Abortion issue

[MRRherefords]

We have had two cows abort in the last week. We do not have a large herd so this is really odd and hurts a lot. The first was due in February and aborted twins, the second was AI bred due in January and I just found the calf today. No physical abnormalities. These two cows are in separate pastures, so I highly doubt it was anything that they ingested. Both in pretty good body condition. The only similarity is that they were both bottom of the pecking order in their respective herds. Could this just be a freak coincidence? Or is there something that I may be missing?

 

[Bright Raven]

The causes of abortion in cattle are numerous. Some are due to flaws in the embryonic development of the fetus. Others are caused by pathogens. Abortions in twins is sometimes a result of the complications that twins bring to the table.

The observation I have regarding your two examples is that they are late in gestation. You might want to run a blood panel to check for antibodies to Neospora or Leptospira, etc. I would run the blood work on the one that was AI bred in January. The blood tests check for antibodies. If you vaccinate, you will need to run a second blood panel about 3 weeks after the first test to distinguish between antibodies caused by clinical disease and by vaccination.

 

[cowgirl8]

We always have one that we know of.. like clockwork... Had one abort the other day, hope its our routine one..lol… and we don't have any more.

 

[Buck Randall]

Freak coincidence is the most likely scenario. The abortion rate for twin pregnancies is high (25-50% in some studies) so you can't really get too concerned about that one.

 

[Hpacres440p]

We always have one that we know of.. like clockwork... Had one abort the other day, hope its our routine one..lol… and we don't have any more.

How many chances do who've one who "routinely" aborts? Does she lose them early and Rebreeding quickly?

 

[MurraysMutts]

Would that blood panel also take into account the feeding of a moldy hay causing a mycotic* sp. Abortion?

That could explain different pastures if one person was feeding same hay

 

[Stocker Steve]

Thin bottom of the pecking order cows are under more stress and are more prone to abortions. Still should be other factors as listed above.

 

[Bright Raven]

Would that blood panel also take into account the feeding of a moldy hay causing a mycotic* sp. Abortion?

That could explain different pastures if one person was feeding same hay

What I was referring to is an antibody test. It would only account for abortions caused by pathogens.

 

[bird dog]

<<<How many chances do who've one who "routinely" aborts? Does she lose them early and Rebreeding quickly?>>>
I had one abort late term last January 14 2019. The calf was about 8 months old. She was a good mid age cow. I mover her to another herd where the bull was and she calved December 16. She had a nice healthy heifer this year.

If she had not of been mid aged and gentle and her previous calves were above average, she would have been culled.

 

[Hpacres440p]

<<<How many chances do who've one who "routinely" aborts? Does she lose them early and Rebreeding quickly?>>>
I had one abort late term last January 14 2019. The calf was about 8 months old. She was a good mid age cow. I mover her to another herd where the bull was and she calved December 16. She had a nice healthy heifer this year.

If she had not of been mid aged and gentle and her previous calves were above average, she would have been culled.

That makes sense-the previous answer from cowgirl seemed like they had a habitual aborted-that confused me. We have one right now-heifer-that lost an AI calf at 7 months, I thought rented to a young bull the following month after aborting, and now seems to be cycling again at 70 days post-assumed breeding.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Routine abortion???? Maybe 1 out of a hundred each year??
If both had been singles, I would be really worried. Twins are quite common, but like Raven said. You might want to test, at least the one with a single.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

We always have one that we know of.. like clockwork... Had one abort the other day, hope its our routine one..lol… and we don't have any more.

Poorly written. I think what she meant is that they have one abortion routinely (random cow I am assuming). They have had that "one abortion" already, so hopefully Cowgirl does not have any others. She runs a bunch of cows, so one abortion is not bad odds.