frozen Feet Help

[P-F]

Back during the really cold snap we had a heifer born and and everything was fine untill a few days later we noticed her rear feet were swollen, we called the vet and he said their was not much we could do and if her hooves start to fall off we will have to shoot her, well sure enough today I noticed her hooves are starting to sluff off, has anyone had any experience with this is there anything we can do.  I feel so helpless because we had her in deep straw and dried off but mom didn't want her for a few days.

This sucks :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

 

[kanshow]

I'm sorry..

We had one several years ago that lost both rear feet, but that calf managed to get itself around enough to eat, etc.    A lot depends on the hiefer.  If she is something worth saving, I'd call the state university, I've seen articles about prosthesis.    In our case, we got the calf up to maybe 400# and then took her to the locker. 

 

[4B Live]

Sorry to say there is nothing you can do now, besides putting her down.  In the future you should use your cattle blower on their ears, tail and feet to prevent this from happening again. when it gets that cold frostbite sets in on all those places, I was told putting vinegar on helps to get blood flowing back, however it didn't work when I tried it on the ears.

 

[red]

Sounds aweful Pearl Ann. I think the farm had one like that once. They put it down too.

Red

 

[Dusty]

Don't waste any more time on here.  Go out and put her out of her misery.  There's nothing else you can do.

 

[dori36]

Back during the really cold snap we had a heifer born and and everything was fine untill a few days later we noticed her rear feet were swollen, we called the vet and he said their was not much we could do and if her hooves start to fall off we will have to shoot her, well sure enough today I noticed her hooves are starting to sluff off, has anyone had any experience with this is there anything we can do.  I feel so helpless because we had her in deep straw and dried off but mom didn't want her for a few days.

This sucks :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

So sorry about the heifer.  When I first went to work on the ranch in Wyoming, and while getting the "tour", we finally ended up at a corral that was full of "misfits".  There were, probably, 5 calves (weaned) that had one or more feet missing.  They could never trail out to the mountain pastures but they did quite well in the corral and didn't really seem to be in pain.  They were raised to slaughter age and put in the freezer and/or taken to Packerland.  If you can deal with keeping her, and if it's only her feet and not farther up the leg, you may be able to raise her for the freezer.  I don't think she'd be a candidate for breeding as eventually the mature weight as well as the weight of carrying a calf would probably overburden her "no-feet" legs.  Luck!

 

[xxcc]

to answer your question of is there anything we can do, the calf may or may not be worth messing with.  that's your call. next time it's that cold, bring the calf in the house, put it in the bath tub, or your utility room or your basement on an old coat or blanket, or even a ratty towel...maybe somewhere where it's warm, but does not desensitize them to the natural environment.  milk the cow into a bottle and let the calf suck the bottle, maybe 3 times a day.  when you think the mother may be ready to take the calf, or if the calf is aggressive enough, suckle them up.

good luck.  i hate putting animals down too...but what takes a softer heart, putting them out of their misery when it's due, or letting them suffer because you hope they will get better and wish it wouldn't have happened.