cow in a sling, any ideas?

[jules77]

This morning I drove past a field and there was a digger or tracker, and on the end of the pick up hook there was a cow in a sling suspended about two foot off the ground. First of all I thought it was dead and the farm would be going to move it. But I have just come past again, 2 hours later, and it is still there, no sign of the farmer, and the cow is most definitely alive as it was looking around. What would be matter with it, and why has it been left there for so long?

[Cetti]

Oh jules, your post did make me laugh, but I think there may be a very kind farmer behind all this.

My first thought would be to ask if there was a stream nearby, as the sling would be used to hoist the cow out if it were stuck in mud and then kept on to calm the animal.

Another reason would be if the cow had any injury to its hindquarters or perhaps mastitis (after calving). The sling would keep it immobile and accelerate the healing process.

[wolf63]

.....and you didn't think to photograph the cow, or even get a clip to put on YouTube.

Wonder what the cow thinks of all this hanging around!

[bigmamma]

It was probably thinking ..." I can see my house from here "

Seriously though ....it may have been being rescued from being stuck somewhere , like in mud , or in a ditch . I saw a poor cow on the tv the other day , stuck in mud . The firemen put their hose round it and tried to pull it out , to no avail , and the vet eventually put it to sleep ! I was wondering then why they didn't get a sling and crane to get it out.

[VillageVicar]

I�m not sure about cattle, but when I was a child my horse developed colic. I had been taught that should this happen, it was essential to keep the horse from laying down, otherwise it�s gut could become twisted causing a painful death. I know that a cow�s digestive system is quite different than a horses, but it did occur to me that this could have been a reason. However, I suspect Cetti is spot on!

Be well

Fr Bill

[bigmamma]

Hello Fr Bill :-) xx

[wolf63]

I bet that the cow was a-moo-sed by its predicament.

Took me an hour to think that up!

[VillageVicar]

Good morning Big Mamma! How are you this beautiful day? I'm about to head out to collect my daughter from her ballet class. Glad I caught you!

Be well

Fr Bill

[jules77]

well done wolf.

The more I think about it, the more I think the cow wasnt about to be put down or something, as why would the farmer put it in a sling. There is no stream or anything nearby, and the field didnt look muddy, but whereas there is normally a lot of cows in there, the others were no where to be seen. I think it is as cetti says, it had an injury, and the farmer needed to keep its weight off its legs.

[bigmamma]

Thankyou Fr Bill , I am well , and I hope you and your family are too. Ah ballet , I adore it , I studied from the age of 3 .
Has your daughter been taking lessons long and has she taken any exams ? :-) xxx

[bigmamma]

Please excuse me jules , I am not attempting to hijack :-0

[weeal]

lol @ mamma, that one-liner was funny hon

[Kleiber]

I'm not a cattle farmer, as you all know, mainly sheep & chickens, but I'm wondering if she may have been suffering from calcium deficiency (that sometimes makes cattle go down). It can be sorted, by getting the animal up in a sling & giving it calcium supplements. I'll ask my cattle farmer friend tomorrow & let you all know! K xx

[sambro]

I have seen this done for sick horses to prevent them from going down, but never with a cow. Cant think of any other reason to have left it suspended there for hours. Poor cow!

[Noweia]

It would have been either a milk fever case, or nerve damage.

Both occur around calving time. Milk fever usually happens after calving, when the demand for calcium to go into the milk is so high, and the cow's body can't keep up. There is then a calcium deficiency. Calcium is required for muscles to work properly; with not enough calcium, the cow is effectively paralysed and can't get up.

Sometimes during calving, the calf presses on the nerves supplying the hind legs and damages them. This can be very slight, where the cow wobbles a bit then gets better, or it can be severe, with the cow unable to get up at all for several days until the nerve heals. In very severe cases the cow is put down because the nerves don't heal.

All well and good, but cows cannot lie down on the same side for more than 6 hours without nerve damage occuring. So cows with milk fever and leg paralysis have to be turned or rolled every so often so this damage doesn't happen. Better still, the farmer puts the cow in a sling and holds it upright - cow happy, legs not permanently damaged, cow doesn't have to be turned every 4-6 hours, farmer happy.

[Noweia]

Unfortunately, both milk fever and hindlimb paralysis quite often turn out to be fatal to the cow. If it can't get up, and can't walk, it has to be put down.

Hope this helps!

[Kleiber]

Cheers, Noweia - that's what I suspected & you've confirmed that I'm not a complete eedyot when it comes to cattle!