When to call the vet

Mar 09, 2016by Farmer Liz

I was recently contacted by a friend with a sick steer. She described his symptoms and I was concerned that is sounded quite serious, but I hesitated to recommend that she called a vet. Unfortunately the animal later died, which confirmed my suspicions, however we were both comfortable that she did all she could to save him.

I hesitated for a couple of reasons:

Calling a vet out after hours can be expensive, often more than the animal is worth (and I checked that this was livestock rather than a pet)
There's not always much a vet can do for sick cattle other than give antibiotics and hydration, which may not have saved him

This incident made me think about how we decide when to call the vet and I wanted to share a few thoughts on this topic. Read the rest of at my house cow ebook blog.

Buy my ebook "Our Experience with House Cows" on Etsy, Lulu and Amazon, or email on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com to arrange delivery. More information on my house cow ebook blog.