Pinched nerve in heifer's back

[shortii]

I didn't read everyone's posts but if she is getting up that is a darn good sign all on its own. She might knuckle over at first but chances are she just needs to get some strength and feeling back into her and she should be fine. That happened to one of my best show heifers, she is seven now and sound as a cat. But it never hurts to call the vet like a lot of people have said on here. Good luck and I hope everything turns out well.

 

[shortii]

Maybe if someone shoved a hotshot down your pie hole everytime you made a stupid comment.....might help.

Maybe if someone shoved a hotshot up YOUR ass every time you kill a cow with club calf genetics.....might help.

Maybe if someone used a hot shot on me.........oh wait, that is a different forum!!!!    (dog)

BA HAHAHAHA!!!! (lol)

 

[Mueller Show Cattle]

Ok, I am opening this thread back open as I have a heifer with what I believe has a pinched nerve. I was not expecting her to calve till December, was off. I don't know how long she was in labor, could have been having difficulty for 8 hours or so. The calf was dead and hip locked, the vet had to cut the calf out. The heifer has been down now for 3 days. I did pick her up with a hip hoist and a strap up on the chest with the back hoe and transported her almost a mile as my wife seen a coyote come down by her and was afraid she would have been killed that night. Anyway she is in the barn in her own pen now as she was in the pasture. She is finally eating hay and grain with drinking water again. She was trying to die on me but I refused to let her die, I had to keep drenching her with water to keep her hydrated. Anyway she is eating and drinking good now. I am giving her intramuscular injections of 10cc dexamethasone every 12 hours to help the swelling to go down, by the vets advice. She did get some penicillin after the calf was cut out, she is not running a temperature. I am picking her up at least once a day with the hip hoist also by the vets advice. She has absolutely no feeling in her hind quarters rite now, my vet thinks if not in a week she has no feeling she will not get it back. Reading some posts, I see it can be a very long process, which me and my wife are willing to go through. But my vet just mainly deals with large ranches that most would not have done what I have so far as it is too much work. Anyway I am looking for anything else I should be doing besides I am also giving mineral but not injected like DL posted, thinking of asking the vet to do this if I need a prescription for that. Then also if I should not get discouraged if she still does not have feeling after a week? Looking from advice from people who have gone through this and DL also. I am giving her clean water everyday in a 5 gallon feed pan keeping it full and giving her as much hay as she can eat, I took some of the grain away cause she was getting the runs. She is only pulling her self around with her front legs 5 to 10 feet dragging her rear legs. Thanks for any help.

 

[BTDT]

Big M - Sounds like you are doing what you can, but unfortunately, I can not offer you much encouragement from experience.  Seems like if they do not respond after 4-5 days, the door shuts on recovery.  I am not one to give up if there is ANY hope, and I have babied them for 4-6 weeks with absolutely no recovery.
My advice: If she is worth your emotional investment and time, then give her 7 days. After that, you are only prolonging her suffering and making it all the more difficult for you to give up. (I have found that 7 days is the amount of time I need to convince myself that I have not failed my cattle by lack of effort and I can give up without having any second thoughts or a huge emotional let down.)

Good luck.

 

[firesweepranch]

Big M, ours took 7 days before she stood. She would scoot around, but not get up. Keep working with her. Give her a reason to get up, ours was grain. We did not give a bunch of shots, just kept giving her fresh water and good hay to get her strength back.
Good luck!

 

[Mueller Show Cattle]

The part that irritates me is she seems to have no will to live, I don't know how may time I have sat her up from laying on her side, when she is on her side she acts like she is giving up. So I sit her up and put her front legs back under her so she can breath better and is not lethargic.

 

[ejoe326]

We had a heifer this year prolapse after calving too long.  I flat out screwed up and had her in the wrong pen.

I have not made that mistake before so I was not giving up until she was done breathing.  At 6 weeks, yes weeks, she stood to drink.  It took her another 2-3 weeks to be able to walk well. 

Was it a good management decision?  Probably not. 

She was far from my first down cow but she was one of the only ones I have saved and have never saved one being down that long.

Our rule of thumb for down cows is keeping them upright and alternating sides AM and PM.  Fresh water as many times a day as they will take it.  A really soft place to lay.  Dex, Banamine, and Multi Min per our vets dosing instructions.  Also probiotics.  Good hay and calf starter is what I fed this time.

It sounds like you are doing a good job.  Our heifer had feeling then lost it from laying around so much.  I'd pinch with pliers between her toes and she stopped responding for a while.  And she did drag herself around from about 2 weeks on. 

Good luck with your heifer.  Watch for respiratory setting in fast as we went through 2 rounds of it with ours.  I hope she is able to get back up.

 

[Mueller Show Cattle]

Thanks Ejoe326, that is a positive post. I am trying to stay positive, I am trying to keep her will to live up, keeping her off her side is the biggest complication. I am not giving up on her and want her not to give up on herself. I have taken her temperature and she was 99.1 F last night which the vet said was good as that is a sign that there is not an infection going on. I truly thinking we are out of the woods on loosing her as long as I can keep her off her side, getting her to stand is a different story. She does have some feeling in her legs, very minimal but she has some, I get her to turn her head and look at me when I poke her with a sharp object down by her hooves.  I catch her on her side one more time I think I am going to set her up next to the barn wall and put something in font of her to keep her from laying on her side, she has plenty of room in her pen I am just tired of catching her on her side. She looks like she could die any minute when she is on her side.

 

[RankeCattleCo]

After a few more days if there is no progress, seriously consider a float tank for her. Float her 36 hoursbthen drain the water. If she stands- you just had an easy fix. If she doesn't, you may need to reconsider if its worth keeping her around. Float tanks are the easiest way to get them back on their feet and the easiest way to test their will to live.