Dexter Cattle For Sale Discussion Board

I've lost my best beef cow sadly. Not sure what happened, very close to calving, calf was dead inside and her temperature went sky high, don't know which came first. The vet gave her Estrumate/whatever to get her to pass the calf. Although dead it was presented properly and not large, but I couldn't get it out and by this time she'd had enough of it. She was dry and clamping really hard on my arm every time I tried to get inside, I used about a gallon of lubricant. So I put her out of her misery as she'd had days of this and I wouldn't want to breed from her again anyhow, she was 11.

Why is it always the best? I've got some very ordinary looking cows, and they just go on from calf to calf never a problem!

Clive,
I'm so sorry for you, it's times like this when farming really sucks.

Carol

Clive that is really bad luck but you did all you could and that is all you can ever do.

Do you have any progeny out of her?

Stephanie

Yes Stephanie, All I've had ever is males which I've steered, year after year, until last year she finally had a heifer. She's a cross but I'll still be keeping her for breeding because she's looking good at 12 months, a cut above the rest.

Sorry to hear that sad news Clive, very frustrating. Hope the heifer turns out to be as good for you.

Regards,

Colin

Hi Clive,

I'm really sorry, and to go the way she did was awful for you as well as her. I'm pleased you have a heifer from her though.

Vicki

We too have just (Friday) lost our faithful 11 year old Matriach, she was calving and the vet had to pull the calf out which thankfully was fit and well but the mother had milk fever and was treated by the vet but couldn't get back up. Three visits from the vet later she lost the will to live. We were devastated but the vet said there was nothing more we could have done for her than we did. She has left us with a very cheeky fit and fast on the hoof heifer that we are bucket feeding while we decide if one of the other new mothers may take care of her. We wonder, will the herd accept her OK without her mother to look after her (they've seen her and smelt her through the fence)?
To make matters worse we were reported to the RSPCA for throwing a bucket of water over the cow and walking off and leaving her when she first went down. We didn't, we fetched a bucket of water for her to drink and then gently sprinkled a bit over her back (she probably didn't feel any of it) before we erected a tent to shield her from the searing heat (last Saturday). The RSPCA inspector was more than happy with what we were doing and didn't even know that we had already had the vet out or the circumstances as to how the cow was down and the calf born. What a week. Who needs nosy neighbours. We just don't know why they did it to us.

Hi djaneyb,

Probably not a neighbour but someone just passing, but none the less a terrible thing to happen when you are upset already.

I'm really sorry that you lost the cow.

I know with my premmie calf, big fat girl now, I take her out to the herd of a morning and she sticks with them all day and they accepted her quite happily (she didn't meet them until she was 8 weeks old). I still bring her in at night, but won't once she joins the weaners and they form a little click. Also we have dingoes so I didn't want to chance that she would leave the herd and stand alone in the bush calling me (she does come down and wait late in the afternoon some days well away from the herd and ready to come home).

In a field situation without predators, once she's a few weeks old and you see she's well and truly in the thick of it, I'd see how she went, but initially I'd lock her in a yard at night.

Vicki

Tough luck djaneyb.

It's a good job your silly neighbours didn't see me at work then. I tried to get the dead calf out of mine, it was almost there, but first one foot came off, then the other. Next job would have been to cut the calf up and pull it out in pieces. We then shot her out of compassion, but it wouldn't have looked very compassionate!!!!

Hope your heifer turns out well. I'd get her onto creep feed as young as possible and create a creep area that only she can get into, or bring her in to feed, whichever. I don't now what age they will take creep, never fed them young?

Good luck