help with unusual birth!...PLEASE!

[jdbobbi]

I need help with "Boots"! I've gotten help from all of you before on her about her feet... she is foundered! Boots will be 7 years old on Father's day... she has so many things wrong with her... she should'nt even be alive! Her mom abandoned her at birth and I took over. The only thing I know for sure is she has the gut of a calf and has to be fed that way. She does well on green grass and has to be fed milk replacer in the winter by bottle... my neighbors and my hubby can't get enough laughs over me feeding Boots... a Horned Hereford her daily bottle. God has given me Boots to teach me vet-medicine...not only was she not supposed to live, but, she has given birth to 2 of the most beautiful... stocky, healthy female baldies... which this spring have had calves that are healthy and beautiful, but.... she is now about to give birth again.

OK... this brings me to where I'm at tonight! Boots has spent the last year on her front knees (due to arthritis) walking around the pasture. I've had our vet check on her regularly and he has always said her heart was great etc. and when the time was right I would know it and to call him and he would euthenize her. Trust me... my hubby thinks this is nuts since he is a redneck cowboy cattle rancher with a herd of 250 Hereford, Angus and Baldie cattle.... but... oh well! Anyway... last December I called the vet to put Boots down and he preg checked her... she was 5 months along!!!! miracles of all miracles!!!! Ok..... 2 weeks ago she got down in the mud... we think she broke her hip, she hasn't gotten up since. We have her in the barn and I've been nursing her around the clock. I know she has to go down, but, my concern now is the calf. Our vet had us give her a shot of 10 cc's of dexamethazone and 5 cc's of lucalyce... sp?...we did that at 4:00 today (Kansas..central) to induce labor. I've been checking her every hour or less... she started contracting around 8:00. My ??? is what do I do if she dies while giving birth... she is just barely hanging on.... my hubby is at work and I am on my own. I know I have to cut the cord and clean up the baby, make sure it's breathing by tickling it's nose, and we have powdered colostrum, BUT! what if the calf is not deliverable and needs to be cut out? Where do I cut? Help?

This was long... but, I felt I had to explain... I'm losing a friend......

I'll welcome any advice!

[BDB]

if shes on her side you want to cut through the hide from the back bone towards her belly in front of her hind leg you will have to locate the uterus where the calf is and cut or tear it open pull the calf out its not pretty but it works but if you can save her last calf its worth it i had to do this myself where im located its hard to get a livestock vet. right away thats all they like to do is cats and dogs around here
sorry about your cow to sometimes hard to let go of the ones you get atatched to good luck let me know how you make out

[wr]

How did this work out?

[JeffNY]

C-Section.



Jeff

[MRSSTEAK]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. It's always hard when you nurse them yourself and take care of them, only to lose them. I hope everything went well for you and you were able to save the calf. Please let us know.