How to Use This Guide
This flowchart helps you decide when a situation requires immediate veterinary attention, when you can monitor at home, and when your own treatment may be appropriate. When in doubt, call your veterinarian. It's always better to make an unnecessary call than to delay treatment of a serious condition.
|--------------------|-----------------------------------| | Regular Hours: | _________________________________ | | After Hours/Emergency: | _________________________________ |
EMERGENCY - CALL IMMEDIATELY
These situations require immediate veterinary contact:
``` ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ CALL VET NOW IF: │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ ▶ Animal is DOWN and cannot stand │ │ │ │ ▶ Bloat - Distended left side, difficulty breathing │ │ │ │ ▶ Prolapse - Uterine or vaginal tissue outside body │ │ │ │ ▶ Difficult calving - No progress for 1-2 hours │ │ │ │ ▶ Severe bleeding - Uncontrolled or from major vessel │ │ │ │ ▶ Open fracture - Bone visible through skin │ │ │ │ ▶ Severe respiratory distress - Open-mouth breathing, │ │ extended head/neck, turning blue │ │ │ │ ▶ Multiple animals suddenly sick - Possible poisoning │ │ or contagious disease outbreak │ │ │ │ ▶ Suspected rabies exposure │ │ │ │ ▶ Penetrating eye injury │ │ │ │ ▶ Hardware disease - Sudden onset, arched back, │ │ reluctance to move, grunting │ │ │ │ ▶ Snakebite to head/face - May obstruct breathing │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ```
Decision Flowcharts by Symptom
FEVER (Temperature >103°F)
``` Animal has fever (>103°F) │ ▼ ┌─────────────────┐ │ >105°F? │ └────────┬────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────────┐ │ CALL VET │ │ Other symptoms?│ │ SAME DAY │ └───────┬────────┘ └────────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │Check symptom│ │Monitor 24hrs │ │flowchart │ │Recheck temp │ └─────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │ ▼ Fever persists? YES │ NO ▼ ▼ CALL VET Continue SAME DAY monitoring ```
RESPIRATORY SIGNS
``` Respiratory Problem Observed │ ▼ ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Open-mouth breathing, blue membranes, │ │ severe distress, head extended? │ └────────────────────┬───────────────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │ EMERGENCY │ │ Single animal │ │ CALL NOW │ │ or multiple? │ └────────────┘ └────────┬────────┘ SINGLE │ MULTIPLE ▼ ▼ ┌──────────────┐ ┌────────────────┐ │Check for: │ │CALL VET TODAY │ │-Temp │ │Possible outbreak│ │-Nasal disch │ └────────────────┘ │-Coughing │ └──────┬───────┘ ▼ ┌──────────────────────────┐ │ High fever (>104°F) OR │ │ Labored breathing OR │ │ Not eating? │ └───────────┬──────────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────────┐ │CALL VET │ │Monitor 24-48hrs│ │SAME DAY │ │Treat per │ └────────────┘ │protocol if │ │established │ └────────────────┘ ```
LAMENESS
``` Lameness Observed │ ▼ ┌────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Non-weight bearing (leg held up)? │ └────────────────┬───────────────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌─────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────┐ │ Check for: │ │ Mild to moderate │ │ -Open fracture │ │ lameness │ │ -Severe swelling │ └───────────┬──────────┘ │ -Joint involvement │ ▼ └──────────┬──────────┘ ┌────────────────────┐ ▼ │ Check foot for: │ ┌──────────────────────┐ │ -Swelling between │ │ Open fracture OR │ │ toes (foot rot) │ │ joint effusion? │ │ -Puncture wound │ └───────────┬──────────┘ │ -Abscess │ YES │ NO └─────────┬──────────┘ ▼ ▼ ▼ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ Foot issue? │CALL VET │ │CALL VET │ YES │ NO │EMERGENCY │ │SAME DAY │ ▼ ▼ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ Treat per Joint protocol swelling? ┌───────────┐ │ │Monitor │ YES │response │ ▼ └───────────┘ CALL VET SAME DAY ```
DIARRHEA (Scours)
``` Diarrhea/Scours │ ▼ ┌────────────────────┐ │ Calf or adult cow? │ └──────────┬─────────┘ CALF │ COW ▼ ▼ ┌─────────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────────┐ │ Check: │ │ Bloody? Multiple cows? │ │ -Age (<3 weeks higher │ │ Severe dehydration? │ │ risk) │ └───────────┬────────────┘ │ -Dehydration (skin tent)│ YES │ NO │ -Blood in stool │ ▼ ▼ │ -Weakness/depression │ ┌───────────┐ ┌──────────┐ └───────────┬─────────────┘ │CALL VET │ │Monitor, │ ▼ │SAME DAY │ │ensure │ ┌─────────────────────────────┐ └───────────┘ │hydration │ │ Dehydration moderate-severe │ └──────────┘ │ OR blood in stool │ │ OR weak/depressed │ │ OR <1 week old │ └───────────────┬─────────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────────────┐ │CALL VET │ │Treat with │ │SAME DAY │ │electrolytes, │ └───────────┘ │monitor closely │ │24-48 hours │ └─────────┬─────────┘ ▼ Not improving? │ ▼ CALL VET ```
CALVING PROBLEMS
``` Calving Situation │ ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Water bag visible or feet showing? │ └─────────────────┬───────────────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────────┐ │ How long has she been │ │ Signs of labor but no │ │ actively pushing? │ │ progress? │ └────────────┬──────────────┘ └───────────┬────────────┘ ▼ ▼ ┌────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────┐ │ >1-2 hours with │ │ How long since │ │ no progress? │ │ signs began? │ └─────────┬──────────┘ └──────────┬─────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ▼ ┌──────────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │ >4-6 hours │ │CALL VET │ │Monitor │ │ no progress? │ │IMMEDIATELY│ │progress │ └──────┬───────┘ └───────────┘ └─────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌───────────┐ Monitor │CALL VET │ │IMMEDIATELY│ └───────────┘
IF YOU EXAMINE AND FIND: ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ • Only tail or rear coming first (breech) │ │ • Head back / leg(s) back and can't correct │ │ • Twins tangled │ │ • No room to work │ │ • Calf appears dead │ │ │ │ ➜ CALL VET IMMEDIATELY │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ```
EYE PROBLEMS
``` Eye Problem │ ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Injury (penetrating, foreign body, │ │ trauma) OR completely closed? │ └─────────────────┬───────────────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌───────────┐ ┌────────────────────┐ │CALL VET │ │ Tearing, squinting,│ │SAME DAY │ │ cloudiness? │ └───────────┘ └─────────┬──────────┘ YES │ NO ▼ ▼ ┌──────────────┐ Minor │ Likely │ irritation │ pinkeye? │ Monitor └──────┬───────┘ ▼ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ Single eye, early: │ │ Treat per protocol │ │ Monitor 24-48 hours │ │ │ │ Both eyes OR severe │ │ OR not responding: │ │ CALL VET │ └─────────────────────┘ ```
SUDDEN DEATH OR FOUND DEAD
``` Found Animal Dead │ ▼ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ • DO NOT MOVE THE BODY │ │ • Note position and surroundings │ │ • Check for others showing symptoms │ │ • Note what animal was doing before │ │ (if known) │ └────────────────────┬─────────────────────┘ ▼ CALL VET TODAY │ ▼ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Vet will determine if: │ │ • Necropsy needed │ │ • Reportable disease testing required │ │ • Other animals at risk │ │ • Proper disposal method │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ ```
What Information to Have Ready
When you call the vet, have the following information ready to go.
About the Animal(s)
- Animal ID/description
- Age, sex, breed
- How many affected
- Pregnancy status (if applicable)
- Recent history (new arrivals, handling, vaccines)
About the Problem
- What symptoms you're seeing
- When you first noticed the problem
- How quickly symptoms developed
- Is it getting better, worse, or staying the same
- Temperature reading (if taken)
What You've Done
- Any treatments already given
- Products used (name, dose, when)
- Response to treatment
About Your Location
- Your address
- Where animal is located
- Can you restrain/load the animal
- Working facilities available
When in Doubt: Ask These Questions
If you're on the fence about picking up the phone, run through these four questions.
Would I want to know about this if it were my animal? If the answer is yes, make the call.
Could this get worse overnight or over the weekend? If there's a real chance it could, call now rather than waiting.
Is there something I might be missing? A quick phone call can often clarify things in two minutes.
What's the cost of being wrong? If delay could mean losing the animal or causing permanent damage, the call is always worth it.
After Hours Considerations
Questions to Ask Yourself:
- Can this safely wait until morning?
- Is the animal stable or deteriorating?
- Is there a real risk of losing the animal?
Situations That Can Usually Wait:
- Mild lameness (walking on it)
- Minor wounds (not bleeding heavily)
- Mild diarrhea in adult cattle (eating/drinking)
- Mild respiratory symptoms (no distress)
Situations That Cannot Wait:
- All emergencies listed above
- Active deterioration
- Pain that cannot be managed
- Prolapse of any kind
- No progress in calving
