
greggy said:
snoopdog said:
Antibiotic, and a way to administer, whether syringe or dart, sulfa. If cow/calf, ob tape, needles, calf puller, etc etc. Most important, Patience, and a good vet's number. If you got em, you're gonna lose em eventually. Second the electrolytes and colostrum. Mostly, I use the fence stretchers. Thermometer!

Fence stretcher ?

You mean the hayes type tensioner that walks up the chain ? For pulling calves ?

Or is this a ploy to give more body length ? :D :D :D
Well, if you stretch the frame, at the beginning, weaning weights will be higher :lol2:
 
You need a large animal vet. In order to expect one to come to your farm for an emergency (generally late at night), you need to have one come to your farm and go over your program and agree to be your vet.
If you call a vet's office, and you are NOT a client, they will not come out on an emergency call.
Some have really gone over-board. Yes, if you looked in our supply cabinets, refrigerators, etc you would find 20X that much "STUFF", but just starting out, you can't buy everything.
18 x 1" needle and 10/12 cc syringe should get you by. Epinephrine is always good to have on hand. Thermometer - old fashion, no battery works just fine.
Get a vet out and have him suggest what meds you should have on hand for emergencies you can take care of.
 
greggy said:
Is it the hayes type tensioner you use ?

How do you attach to feet or whatever.....am curious...
We have a ratchet type with chains , that was gifted to us,that we haven't used. But I have used baling twine, with my feet on her hips, on the frozen ground. You can't win all the battles, lost one today, that was birthed unassisted.
 
hmmm first aid kit. I have needles, syringes, epinephrine, one bottle of antibiotics, dextrose solution, CMPK solution, IV set, bottle of 7% Iodine, OB Chain, and OB gloves.
 
I would add to the great items listed previously ( I may have missed some listed): hemostats, catgut, scalpels, local anesthetic, surgical gloves, metacam, surgical gloves, icing sugar, oxytocin, head snare.... now that I think of it I think the list is very long....
 
Many have said epinephrine, and i'm wondering how often it is needed and how long does it last (shelf life).
 
ccr said:
Many have said epinephrine, and i'm wondering how often it is needed and how long does it last (shelf life).

We use to have to use it maybe once a month when giving dairy cattle all their shots post calving. The occasional one would have a reaction and stagger out of chute and collapse. The stuff is cheap and as best I could tell was still effective after many months on the shelf. If you only save one cow your way ahead.
 
Basically walk through the farm store aisle with all the vet supplies and buy at least one of each to have on hand. Cuz shyt hits the fan after closing time, 95% of the time.
 
I forgot to mention casting material. A must have. And now that I think of it I better add it to my list for pre calving shopping.
 
We usually have cement and fallen tree branches, if the cement has hardened, we use a mix of calcium, salt and magnesium as it is usually around :D :cowboy: :kid: :clap: :banana:

You need a sense of humour, which is good to see is alive :) And if that fails, always have some beer, spirits, or pick your poison on hand.......sort of expect to lose some, can't win them all...
 

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