[Marches Farmer]

Just come back from my neighbour's place where he has a downer cow and neither he nor the vet have any idea what's wrong with it.  Very stiff legs, so unable to rise, little appetite, can still move its neck, very bloodshot eyes.  Any ideas most welcome.

[Fleecewife]

I know nothing about cattle, but do they get tetanus?

[Marches Farmer]

I'd guess they can but it has no sign of an ijury and being able to move its neck and head seems untypical.  Their thoughts were heading towards some form of poisoning but they can't think of anything it may have eaten which the others haven't.

[Ladygrey]

First of all has it been given anything? 

Give her some painkiller and strong antibiotics asap while you try and figure it out,

is she unable to move or not wanting to move??? find this out by tipping her on to her side more and stretching her legs out, does she try and move them? does she pull them away from you if you bend them back?

If she is actually unable to move them I would say a spinal injury

if her eyes are blood shot and she doesnt want to eat then yes she may have eaten something, strong antibiotics such as fynidine (or however you spell it) should be given

How is her heart? does she have a lump in her dewlap? and can you see her heart beating in her neck right up by her jaw?

If she isnt eating tube her a bucket of water straight into her rumen to keep her hydrated, its easy to use, pump it in

and then a downer cow always should be lifted twice per day for 10 mins or so, and left on a different side each time with deep bedding, if she stays down on one side for too long it will crush her and prevent blood flow and she may never get up again

  for the cow

[farmvet]

Assuming shes not got staggers I would be suspicious of infection in the spinal cord or meningitis . its hard to be precise without seeing her!  Tetanus is certainly a possibility but usually presents as bloat in cattle. I'm sure your vet will have treated her - often high doses of iv antibiotics plus analgesia can be suprisingly effective in these cases.
If the spine has been damaged by trauma then the outlook is bleak