HARNESS
€395 Including Delivery
My Channel
How to fit the harness in a few minutes.
This cow was down and lifted for 5 days but the harness was never removed during the five days.
The calf was able to drink from the cow when she was lifted.
The cow is now well on her way to a full recovery
This cow never recovered. She appears to have had a fracture of the rear left leg.
Regardless of production systems, wherever you have cows you will occasionally have downercows. We are proud that our harness, made in Ireland, has helped customers in the following countries.
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Bernd Tammena, Germany has posted on Facebook that he has already saved 2 cows using the harness
Dominik Spring
Amlikon-Bissegg, Switzerland
“I purchased the harness over a year ago. Between myself and my neighbours, we would now have lifted about 10 cows. The harness is much gentler on cows than other lifting devices, 8 of the 10 cows that we have lifted have recovered
We found the harness very easy to put on the cow and we always leave the harness on the cow between lifts.”
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Mark Amos, Essex UK
I ordered the harness on a Friday afternoon, and it was delivered 10 am the following Tuesday. We lifted our heifer 4 times a day, leaving the harness on her all the time. When the heifer was lifted, she could stay up for about 20 minutes and then go down again but could not get herself up.
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It was Tuesday the following week before she got herself up by herself.
I decided to then leave the harness on her to Friday, to make sure she could still get up by herself. I took the harness off on the Friday afternoon. The heifer has now fully recovered.
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So once fitted the harness remained on the heifer nearly 2 weeks, I found that it was quite easy to lift the animal by the tractor frontend loader on my own.
I am happy to recommend the harness, the speedy service and the advice over the phone from Paul.
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Dr Phil Poulton chronicles the experience of a farmer in Victoria Australia using the lifting harness.
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After 12 days of nursing this Murray Grey heifer finally recovered from her calving paralysis. The farmer implemented gold standard nursing and using the harness to achieve an excellent result.
She was lifted 3 or 4 times each day to allow the circulation in the legs to recover. This was only possible by using the harness, a hip clamp would have damaged the cow over that number of lifts.
The farmer found the harness very easy and convenient to use as its left in place between lifts. Also easy to take her outside for a pick of grass every now and then.
Regular lifting and nursing in a confined pen with lots of deep, soft bedding is essential
Starting to take her own weight so the harness is lowered a little. If she was to stumble she'll only fall a little way into the harness, which is acting as a 'safety net' and no harm can be done
In between lifts the harness is tied tightly to make sure her legs don't get tangled up in the straps
Progressing in her recovery
Easy to move her around without any risk of injury
Take her outside for a drink at the trough
Starting to stand nicely now 12 days on
Fully recovered!
What can be done with a downer cow?
The normal lying bout for a cow is between 50 and 100 minutes ie when a cow has been lying for this length of time she will get up, stretch herself and lye back down again. A downer-cow is unable to do this so regardless of the initial cause, the cow will quickly develop pressure-induced damage to muscles and nerves of the pelvic limbs, especially when lying on a hard surface. The hindlimb muscles of the leg the animal is lying on are compressed between the bones and the skin by the physical pressure from the weight of the recumbent cow.
Can downer-cows recover?
Research conducted on dairy farms in Australia involving 218 downer-cows found that the quality of the nursing care had a profound effect on the cow’s chances of recovery. Cows that had received satisfactory nursing recovered in 43% of cases while only 5% of cows receiving unsatisfactory care survived.
​What is good care for a downer-cow?
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Get the cow off the concrete. Clean straw on concrete is useless as the cow will very quickly move the straw and be laying on the concrete. Put a generous amount of sand on the floor before bedding the cow or preferably move the cow to where there is a build-up of bedding.
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The harness is ideal to move a cow to a field for a few hours during the day, if the weather is ok. The cow should be returned her to a covered pen overnight.
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Milk fever should always be considered to be a contributing factor in a downer-cow close to calving or after calving.
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A cow that is down as a result of a difficult calving will benefit from treatment with anti-inflammatory medication.
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Lift the cow within 24 hours. Everyone has a story of a cow that was down for a long period of time and eventually got up without ever receiving assistance. Occasionally this does happen but as a general rule, more cows will recover if they are lifted with a proper lifting device.
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The downer-cow should be lifted for a maximum of 30 minutes per lift, but this can be repeated 4 times per day. Use a harness that can be left on the cow between lifts so that one person can manage the downer-cow alone.
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Lift the cow to a height that she can take the weight on to her own feet if she wants.
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If the downer-cow is a calved cow, milk her when she is lifted.
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Feed a good quality tmr in a raised trough when the cow is lifted, a wheel barrow is ideal. This will help settle the cow.
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The majority of cows will stand within 7 days if they are going to stand. I have had customers whose cow stood after 21 days. However, from my experience, if you have given good care and the cow is still down by day 7, her chances of recovery are small.
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Recovering cows should be fitted with a pair of shackles. Leave the cow in the pen for at least 24 hours with the shackles before asking her to walk anywhere.
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