Injured animal, how long is too long

FarmingLim

New Member
Just had a nightmare with a c-section on a commerical cow, first one we have had for a few years.

Complicated c-section, vet knicked the rumen and the paronia was a nightmare to find eventually got the calf out and it was alive, anyway after 16 days of injections pain killers and pumping the stomach to keep her going she finally came right, chewing her cud etc. She never went down seemed right enough just eyes sunk in a bit through out the process.

Anyway got her in the crush just to check her over, first time she wasn't slightly blown up and eating correctly, anyway the wound was slightly open so I and the contents of the rumen seeping out a bit, I had my suspisons earlier, but thought she wouldn't survive that and wouldn't be so bright, Anyway got vet and he had to re-open the wound to find find the wall of muscle attaching itself to the rumen and hole in the back of the rumen, unstichable, had to put her down then despit been the brightest she had been. Took nearly 60ml of stuff in the vein, some sort of iron cow or something.

Think they are here to test us.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Just had a nightmare with a c-section on a commerical cow, first one we have had for a few years.

Complicated c-section, vet knicked the rumen and the paronia was a nightmare to find eventually got the calf out and it was alive, anyway after 16 days of injections pain killers and pumping the stomach to keep her going she finally came right, chewing her cud etc. She never went down seemed right enough just eyes sunk in a bit through out the process.

Anyway got her in the crush just to check her over, first time she wasn't slightly blown up and eating correctly, anyway the wound was slightly open so I and the contents of the rumen seeping out a bit, I had my suspisons earlier, but thought she wouldn't survive that and wouldn't be so bright, Anyway got vet and he had to re-open the wound to find find the wall of muscle attaching itself to the rumen and hole in the back of the rumen, unstichable, had to put her down then despit been the brightest she had been. Took nearly 60ml of stuff in the vein, some sort of iron cow or something.

Think they are here to test us.
Gutted for you on that, nothing worse than thinking their on the mend and will be right as rain and then still not making it.
 

kill

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
South West
Same vets I use,been with them 35 years and never had a cross word but been sold now and service maybe not so good anymore.Im not giving any names but some of them are much better than others for farm work,too much small animal bias.
I am 3rd generation of using them on both sides of my family but am looking very seriously at changing as the ex boss was very good but i won't have Miss Horsey on the farm now as last time she was here didn't wanta stitch up a bullock's leg as it was a Sunday morning and I had interfered with here horse riding session even tho she was on call.
 

multi power

Member
Location
pembrokeshire
It is unrealistic to say the Vet should have taken it upon themselves to get a gun out and shoot the animal. The animal does not belong to the Vet, if it was your animal and you disagreed with the Vet as to the best course of action who would support the Vet that shoots the animal? Not the farmer, nor the farmers mates, nor the practice, nor the law
Isn't the vet obliged to put the welfare of the animal first ?
I once had a argument with both my father and a vet over putting a sick calve down, vet was there for something else, I asked him to put a calve down, an unwell calve that would have almost certainly died anyway, neither the vet or dad were particularly willing do do anything about it, the vet only put it down when I threatened to report him on welfare grounds
 

multi power

Member
Location
pembrokeshire
I am 3rd generation of using them on both sides of my family but am looking very seriously at changing as the ex boss was very good but i won't have Miss Horsey on the farm now as last time she was here didn't wanta stitch up a bullock's leg as it was a Sunday morning and I had interfered with here horse riding session even tho she was on call.
That's a welfare issue, she should be struck off for that
 

MRT

Member
Livestock Farmer
Isn't the vet obliged to put the welfare of the animal first ?
I once had a argument with both my father and a vet over putting a sick calve down, vet was there for something else, I asked him to put a calve down, an unwell calve that would have almost certainly died anyway, neither the vet or dad were particularly willing do do anything about it, the vet only put it down when I threatened to report him on welfare grounds
Yes, they must place welfare above all else, eg. profit etc, it is not the vet's property and not their right to PTS as such
 

sheepwise

Member
Location
SW Scotland
I'm amazed that the farmer wouldn't just call their nearest friend with firearm - doesn't everyone have one of those in the countryside?

A few years ago I had a 6 month old calf to PTS - it broke its leg below the knee. I decided my .22 was too small to be quick and the .303 too big for use inside, so called upon neighbour with a .243 instead. With hindsight I could have used a shotgun, but didn't want to spook the calf by getting too close when she was already distressed.
Why did you not put a cast on it? Below knee break easy to sort especially on a young animal or was the bone through the skin?
 
And I bet yours and @michael N123 ’ s both kick like blooming mules!

My under an over ejector was £125

Mine felt like it had been built from sweepings up on a Friday afternoon.

It was an ejector, but once I fired, opened, ejected, reloaded, then the live cartridge dropped down underneath the ejector (n)

Had to slam it until it would close, then fire it off, then detach the barrels and took it to a gunsmith (n)
 

SLA

Member
Location
Lincolnshire
I once dropped off dead stock at a hunt, some b****ard had dropped off a down ewe and left it on the heap of dead stock. It was 100% alive just too weak to get up, will never forget the look in the poor things eyes. Yes no one about as weeekend, but if that was the case prop it up in a corner with food and water at home for the night.
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
I once dropped off dead stock at a hunt, some b****ard had dropped off a down ewe and left it on the heap of dead stock. It was 100% alive just too weak to get up, will never forget the look in the poor things eyes. Yes no one about as weeekend, but if that was the case prop it up in a corner with food and water at home for the night.

That's utterly disgusting. Animals that ill should not be transported. Did the TFSC not have a knife in the kitchen drawer?
 

SLA

Member
Location
Lincolnshire
Im sure I know where it came from and there was no reason it couldn’t have been shot first or left somewhere appropriate. I did tell husband and he told me to look for a knife if ever happened again and how to kill it. I moved it into a corner and off the dead stock but to this day ( must be 5years ago now) I wish I’d done more for it.
 

honeyend

Member
I have seen animals euthanized by injection and the sicker they are the longer it takes, which is ironic, it's due to the circulation shutting down. A fit horse dropped like a stone as if it had been shot.
I like the hunt, they do a lot and its shot and away in 20mins. The local fallen stock company no longer shoots them, so I have to get someone from further away and its done on his round.
I would never have the confidence to use a gun, and a lot of the young vets wouldn't either, its seems to have been risk assed out of their training. I have student vets coming just before they take their final exams and it amazes me how little stock handling experience they have had, with little understanding of how an animal behaves and not allowed to do hands on work apart from listen to the chest and take the odd temperature.
I know of someone who reckons the police call him out to shoot them when they are a danger to traffic. I don't think he gets that close.
My method is if it looks 'shutdown' and not eating, its gone, no matter what the vet says. There is so much gut that once that stops the longer it goes, it one of the first places to shut down when something is sick, on the more chance of it getting secondary complications, with possibly a huge vet bill.
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
I have seen animals euthanized by injection and the sicker they are the longer it takes, which is ironic, it's due to the circulation shutting down. A fit horse dropped like a stone as if it had been shot.
I like the hunt, they do a lot and its shot and away in 20mins. The local fallen stock company no longer shoots them, so I have to get someone from further away and its done on his round.
I would never have the confidence to use a gun, and a lot of the young vets wouldn't either, its seems to have been risk assed out of their training. I have student vets coming just before they take their final exams and it amazes me how little stock handling experience they have had, with little understanding of how an animal behaves and not allowed to do hands on work apart from listen to the chest and take the odd temperature.
I know of someone who reckons the police call him out to shoot them when they are a danger to traffic. I don't think he gets that close.
My method is if it looks 'shutdown' and not eating, its gone, no matter what the vet says. There is so much gut that once that stops the longer it goes, it one of the first places to shut down when something is sick, on the more chance of it getting secondary complications, with possibly a huge vet bill.

Yeah failure of rumen function is not really recoverable. There is definitely a point of no return.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Anyone’s wife on “crazy life of a farmers wife” mine just alerted me of a shocking post involving a NFSS contractor picking up an injured ram..
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 35.0%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 28 15.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.3%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,286
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top