Breeding has been going on for many weeks now, with most farmers happy with submission rates. Hopefully, conception rates will match the good submission rates.

Unfortunately, I have seen the usual increase in injuries related to bulling. These can be mild to crushed tail heads to more severe back and hip injuries. Commonly, we will see injuries in cows that are bulling or in heat with mounting activity leading to injuries. Also, watch out for injuries in stock bulls, as this can often impair mating ability. With some severe injuries, you will also see a decrease in fertility in stock bulls.

Any type of injury, whether mild or severe, is caused by pain, which ultimately comes from inflammation at the point of this pain. This is why we see these animals responding well to anti-inflammatory medication. It allows injured tissue to recover quicker and also inhibits the pain the animal is experiencing. This inhibition of pain allows return to normal behaviour, such as grazing etc.

One tip with cows that have nerve injuries affecting back limbs is that they should avoid slippy surfaces until power has recovered.

Of course, with severe locomotor injuries which involve bone fractures, etc, these painkillers will help reduce pain, but will not allow quick return to normal functioning. This is why it is important to determine if it is an injury that is stopping the cow, for example, getting up and not some other metabolic disease, such as milk fever. This is where your vet will examine an animal and assess locomotor and neurological function.

Lower back injuries

A lot of the injuries will tend to be lower back injuries where the cow will have less power and knuckling around the fetlocks, often in both legs. When fractures or dislocations are ruled out, this will often point towards a nerve injury, usually of the spine. These cases can take some time to recover from and are aided by anti-inflammatories, which your vet can prescribe.

In my experience, these cows respond well to once-a-day milking left on soft sod and can take four to six weeks for normal muscle and nerve function to return. So, again, it is good to know if there are fractures, nerve damage or just muscular or tendon strains. The outcome can be so different in each.

One tip with cows that have nerve injuries affecting back limbs is that they should avoid slippy surfaces until power has recovered. You are trying to prevent them doing the splits (obturator paralysis), which can have a very poor prognosis for recovery.

To lift or not to lift

For the downer cow, once milk fever or other conditions have been ruled out, there is often the question about whether to lift them or not. It is one of those questions where many opinions differ. I am not a huge advocate of lifting cows in the short-term.

I feel if cows are kept pain-free and on soft sod, they have the best chance of getting up themselves. Cows that are down should be at least turned over twice daily to avoid muscle damage on the side that they are lying on. Cows that are down for a while can be aided sometimes by gentle lifting.

In my experience, great skill is required to do this properly and safely. I am not a fan of clamps, but do like flotation devices or large straps applied in front of back legs and behind forelimbs. Cows that are recumbent for more than seven days generally can have very variable prognoses.

So, in summary: define the type of injury, accommodate the cow to the needs of that injury and definitely chat to your vet about pain relief (anti-inflammatory medication).

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