Since the 29th of June our 7 months old bull calf Felix was unable to stand on his own. A cow or a bull has to be able to put weight on their hind-legs in order to stand up fully. Felix was unable to do so, and these past three weeks were very exhausting for the calf and the humans, who nursed him.
The veterinarian diagnosed pneumonia and we had to inject him subcutaneously antibiotics for the first days.
I turned him daily every two hours, and made sure he is comfortable. I massaged his legs at least three times per day in order to prevent that the blood circulation will be damaged, furthermore Felix enjoyed up to four sessions of ‘calf-physiotherapy’ before I tucked him in for the night with a horse blanket and a fleece jacket from my husband.
It is upmost important that a sick animal has always plenty of food and fresh water available, furthermore it is necessary to clean the stable several times per day, so his bedding is clean and soft.
I phoned the vet quite often and he told me, that we had to get him on his feet as soon as possible, because the longer a cow is down, the higher the chance that they will never get up again, and we had to make sure that he is in an area where he cannot hurt himself if he tries to stand unsuccessfully on his own.
My husband was able to design and build a great “cow-lift” and this was very helpful, because I was unable to lift a 70 kilo bull calf on my own, so every day I somehow managed to get him in his “hammock” and lifted him up with a pulley-system.
The vet prepared me for the worse, but I was not willing to give up on this little guy, and I was beyond excited, when he stood up on his own after he was down for exactly 3 long weeks!
Since yesterday he is joining his friend Friedolin in our garden and both buddies are enjoying the fresh grass and companionship.
Conclusive I can say, that these past weeks were indeed very exhausting and a lot of days were very disappointing and sad, but it taught me as well to not give up hope, to be dedicated and upmost respectful to these wonderful animals – in retro perspective it was very rewarding to be able to help this precious bull calf, because he has a right to live and he showed his appreciation every day through his friendly behaviour towards me and his willingness to work with me.