Prayers Please: Family Milk Cow's down...

JulieLou42 · #1 06/19/14, 04:41 PM

...not sure if she'll make it. Vet coming between 3:30 and 4 p.m. Got her head stuck somehow under her shoulder inside her loafing shed and she couldn't get loose/up; discovered about 10 a.m. Got her head unstuck and out from under shoulder, but maybe some injury or pain is keeping her down. No one here to help us get her up on her feet...we've tried all our neighbors.

Prayers, please; our thanks...Julia

G. Seddon · #2 06/19/14, 05:34 PM

I hope everything is okay with her. Very frightening when they do something like that!

Athena · #3 06/19/14, 05:37 PM

How long since she calved?

arnie · #4 06/19/14, 05:51 PM

i'm sending you all I can, hope she gets u and is doing fine , my old milk cow got down last winter just before calving and never got up ;the hardest thing I ever had to do was put her down . a good family milk cow is just that part of the family and the biggest contributer to the homestead .

anahatalotus · #5 06/19/14, 06:28 PM

Your cow is in my prayers as well. I hope she is able to get back up on her hooves again soon!

G. Seddon · #6 06/19/14, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athena

How long since she calved?

Are you thinking milk fever?

Athena · #7 06/19/14, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G. Seddon

Are you thinking milk fever?

Wondering about metabolic problems, because it's unusual for a healthy cow to get itself crazily stuck. Mind you, I don't know what a loafing shed is, nor how big it might be and I can't quite picture what is meant by the head being stuck under her shoulder - unless she was already quite ill and turned her head back like they do sometimes when feeling really bad.

JulieLou42 · #8 06/20/14, 12:03 AM

What happened is, we think, she was in heat yesterday and the 11 mo. old bull calf stayed right by her all day long and at times tried to mount her. Our best guess is he bothered her still when they both got into the shed last night. Shed's 8'x12' and open on one long side, with sloped roof...just a place for them to get out of the weather and to get some shade. My first cow and her calves hardly ever went in there, but these two really like the place. She was found in the corner with her head somehow stuck under her shoulder and sort of into a hole, probably dug when she was struggling against the bull calf, but I wasn't the one who saw this. Well, thankfully, the rancher who cuts and bales hay for me was able to come over and get her head unstuck. She laid on her right side from about 11 a.m. till 3:30 when the vet got here. He gave her a HUGE upper, a pain reliever, and an intiinflammatory shot...said it was a whopper, and that she'd likely be jolting up from laying on her side in about an hour. It took longer than that, and we'd tried to pull her up according to his instructions half a dozen times during that hour, to no avail. Then, my son, who'd been the one to feed and talk to her all winter long, went down there again the tried to pull her up and -- lo and behold -- she got up onto her belly from her side. She was like that for about an hour, and then, miraculously, she actually stood up and has been standing ever since. She'd eaten her grain -alfalfa ration, but refused water while sitting up, but when she stood, she went for the hay bale we'd used to support her backside, keep her from rolling back onto her side when we pulled on her. I cannot tell you all how happy and grateful I am...thank you for your prayers of assistance and for all the angels, too. Julia

Athena · #9 06/20/14, 01:25 AM

Excellent news! Very happy for you. Losing such an important cow would be extremely hard.

I wasn't praying, just sending you positive thoughts. God does whatever she wants.