need help really fast

[renee o'neill]

Some how or another my 600lb. heifer has broken{waiting for vet to verify this}her hind leg near the knee.It took us 2 hrs to get her in the barn,she stood and walked a few steps with a splint but then she went down and with the splint she could not get up .After we removed the splint we got her into an old bed liner of a pick up and dragged her to the barn with the truck.So now she is in the barn laying down,not flat with a bale hay dropped behind her.I need to make a sling I think to hold her up ,any one ever had luck w/ a broken leg?I know the chances arnt good but.I am thinking of useing an old horse blanket under her and tying ropes to knots in the blanket,4 corners,But how to lift her? help!

[agmantoo]

Save your money on the vet and apply the money to the processing plant to put her in the freezer. The vet will fill here with antibiotics and you will have an additional major expense and she will never recover properly. She is large enough to yield a decent amount of meat and is salvageable for that purpose at this time.

[Pat]

Unfortunately I totally agree with agmantoo. Anything you spend with a Vet will be a loss. There isn't anyway that they can recover properly from a broken leg.

She should be very tasty though.

Pat

[dagwood]

I know I responded to this earlier! Post just vanished....

Anyhoooo.....We have never had a cow recover from a broken limb. They insist on putting weight on the injured limb and before long infection will set in.
IMO you should be making room in your freezer. The $$$ you will spend on the Vet bill is better applied to the processing fee. Either way you will lose the cow.

[renee o'neill]

Thanks but.... I need to save her if at all possible there is alot involed with her and one of my daughters.Yes money is an object but if there is any chance I need to take it.She cant go to the butcher she would need to be buried.Long story but my 9 yr old bought her paid for her and she is a pet ment to be bred as a milk cow.I made to worst promise to her,"we wont ever eat her" I know but thats the story

[dagwood]

Originally Posted by renee o'neill

Thanks but.... I need to save her if at all possible there is alot involed with her and one of my daughters.Yes money is an object but if there is any chance I need to take it.She cant go to the butcher she would need to be buried.Long story but my 9 yr old bought her paid for her and she is a pet ment to be bred as a milk cow.I made to worst promise to her,"we wont ever eat her" I know but thats the story

Expect to give your Christmas funds to the Vet....and lose the cow as well.
Sorry you have to go through this.
I would suggest to your daughter that butchering the cow is the only humane thing to do. You can sell the beef and buy another calf at Auction.

[dosthouhavemilk]

We had a six month old Jersey/Norwegian Red break her ankle. We went ahead and casted it ourselves, but in the end the vet had to put pins in (about $90). She has carried and delivered two calves (one bull, one heifer) and has a lifetime production record of 21,466 pounds of milk as of last May (I don't have the most recent test papers up here).

She had youth on her side and the fracture was very low. Also about 200 pounds. The injury shows and it is only a matter of time before she will have to be eaten. She gains weight every year and the ankle is always stressed (it set crooked due to trying to set it first ourselves). Each heat cycle she goes through is a worry (I AIed her for the 8th time yesterday...more my fault than hers).
Broken legs in large four legged livestock generally up with the animal being butchered, because even if they survive it they are horribly weakened from it. 600 pounds is a large animal.

Here was Sidsel just after calving this Spring. She is four years old;

You can see the right rear ankle there.

[Terri]

If it were my child-and I know it is not- I would have the vet out and get the bad news.

Then, if it goes as you expect, explain to your child that the cow cannot get any better. When she asks if the cow can go to the doctors, tell her that the animal doctor has already been here.

I'm sorry.

[NWMO]

I would visit with your daughter about it....I too would agree that saving her is improbable......possibly explain to your daughter the "humane" thing to do, have her taken away.....and not buried on your farm. The idea of the sale of meat to cover cost of a new calf is not a bad idea and then your daughter is not worried about 'eating' her. In the end, a tough life lesson for her, but also a reality lesson with animals.
Good Luck.

[topside1]

If you can't eat her, than butcher her and sell the meat, give it to relatives or just donate the processed meat to a shelter, or a organization with a good cause. Example (hunters for the hungry). It's tough to have that type of talk with a daughter but it's usually for the best. Maybe a new Christmas calf would brighten up the homestead...Tennessee John

[jerzeygurl]

Its no good throwing good money after bad, she is a loss, daughter will have learned a valuable lesson in the reality of raising FOOD. death is the natural result of life. Don't know what to tell you about that promise, I've always told kids all meat animals are potential food, we have even named them such,

nieghbors had a horse with a broken shoulder, it was a pitiful sight to see, they were too attatched to put it down,

if you can't eat it have it butchered and donated, people are hungry,

it will take a very big hole to bury a 600# animal, I would suggest a burn, but that would be traumatic as well

[montysky]

Okay the "normal" thing would be to have her put down and have red veal. But If she is a Pet I understand the "rock and the hardplace" you're in. I would not kill and eat my Dog.

So if Money is not an issue and you have promise your Daughter, do the vet thing and if need be, instead of a whole Heifer get the Ashes.

We never have livestock for pets for this reason, my kids have dogs and cats.

[needstoknowmore]

Originally Posted by renee o'neill

to be bred as a milk cow.

So the cow wasn't intended for meat.

I feel for you. When the vet sees it, he/she should be able to tell you your options. A broken leg is something I haven't had to deal with "YET". I will be hoping for the best for all of you. I can understand you not eating her. But if it comes to it maybe your daughter will understand somebody else using her.

[Ken Scharabok]

Talk to you vet. If they agree to a sling you are probably looking at several months of a WHOLE bunch of work to feed and water. You would likely need two comealongs and substantial barn rafters.

I don't recall seeing a three-legged cow, but have certainly seen some dogs and cats and they got along just fine.

[needstoknowmore]

[QUOTE=Ken Scharabok
I don't recall seeing a three-legged cow, but have certainly seen some dogs and cats and they got along just fine.[/QUOTE]

That reminds me, had a neighbor who was a vet. she took in a calf that could not use one of it's legs. It was born that way, but managed to get around just fine. We moved before it was grown but never saw it have any troubles getting around.

[renee o'neill]

Well she does have a broken tibia,through and through.My vet rigged a splint from above the break all the way down.In 6 - 8 weeks we should know if it worked.I guess this calf means more to us then it should but she does and I really hope she makes it.

[needstoknowmore]

I hope she makes it!!!!!!

[Christina R.]

I'm rooting for her too!!!

[wr]

I'm happy you had the vet out and hope it goes well for you and your daughter. I'm sorry I didn't get to this earlier and if I had, I would have recomended that you have your daughter present when the vet was out. It's a great learning opportunity for children and helps her understand just how great or poor the cow's chances of success are and it also helps her to understand that you did not personally decide to quit trying to make the little cow better (in the even that things work out poorly) and it gives your daughter the chance to be part of the decision making progress. If it works out well, she's part of a winning team and if it doesn't work out as hoped, then she gets to understand about quality of life and the dignity, respect we owe our livestock.

[Ken Scharabok]

Renee: Please provide periodic updates on her progress. We can all learn something from your experience.