Looking for a little comfort.....

[OH Breeder]

We had a miserable delivery on Sunday. I still feel terrible about it all. The vet had checked all the heifers but one. OF course the one he didn't check had the largest calf. It was 98#'s all hips and shoulders. The heifer looked as though she was going to have a peanut. We worked for two hours to get the calf out. Three grown folks pulling. She tore and then prolapsed on the spot. She was down so long she couldn't stand and we had to make a sling for her. I still feel terrible that I didn't ahve her checked. SHe was suppose to bred to ALI but got caught by the clean up bull. The bw wasn't terrible but as we all have said the shape of the calf gets you sometimes. If you all remember the black and white bull calf with the massive bone, this calf looked just like it but all black. Do you all have your heifers checked close to gestation end? We have been giving steroids, anitbiotics and bantamine to the heifer since. She has started to get up on her own finally. I have had some sleepless nights becz of it.
On my list for next year-
Calf jack and extra set of OB chains.

 

[knabe]

sorry OH breeder.  hang in there. 

 

[Jenny]

We all have things happen when we raise livestock that haunt us afterwards. 

I have learned through the years to remember:
 
1. Don't let it have happened in vain....learn from it, make changes because of it to better care for those that come after.

2.Thank God that it was only an animal...some people have to live with a moment of carelessness,  an oversight, or just not knowing any differerntly  that ended in the death or serious injury  of a child, spouse or themselves. 

3.Do the best you can for the injured animal afterwards, as it sounds like you are doing.  There will be better days ahead for the animal.

4.We are only human, not perfect and we do the best we can as imperfect as we are.

 

[GLZ]

Nothing sucks worse.  Sorry to hear about your problems.  I lost a heifer this year when she tore her uterus.  

You go back and replay things over and over in your head.  

What if I didn't pull?  Should I have called for a C Section.  Just know you did what you thought was best at the time, and hindsight is always better than 20/20.

Better things will come.

 

[OH Breeder]

Nothing sucks worse.  Sorry to hear about your problems.  I lost a heifer this year when she tore her uterus.  

You go back and replay things over and over in your head.  

What if I didn't pull?  Should I have called for a C Section.  Just know you did what you thought was best at the time, and hindsight is always better than 20/20.

Better things will come.

You are right, you do play it over and over. Thanks to you all for the words. Much apprecaited.

 

[Simmymom1]

My thoughts and prayers are with you OH Breeder....Better things are headed your way!!  (angel)

 

[CAB]

OB, how's the calf doing? It sounds like you have got the heifer on her way back towards recovering. We lost a Money Man bull calf out of the sweetest heifer I have ever been around earlier this spring and I was so upset with myself for a few days afterwards. I didn't think that the heifer would ever get up, but did and she has tried to claim all the calves born since. She was very attached to a premi Money Man that my son named Dave, don't ask, B/C I don't know, anyway, we had a Heat Wave recip have afull sib to the div 2 crossbred heifer @ the Ia beef expo Sunday morning, so I brought in my wet Nanny. The little ET now has two moms and needs them. RSC, Heat Seeker's will make way better cows than Heat Wave's. I hope that you flush your Angus donor to Heat Seeker. There will be demand for them.

 

[CAB]

OB, another thing, once you get your calf jack, you'll wonder how you ever got along without one. I bought mine the day after I lost a Limi calf out of a heifer that we called darkeyes. That was 33 years ago this spring. That was another miserable night.

 

[OH Breeder]

OB, how's the calf doing? It sounds like you have got the heifer on her way back towards recovering. We lost a Money Man bull calf out of the sweetest heifer I have ever been around earlier this spring and I was so upset with myself for a few days afterwards. I didn't think that the heifer would ever get up, but did and she has tried to claim all the calves born since. She was very attached to a premi Money Man that my son named Dave, don't ask, B/C I don't know, anyway, we had a Heat Wave recip have afull sib to the div 2 crossbred heifer @ the Ia beef expo Sunday morning, so I brought in my wet Nanny. The little ET now has two moms and needs them. RSC, Heat Seeker's will make way better cows than Heat Wave's. I hope that you flush your Angus donor to Heat Seeker. There will be demand for them.

That is also what sucks. We could get the calfs nose just to the opening but couldn't get him out. he was alive when we started. But didn't make it. The vet is coming today to take care of the last cow to calve. Called Monday morning and said come and check teh last cow. SHe looks big and sure enough, he said this one might have to be sectioned. So, I said elective C-section vs loss of cow/calf, we are going to C-section if needed.

 

[GONEWEST]

I have never heard of checking cows prior by to calving as a routine practice. . Once I had a vet check a cow just because he was already here. Everything was fine and she calved two days later breech.
Everyone that checks them has a different idea of what "big" is. Once an AI guy checked a heifer and said it was going to have to come out the side. It weighed 65 lbs. I'm not sure what they could do if they checked them. We try to see all our cows calve and that is the biggest help other than having cows that can have big calves alone. That and your calf jack until this year I hadn't used ours in 8 years, but I had to use it twice this year.

 

[Jill]

Here is what we learned this year from a similar experience, and I say this at the risk of being slammed for being a bad manager, but we learned a valuable lesson.  Our heifers were all bred to what was to be a calving ease bull, for the most part he was, but there were a couple not so much. 

Scenerio 1-One heifer we pulled and finally got the calf out, she prolapsed, vet came sewed her up cost $135.00.  The heifer had no will to live, never made any effort to get up, lost the calf and heifer both.

Scenerio 2-Saw the heifer was calving, at 5:30 got chains on front feet and could see nose, at 7:00 finally called vet, took heifer to vet an hour and a half away, vet met at clinic at 11:30 did section cow and calf alive and well and every one happy, cost $235.00.

Moral of the story, we have never had problems calving, but have been downsizing the past couple of years and have started to have some harder pulls, after this years experience from now on if it is a hard pull, we will c-section!

 

[savaged]

I pulled a 115# Ace in the Hole calf this spring from one of our show heifers.  Same deal, she looked like she was going to have a smallish calf, but she was ALL calf.

Had I not have the fetal extractor I'd have probably lost both animals.  Get one.

 

[oakbar]

We all get a calf puller one birth too late it seems.  I did the same thing last year.  I had a Hide N Watch cow that had put some really good calves on the ground and I didn't realize that after my "round bale accident"  I hadn't regained enough strength to help deliver a calf on my own.  Probably should have been an easy enough birth under normal circumstances but I was not strong enough yet to lift and rotate the calf when it became hip locked.  The vet arrived about 3 minutes after the calf gave up breathing. 

If I need to help with a delivery, I don't even mess around anymore.  I  keep the puller handy and if I don't get satisfactory movement with a simple "hand" pull I hook the chains to the puller.  Even if its not a hard pull, you can help the cow/heifer maintain the progress she's made  and not break your back doing it.  If its a hard pull, you're already prepared and don't have to take more time to find a puller, call for help, etc.  I used to be quite prideful that I didn't own or need a puller because I only used "calving ease" bulls.  After losing a calf or two and calling the vet at the last minute to help deliver a calf that was much larger than I thought it would be, I am much more humble now and if I save only one calf that I wouldn't have otherwise I've more that paid for the investment in the puller.

Sorry to hear about your trouble--but as others have said--if you're in the livestock business, you will run into these situations from time to time.

Good luck from here on out!!

 

[Doc]

OHB, Sorry for your lost.  I know how you are feeling. I lost a 2 yr old Irish Mist x Drprk Ldr/ Scarlet O'hare hfr this past month. She layed down & had the calf on her own, while I was at work. But she tore her uterus & died 3 days later. The hfr baby lived , but you know how bottle calves are. It always seems like the good ones & the ones whose genetics can't be duplicated are the ones that something happens to. I've got a bottled titted P.Hereford recip that I don't think a bolt of lightening would kill. I geuss if it was trouble free & easy everyone would be raising cattle. ;D

 

[aj]

I heard a story where a guy had a down cow so he dug 4 holes that perfectly fit the cows legs. Cow was set in holes and kinda helped get her movement back. The downer cows I have had...I usually feed for a week and end up shooting them. We have had some tough births where we have jacked a calf..then my wife will immediatly slap on the cow cow to get her up right away. Its a tough deal.

 

[chambero]

If you are calving out many heifers, buy two calf pullers - seriously.  They can get broken fairly easily.  Heifer lays down on you while you have it in a bind and you break the lever.  They cut so much of the work out of it and make it easier on momma and you.

 

[red]

we've palapated cows before they've calved & had totally different calves than thought.
Hindsight is always worth it's weight in gold. You do the most you can Oh B, I'm sure you're beating yourself up but it really wasn't your fault.

Red

 

[C-CROSS]

With 200 head to calve have them palpated is not an option.  We have 2 calf pullers and don't hesitate a bit to have a c-section done.  we have palpated before on ones we questioned being ai'd and have been wrong so we let nature take its course.

 

[OH Breeder]

we've palapated cows before they've calved & had totally different calves than thought.
Hindsight is always worth it's weight in gold. You do the most you can Oh B, I'm sure you're beating yourself up but it really wasn't your fault.

Red

The saga gets worse.
The last cow of the season. Vet checked said one week til due but seemed large. Cow was having trouble getting up adn down. Induced and didn't respond. Did a C-Section last night. There were twins. The heifer lived 45 minutes and arrested died the bull calf died at 12m last night. Lost both.
Damn'd if you do and damn'd if you don't.
Thanks for all the support and info.

 

[red]

we've palapated cows before they've calved & had totally different calves than thought.
Hindsight is always worth it's weight in gold. You do the most you can Oh B, I'm sure you're beating yourself up but it really wasn't your fault.

Red

The saga gets worse.
The last cow of the season. Vet checked said one week til due but seemed large. Cow was having trouble getting up adn down. Induced and didn't respond. Did a C-Section last night. There were twins. The heifer lived 45 minutes and arrested died the bull calf died at 12m last night. Lost both.
Damn'd if you do and damn'd if you don't.
Thanks for all the support and info.

When it rains, it pours. so sorry Oh B!  :'(

Red