One of our young cows began showing signs of something going wrong in mid-September.
This little cow bred at 2 years of age, showed no signs of expecting, then surprised us on July 4th with a late calf.
She was thriving! Her weight remained consistent, her coat was shiny, her eyes clear, and her attitude was amazing! She looked as though she was going to be a fantastic producer.
Then, at the end of the rut, one of the yearling bulls pursued her relentlessly for 3 days straight. I noticed what seemed to be some gimpishness in the hindquarters, so we monitored her for the next few weeks. I pulled fecals to be sure we hadn't picked up any parasite issues during the birth, nursing, and rut periods.
All good.
But she started losing weight and her attitude was solemn.
We pulled fecals again in October, trying to get a grasp on what was causing the weight loss and lack of energy she was displaying. I still felt there was injury that had resulted from the 3-day pursuit. And, honestly was hopeful that was the root cause. The injury we can manage most of the time.
Again, her parasite load was within zero margins and egg counts were nil. But she was continuing to decline. This time her calf showed about 600 eggs of trich, we treated it with 2cc's of Dectomax.
In the third week of October, she developed extreme watery discharge (diarrhea) unlike anything we've witnessed. To the point, there was no way to even gather samples for more fecal testing. So, the vet was called to the ranch and we ran her through the handling system for further testing. Swabs (PCR) were collected during the overall exam. All respiratory was clear and the rate was normal, with clear bright eyes, no fever, no nasal discharge, no salivating, and nothing that would indicate common illnesses.
During the physical exam, the vet agreed there had been some form of trauma to her back, noting that her lumbar vertebrae were displaced. Stress from pain could be a major culprit for rapid weight loss.
We opted to give her more recovery time while the test samples were evaluated, fall round-up was scheduled for 2 weeks away. Allowing her that amount of time, if she didn't continue to decline, seemed reasonable with the amount of daily monitoring I invest in the entire herd.
Unfortunately, the next day, she was in far worse shape. The added stress of being isolated from the herd for that short period of time on vet day had taken a heavy toll.
I spent hours in the field monitoring and watching her. She was resistant to the calf's repeated attempts to nurse, her posture indicated increased pain and movement and mobility were severely decreased.
The window appeared to be closing faster.
The following morning I contacted the vet's office to discuss necropsy. I needed to know what had taken this cow down so quickly. Questions remained that I needed answers to, and decisions were going to have to be made quicker than I thought. Decisions I had hoped would not be the end results.
We had two options for necropsies. One, the vet would come out to the ranch and collect samples from her post-mortem. Those samples would be submitted to a state lab where basic testing would be performed, and results would take 1-2 weeks. Or, we could take her ourselves into UTCVM for more in-depth testing and review with quicker results.
Needing to know if this might be Johnes Disease, Theileria orientalis Ikeda, or a plethora of other possibilities that could have a direct impact on the herd became a real concern. Was it just stress from injury for a first-time mom who was extremely dedicated to her calf's needs?
Was there something I had missed? Something more I could have done? Less?
The decision was made that we would discharge her and move her to UTCVM for the most detailed pathology work-up available.
Friday the 3rd would be her day.
It is never an easy decision to cull an animal. Especially one as sweet-natured as this cow. And most especially when there is a calf involved. But concern for the well-being of all of the herd's health weighed intensely on my mind. And the longer she remained the more risk I may be exposing them to.
I'm including visuals of her decline. Some may be critical of my decision to err on the side of caution as her physical appearance may not seem so critical. However, allowing an animal to suffer that shows continuous decline rather than leveling off and/or improvement is inhumane in my opinion. And, her posturing, reluctance to lay down, and her mobility to attempt to stay with the herd cannot be captured in pictures and video.
WARNING: SOME OF THESE MAY BE FOUND DISTURBING TO VIEWERS!
These pictures range from July 26th through October 26th of 2023, showing the decline.
Video from September 4th (after 3 days of pursuit by a yearling bull).
Video from October 2nd (after noted weight loss and concern of delayed healing from possible injury)
Video from November 2nd (the day after the vet visit).
To say this case has weighed on my heart with extreme agony is an understatement. This is part of raising bison. The part that, during all of our research and consideration wasn't shared with potential bison producers.
All that we see and read is how 'hardy a species' bison are. How 'hands-off' the animals tend to be. But beware...unless you have no real concern for the animals, if you see them strictly as a commodity or business tool that can be culled without concern for the herd as a whole or the pain or suffering of an individual among your herd -- THIS stuff happens.
It isn't cheap. It isn't without emotional, physical, and financial injury to yourself. And, it is not a situation that the animal chose. You are, as we are, responsible for the care, well-being, and health of these animals...and it brings tons of joy, and sometimes difficult decisions and heartache.
Tomorrow is a tough day for me, for my husband, and most especially will be difficult for the herd. Despite what I read and am told about how bison will self-isolate, or how a herd will walk away from a weak animal in the herd. That has not been the case on our ranch. We run a small herd that is tightly connected. When one is pulled for harvest the re-structuring of the social hierarchy is not easy. They search for the lost one, they bellow and grunt waiting for that answer. And this is my experience with bison ranching. Days like this are what make me appreciate the uneventful, quiet, non-eventful days.
So sorry friend! Prayers of peace tomorrow and that you get the results you need.
Great post. Most people have no idea how much goes into producing the meat they eat. This is a peek behind the curtain. Thank you.