We got the preliminary results back from necropsy

[jennywenny]

Surprisingly we got an email (within a few hours of dropping Buttercup off) with the preliminary results.  They stated possible abomasal impaction. Now I'm racking my brain with would've, could've, should've!!  I wish they hadn't sent anything until it was all done.  Now we wait 7-10 days for the final results.

I'm so mad and sad!  I can't sleep thinking about what we (mainly me because I'm the one who cared for her) did wrong to cause a perfectly good cow to die.  Was it just poor management in our inexperience?  We have fed her round bale hay cut from our place since we got her.  Did she just get a bad bale?  She had been eating on this bale for a couple -3 weeks.  Maybe there were warning signs earlier that I missed? And how would we have know it was bad hay?  Could the Vet have treated her differently if we knew what we were dealing with and could she have pulled through?  Should we stop feeding the calf from the same bale?  I had been feeding her beet pulp along with her dairy ration up until a month or so ago to help with her condition but a neighbor (former dairyman) said it was a waste of money since there was no real protein to make any difference.  Could the fiber in the beet pulp been helping her to digest the poorer quality hay?  I hate that we have had to learn these lessons the hard way but I need answers so we can learn from our mistakes. I hope they find something else in the results that was out of our control otherwise it will kill me to know we were responsible in some way.  Crazy part is that a week before I had a dream that I poisoned her by feeding her something she should eat.  I never have dreams (or at least remember them) and this one woke me up so upset!

[elnini]

Don't panic, you don't know that there's anything you did to cause this. Do they say what caused the impaction or what comprised the impaction ? It could have been a long time in the making, it could have been self-inflicted (cows don't always make wise choices) and it may have been a complete freak.

Until everything comes back and they elaborate on the chain of events please don't beat yourself up. {{{hugs}}}

[corrae]

^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^ elnini is spot on correct…. You can't even go there. The hay didn't cause the impaction--something else did. She could have had baling twine in there, rope, landscape fabric, you name it. Moreover, if it was an impaction, it could have started before you even owned her.

And please please please, don't go into the "coulda shoulda woulda" loop…. All that does is make yourself feel worse and worse about something that is over and done with. The best thing you can do now is to first, know that you did the best you could with what knowledge and advice you had. Buttercup was suffering and you allowed her a release from that. Secondly, you are doing the right thing by coming to this forum and learning all you can. Many of us have lost beloved cows with little or no reason. The best we can do is honor their memory by learning, correcting our protocol if it needs it, and moving on.

So very sorry about Buttercup… you will hold her in your heart forever.

Hugs.

[dexterfarm]

I had an 8 month old die of that once. I had got her just a couple of months before. Mine had no foren objects and no reason for it to happen. A change in feed or even a change in water can cause it. Some are just prone to it. It can be treated if caught early enough. however it is almost never caught early enough. it is also likely to reoccur. Mine starved to death because nothing can pass into the intestine. I had no clue what was happening until it was to late.

[AnnB (NE)]

So sorry for your loss.


Regarding Beet Pulp - your neighbor needs to understand that there is LOT more to nutrition than just protein!
Beet Pulp is a high energy, easily digestible fiber.

Ann B

[jerseylovinliz]

The main reasons I like beet pulp is that it's an easily digestible, low protein, high fiber supplement. Protein is to be used in a balancing act it's not king of the cow food chain.

2-3 days ago I put out a round bale for my girls just like always. When I got done centering the ring around the bale & turned back to the truck one of mine had grabbed the net wrap from the bale that I had put in the bed & she was chowing down on it. I turned my back for maybe 32 seconds! If I hadn't been there & seen her I wouldn't have known. If I had cut it off the bale in pieces she could've easily eaten a hunk of it & I'd never have known. There's 1,000 lbs of good hay 4 feet away but let's go for some plastic! Good plan Butter, good plan.

I'm pretty anal about trash in the field but I spent a good 4 hrs walking around yesterday picking up stuff from who knows where that had blown in over the few days. We're not by a main road, no near neighbors, etc this stuff (coke boxes, chip bags, doughnut wrappers, etc) came from far away. I can't control the wind or what people throw away 1-2 miles away I just pick up every piece I see & pray a lot.

Another KFCer lost her Jersey b/c she ate a t-post clip while her husband was working on a fence. She was fine one night & next morning gone, they found out from the necropsy. (Family of 5 was right there the entire time)

I'm not saying your Buttercup ate trash or net wrap I'm just saying life happens even when we are prepared, on our toes & paying attention. You did the absolute best you could for your girl, never doubt that.

I sincerely hope the necropsy is able to give you some answers so you can maybe have a little peace. Based on your description it doesn't sound like you (or the vet) dilly-dallied around & it doesn't sound like much, if anything, could have been done differently.

[suzorse]

it is not what you were feeding,or anything you did, cows eat all kinds of weird things ,sometimes not intended baling twine left in hay plastic bags blown in a field , I sold a 6 month old reg bull calf , I had since he was a couple weeks old , the new owners later started having issues , bloating and stomach issues , so they butchered him , an when they were fixing heart for dinner ,and slicing the heart they found a piece 1" of red thick plastic from a weed eater , I had the neighbor try to some brush hogging with a wheeled
weed eater , we never did go out in the field , just where I put some pens, and I was picking up longer pieces of the thick red twine , so ultimately he got hardware from plastic weed eater string Suzanne

[Deleted]

Don't beat yourself up "Jennywenny" Life is a learning experience, and don't go looking to keep a running total of all the mistakes you have made.
Wait for the full results to come in and the review the ALL the data first. See if you need to make any changes, then make them and move on.
Most of us have lost livestock at one time or another, it always stings but you keep learning and moving forward.
Feel better, Don't kick yourself.
Let us all know what the final results are.
Andrew

[charlesh]

I lost a calf my first or second year to baling twine impaction. My "expert" neighbor told me not to worry about getting the twine off the round bales when we took it out. The calf must have eaten it just like spaghetti. Yes it stinks to lose one. But the frustration and anger does go away.

You still don't know what was the cause. As many folks have already said, lets wait for the final results. It seems likely that there was an impaction. They would have seen something early on in the necroscopy which is why they sent you the email. It would have neen nice to send you a picture, but maybe that's not something they include. Even with an impaction, you don't know what the cause of it was. You've already heard several possibilities.

  I'd want to beat myself up over this, too. I'm very sympathetic to how you feel. Part of the healing is going to be getting that final repot and reading over it together.

[jennywenny]

Thanks everyone!  I knew I could come here to vent, seek answers to my questions and receive support/comfort.  We never knew anything about hardware disease until out Vet come out this week so I guess that's the 1st lesson we have learned.  From now on I will have a magnet put in all our cows.  The previous owners of our farm were notorious for throwing trash on the ground.  For 3 years I have been picking up baling twine and other garbage.  Just the other day I picked up an old use syringe.  I haven't thought much about this "trash" expect for it being an aggravation as we've have many times gotten this stuff caught in our mower blades.  I will take all your (and my husband's) advice and wait to see the final results.  I'm just trying to make sense of this loss.  Thank you all for your kind words.  They have really helped!  I'm so glad I've found a great online community for advice, knowledge and support in the good times and bad.

[susaq]

We have the same problem with all kinds of trash. Broken glass is the worst! We have spent 7 years cleaning it up. You sound like the kind of person who has a very tender and loving heart. Please be kind to yourself. Buttercup would not want you to second guess her care that she got. Sounds like she got the best care and love that any girl could have gotten.

Sue

[simplynaturalfarm]

Our property is covered in garbage all the time from the wind and people throwing things out the window. We pick it up constantly, but I still find feed bags, grain bags, FERTILIZER bag (I had a panic moment when I found a cow with her head in one and thought is she going to die) and so on.

Nobody here removes baling twine from their wraps either. My husband said he has yet to open a cow that has died from baling twine issues - he and I argue this every single time a bale is put out! I told him "You are pulling the twine OFF that ring for me"

All it takes is ONE cow. For the 5 minutes it takes to pull twine off, there is the relief of me knowing the cow can't die from that for me and if one cow eats it and dies that round bale just cost me $2000 instead of $25.

My BIL had an impaction that my husand had to tube all kinds of things to save her and it was poor quality grazing in November that was all stalk and nothing, no protein at all and then this cow got stuck away from the water tub for about 12 hours. The others did fine, but it was being stuck away from water that caused her problems. Maybe your girl had a bit of that - not trying to make you feel bad, just sharing some of our experiences so you can file them away for the future and never repeat OUR mistakes!

[charlesh]

There was no doubt about mine being from baling twine, simplynaturalfarm . I opened it up myself and there was a ball of twine in it the size of a basketball (pehaps I exagerate that, but it was huge to my untrained eye). Again, the calf must have got an end of it and just kept pulling it in like a long noodle. I am a firm believer in removing all twine from my hay now, the synthetic stuff of couse, but also the sisal.

[milkmaid]

Probably referring to vagal indigestion - not usually your problem, it's the cow.

www.merckmanuals.com/vet/digestive_system/diseases_of_the_ruminant_forestomach/vagal_indigestion_syndrome_in_ruminants.html

Surprised they sent you results directly. At the diagnostic lab here we send results to the DVM who then relays the information (in lay-person language) to the client.

[Vikki]

I can totally relate to your concerns. You obviously love your cow and you did everything you knew to do in order to take care of her. That is the best you can do, you can't do more. I worry that my animals will suffer from my inexperience. But even the experts don't know everything. Learning is good , try not to blame yourself. So sorry you lost her