Non-ambulatory (downer) cattle

Definition

A non-ambulatory (“downer”) animal is one that cannot rise from lying down, or cannot walk without assistance. USDA FSIS (9 CFR 309.2(b)) defines non-ambulatory disabled livestock as livestock that cannot rise from a recumbent position or cannot walk, including those with broken limbs, severed tendons or ligaments, nerve paralysis, a fractured vertebral column, or metabolic conditions.

Common causes in dairy cows: milk fever (hypocalcemia), calving paralysis (obturator or sciatic nerve injury), toxic mastitis or metritis, slips and splits on poor flooring, fractures, and severe lameness.

Rules that apply

Slaughter ban: under 9 CFR 309.3(e), non-ambulatory disabled cattle offered for slaughter must be condemned and promptly disposed of, and plant staff must tell FSIS inspectors when cattle go down after passing ante-mortem inspection. A 2009 FSIS final rule (74 FR 11463, effective April 17, 2009) removed the earlier case-by-case exception for cattle that went down after passing inspection. Downer cattle cannot enter the food supply, so there is no point shipping them, and doing so is a welfare failure.
State laws: some states add their own rules. For example, California Penal Code 599f bars slaughterhouses, stockyards, auctions, market agencies and dealers from buying, selling or receiving a non-ambulatory animal, requires humane euthanasia (or, outside slaughterhouses, immediate veterinary treatment), and bans dragging or pushing a downer with equipment; it must be moved with a sling or on a sled or wheeled conveyance. The US Supreme Court held in 2012 that the federal Meat Inspection Act preempts 599f as applied to federally inspected swine slaughterhouses (National Meat Ass’n v. Harris).
FARM and customer audits: require a written non-ambulatory protocol, and treat dragging, lifting by the tail, legs or neck, or moving a conscious downer with a loader bucket as serious findings.

What the protocol covers

Immediate care: protect from other cattle, weather and slippery floors; provide water and feed within reach; shade or shelter; soft, dry bedding.
Examination and treatment: who examines, treatment options by cause (e.g. calcium for milk fever), and when to call the vet.
Moving: only with appropriate equipment (sled, mat, stretcher, sling or float tank), never by dragging. Hip lifters are for brief assisted standing only, not lifting or carrying.
Nursing: rolling the cow side to side at set intervals, assisted standing attempts, milking her out.
Re-evaluation and decision point: a fixed time for re-assessment, and the criteria for euthanasia (see euthanasia protocol).

Requirements change; confirm the current rules with the program, the herd veterinarian or the regulator. This page is reference material, not legal advice.

How to pull it in DC305

There is no standard DC305 “down” item. Herds that track downers usually use a health event (e.g. DOWN, INJURY, or the cause event such as MF for milk fever) with detail in the remark, and the outcome shows as a later recovery, SOLD or DIED event. Names vary by herd; check the herd’s private dc305-vocab mapping.

EVENTS\B ID LACT DIM PEN FOR EDAY>-365     downer-related events and outcomes in the last year, live and left

EVENTS lists live animals only by default; \B keeps animals that were later sold or died, so the outcome is not lost. Select named events by putting the event name after EVENTS, or with \I (prompt for which events, as in EVENTS\2SI).

The time first found down, nursing checks and the decision time are usually not in DC305; they belong on a downer-care log or hospital pen sheet.

Typical range

Herd context: US Holsteins, freestall or dry-lot; requirements as of FARM Animal Care Version 5 and current FSIS rules.

Item	Typical requirement or guideline
Shipping to slaughter	Not allowed (condemned at ante-mortem)
Feed and water	Within reach at all times
Re-evaluation	At least every 12 hours, by a trained person
Decision point	If not standing and improving within about 24–48 hours, poor prognosis: euthanize or consult the vet
Moving	Sled, stretcher, sling or float tank only

Prognosis falls sharply the longer a cow is down; muscle and nerve damage from her own weight starts within hours on hard surfaces.

Common mistakes

Dragging or bucket-lifting a conscious cow. A zero-tolerance finding in most audits.
Leaving the cow where she went down, on concrete, in an alley or in the sun, without water.
Hip lifters used as a hoist for long periods, which causes injury.
No decision point. The cow stays down for days while staff hope she’ll get up.
Trying to ship a downer or a cow likely to go down in transit (see fitness to transport).
No record of when she went down, what was done and when the decision was made.