Down Cow Policy

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First and foremost, the TMF will work to prevent down cows by all appropriate management and medical efforts, including prevention of milk fever, keeping floors from becoming slippery, care at calving, and good preventive foot care.

Despite these efforts, we will still experience an occasional cow that is unable to get up on her own (e.g. pinched nerve at calving).

When this occurs:

• Move the cow (if she is not already there) to one of the calving stalls on deep straw bedding. Cows that are down for other reasons may develop nerve and muscle damage from laying on hard surfaces that will make them permanently unable to rise. Deep bedding and rolling the cow onto her other hind leg periodically can help to prevent this from happening.
• Try to determine the cause of the cow’s condition. All down cows should be given a bottle of CMPK solution (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium), unless the cause for her being down is obviously not metabolic. There is no withhold time for this treatment.
• Determine if the cow’s condition is one that is likely to respond to time and treatment. If so, then give the cow 20 ml of Dexamethasone (40 mg) IM to help prevent pressure injury and to treat existing nerve problems, etc. There is no withhold time for this treatment. If there is a specific condition to treat, proceed with appropriate therapy.
• Make sure the cow has continuous access to fresh feed and fresh water and roll her every few hours to shift the burden on her hind legs.
• If at any time the cow is deemed to be unlikely to recover, she should be euthanized using the captive bolt device. Unless there is notable improvement or hope for recovery in the individual case, few cows should be allowed to continue as a down cow for more than 48 hours.
• Down cows should not be moved, except as needed to get them onto deep bedding or, weather-permitting, to soft ground in a shaded area outside.
• Down cows should be euthanized on the TMF before being transported for disposal.