February 12, 2007

t is 3 am. I just got my boyfriend off to work and went out to check "Daisy" before he left so I could see with the logging truck headlights better. She had stayed covered and ate all her hay, so I tossed her more, but some scoundrel made off with the pitchfork. It is still snowing, but she was all toasty and warm. I think I am getting sick, I have a sore throat. So I am having tea with lemon and honey in it at the moment and typing this and checking the weather report before I go back to bed until 6 am when it is time to wake the boys.

7:30 pm update

This morning at 8 am it did not look good. The boys and I shoved her over to her other side again (on her every 2-3 hour rotation from hip to hip). She looked depressed for the first time since this happened and she did not really want to eat. But I was also justifying this as she had been eating non-stop every time I went out there. Every time I went out to her I stuffed alot of hay in front of her face. She must have been eating 2-3 bales a day. 

It snowed all night. We got 4-5 inches. It did not matter. I kept adjusting the two blankets on her almost every time I went out. Stayed with her for up to an hour all night, the went and crawled back into my bed for a couple hours. I have to admit, I am so very tired. I cannot even recall if this is the 3rd or 4th day. 

At 8 am I was pretty sure we would have to shoot her by the end of the day and deliberated all day if I should do it before anyone else got home. Then I was deliberating if I should salvage her meat for us, dogs, Amy.. or what. I felt even worse having to kill her unborn calf. 

Because alot of you guys put me on a guilt complex, I called my old boss who was not in, called 2 other vets 7 hours south who I used to work with when they lived and worked up here. I called a local vet who was on maternity leave, I even called a vet which was the next closest and 8-9 hours away from us (pretty much like 2 US States worth away from us) and not a single vet was available, just like I knew. But finally after most of the day, my old boss came into the clinic (way south as I worked at the northern satellite clinic) as he had surgery recently and has not been working, but got my message and called me 6 hours later. 

He also did not think she was broken. He thought maybe if we got her on her feet, she may stay there. So off to the feed store Amy and I ran to get a mini-bulk bag to cut into a sling, Ketamalt and Glycol P, injectable CalMagPlus and I put 250 ml into her. And he said to start her on alfalfa pellets and giver her a bunch of sweet feed, but start slowly. 

The kids, Amy and I, got the mini bulk bag out into the pasture, rolled her onto it and hooked chains up through the gate to "Teenagers" truck and we hauled her out of the pasture. She ended up where the 1,200 pound bale had been before we moved it to get her out, so she was a happy camper finding all the dropped grass seed there and was rototilling with her nose around there. She had a completely different attitude and still decided she hated "Kid" and Amy and kept trying to grab them with her horns. I am glad my cow tolerates me *L*

I got the tractor plugged in. Rolled the cow off the mini bag and started to cut it into a sling. She is used to me tossing the blankets on and off of her now, so it was actually pretty easy to slide it over her head (think of it as a huge donut and I pulled her through the donut hole) and pull her front legs though the neck hole. With all the leg massages she has been having, she was pretty good about me pulling her legs forward, through and then tuck them back under her. 

When the other peoples came back out of the house, we got it arranged around her middle section and made sure her back feet were out. 

Then my boyfriend got home from work and started up the tractor with a little difficulty, but got through the snow banks to where "Daisy" was still being a little chow-hound. After a few slips of the chains, we got it all adjusted and got her up in the air. And her back legs hung and curled forward. I was horrified. Amy and I started rubbing her legs like crazy and then her hips. I grabbed the back legs one by one and started moving them this way and that to see if anything felt broken. Nothing. So massaging we did more. 

Then her legs started to look a little more normal. We pulled them just outside square for her and lowered the bucket of the tractor. We kept resetting her feet and rubbing them. And she finally stood on them. Like solidly!!!!

We finally set her down and unchained her from the tractor and slid her sling off her bum end and then led her forward to walk out of it. 

That was 2 hours ago and she is still happy as a clam eating the seed from the hay. I still go out and check on her every half an hour or so and sit in her hay with her. She is still tolerant of me rubbing her all over her body and she was Ok with me tossing her blankets back on her. I hope she stays so sweet and not turn back into "I'm a wild cow and I hate you" attitude.

I am amazed at how much body condition she has lost since Saturday. Ok.. I guess it has been 3 days, not 4, but it feels like a month. But I am SOOOOOOO happy she is up. Even if she lays down tonight. We still have the sling to get her back up tomorrow. 

I am calling to find cattle panels tomorrow to set up a pen for her away from the other nasty cows. My bf thinks a friend of his will let us rent of borrow 4 of them. 

I have to go out now, "Kid" reported her blankets are off her and I am the only one who can get them back on her. At least it is only -8C and it quit snowing. 

Thank you everyone for your concern and private emails wishing her well.

tenzicut

Picture Top: "Daisy" yesterday when she was down for the 2nd day.

Picture Middle: "Cow Camp". Normally the gate is not tied shut with a cow halter, but the snow has the gate wonky. This is where Amy and I stayed most of the 1st night.

Picture Bottom: Finally back on her feet about 2 hours ago. It took 5 of us, a mini-bulk bag, a tractor bucket and alot of sweating and grunting.