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Faunsdale, AL | There used to be a version of those "ambulances" called a Cow Buoy sold in the US. We've got one out in the weeds behind the barn still. Of the cows we put into that thing over the years, very few got much benefit from it. Most of those only needed a simple lift to help them back on their feet and then they were ready to go off on their own to fully recover from milk fever etc in time. A very few which couldn't recover so quickly, learned to walk in the thing and use it to rest in when their legs were tired as they rehabilitated over a few days. One old cow went on a road trip when we weren't looking and ended up in a ditch! Most of the cows that were put in the whole lifting band etc tended to just hang in it. After all, it's a lot like a casting rig that makes one lay down. If you did get one standing up in the thing, it was very difficult to get all the apparatus off her without provoking an excape attempt during which she would fall down again. For the cows which had recovered a lot of strength by that time, we could move it away and they would get up on their own later.
Whatever method you use, taking good care of down cows is hard work. Can be very rewarding, but more often discouraging hard work. I remember one old cow which had been crawling around the grassy area I had her in for several days. She would never be in the same spot for even an hour. Finally on Christmas morning, when I went to the barn, she was standing up eating hay! Whenever I am considering a down cow, I try to remember her instead of those that never got up on their own!
Making the transiton from being helped by any of these aids and being off on their own is the difficult part. You need a magic wand you could wave and make it all release and disappear, leaving the cow on good footing and not scared and trying to run off. I've always said the hip clamps need a quick release latch on them so you could get them off instantly when the cow realizes she can do it on her own. By the time you crank them open, she has usually tried to get away and fallen down again or has given up and is hanging in the clamp. | |
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How do you lift cows?
