Calf Born Today

[Putangitangi]

My methods of dog training for dangerous/unacceptable habits are a permanent and certain fix. There are some risks it's not worth taking. But then I'm really a cat & cow person, so I shall bow(wow) out. ;-)

 

[glacierridge]

I catch your drift on the permanent fix.
If you know of any other method, it would be greatly appreciated...

Not that I'm much of a dog person either... but I would hope there is a different way.

 

[Putangitangi]

I once trained a cat to stop chasing birds: took a dead one from her and impaled it on the end of a bit of electric fence under-ground cable, attached to the live fence. When the cat went back to find her bird snack, BANG; she stayed away from birds after that.

If you've an electric fence, you could set your dog a trap with a bit of electric afterbirth and see if that works. OR, another thought occurs to me; here we have aversion training for pig hunting dogs to train them not to go after native birds in the bush. They're trained with electric collars and dead examples of the birds they're to avoid. Get one of those collars and take your dog past afterbirth and give it a tingle any time it shows any interest. Electric shocks of this type are damned uncomfortable, but they don't generally do much harm.

 

[glacierridge]

Might be a good method...
I'll have to see what we can do to implement it.
I hope it works!

 

[inyati13]

I was not aware of the Neospora caninium until I googled Bovine Neosporosis (2001, dated material) just now. It is a protozoan. Does not sound like the disease is listed for your area, Anne, even though the organism is widespread in the US, the condition has been seen mainly in CA although cases have been sporatic in Indiana. Dogs are an intermediate host it says and cattle get it by feeding in grass where the dogs have defecated and spread the oocysts of the parasite.

 

[Lucky_P]

Ron,
You are looking at dated material. Neospora is here in KY - both veterinary diagnostic labs (MSU & UK) have been diagnosing it with increasing frequency for the past couple of years; both labs have noticed an appreciable uptick in diagnosed cases this year.
Over the past 20 years, I'd seen maybe 5 or 6 confirmed cases - until the past 2-3, when it started showing up with greater frequency. http://afsdairy.ca.uky.edu/extension/re ... oracaninum

Had two of my own fall-calving cows abort back in early July; confirmed the first as a Neospora abortion; have little doubt the the second one was also, but it was pretty autolyzed and the buzzards had been at it already. Both those 5-yr.old cows and the yearling daughter of one will be leaving. Looking back over the past 2-3 years, I may have had some additional Neospora abortions that I didn't catch - cows checked pregnant came in without a calf, or found remains of an aborted fetus/newborn weeks after expulsion,with no idea which cow dropped it.

One of the family dogs loves to snack on placenta, but with the Neospora deal, and not wanting to attract buzzards, we're pretty diligent about patrolling daily and collecting placenta to keep the dogs and coyotes from having access to it - as best we can. So... she's pretty much limited to patrolling the pasture for tasty calf-poop snacks.

 

[glacierridge]

What do you do with the placenta once you collect it?

 

[inyati13]

Ron,
You are looking at dated material. Neospora is here in KY - both veterinary diagnostic labs (MSU & UK) have been diagnosing it with increasing frequency for the past couple of years; both labs have noticed an appreciable uptick in diagnosed cases this year.
Over the past 20 years, I'd seen maybe 5 or 6 confirmed cases - until the past 2-3, when it started showing up with greater frequency. http://afsdairy.ca.uky.edu/extension/re ... oracaninum

Had two of my own fall-calving cows abort back in early July; confirmed the first as a Neospora abortion; have little doubt the the second one was also, but it was pretty autolyzed and the buzzards had been at it already. Both those 5-yr.old cows and the yearling daughter of one will be leaving. Looking back over the past 2-3 years, I may have had some additional Neospora abortions that I didn't catch - cows checked pregnant came in without a calf, or found remains of an aborted fetus/newborn weeks after expulsion,with no idea which cow dropped it.

One of the family dogs loves to snack on placenta, but with the Neospora deal, and not wanting to attract buzzards, we're pretty diligent about patrolling daily and collecting placenta to keep the dogs and coyotes from having access to it - as best we can. So... she's pretty much limited to patrolling the pasture for tasty calf-poop snacks.

Lucky_P, I was wondering if coyotes are also an intermediate host. I do collect my placentas and send them out in my City garbage. Just got my answer, read the reference you provided, coyotes do act as an intermediary host and spread the oocysts in their feces.

 

[inyati13]

she has her calf out:

 

[Putangitangi]

What do you do with the placenta once you collect it?

Bury it deep, presumably. Here my only risk with Neospora-infected birth products is the (slight, but present, as far as I understand) risk of horizontal transmission from cow to cow in the event another cow comes to help the new dam clean up the fluids, membrane and placenta. I only see that happen occasionally and we've never found evidence of horizontal transmission as best we can determine, but anything to reduce a possible risk. (Horizontal: cow to cow; vertical: cow to calf.) I just drag placentas away and throw them into the fenced tree reserves as smelly fertilizer, there being no dogs here.

I have one known infected family (one yearling heifer remaining at present) and a question-mark over a couple of probable false-positive test results. Neospora is very widespread here, apparently, but there appears to be very little awareness of it amongst many farmers and dog owners.

 

[Lucky_P]

I sent three placentas off in the residential garbage earlier this week. Usually, though, I bag 'em and bring them to work(veterinary diagnostic laboratory) with me and dump 'em into the offal barrels - materials which ultimately go to a permitted, sealed landfill.
I suppose deep burial would be suitable, but I'm not too keen on digging a hole, if I don't have to.

Pitangi, I'll have to do some reading, but I'm doubtful that ruminants will likely become infected from exposure or ingestion of the stages of Neospora (or the related Toxoplasma & Sarcocystis parasites) that would potentially be present in placenta. Not saying it can't happen, but the more likely route of initial infection is by ingestion of feedstuffs contaminated by carnivore fecal material containing oocysts of the protozoal parasite.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Forgive my ignorance but don't the cows normally eat their own afterbirth?

 

[Lucky_P]

Some do, some don't.
I'd say the vast majority of mine don't.
If I don't remove it, the buzzards (or the family dog, if we're out checking cows) soon find it. I have no doubt the local coyotes would also eat it, if they could beat the buzzards to it.

Afterbirth, It's What's for Dinner: http://www.honeycolony.com/article/afte ... or-dinner/

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I learn so much on this site. Thanks Lucky_P!

 

[Putangitangi]

...I'm doubtful that ruminants will likely become infected from exposure or ingestion of the stages of Neospora (or the related Toxoplasma & Sarcocystis parasites) that would potentially be present in placenta. Not saying it can't happen, but the more likely route of initial infection is by ingestion of feedstuffs contaminated by carnivore fecal material containing oocysts of the protozoal parasite.

That was the suggested horizontal route I originally read about. But as I wrote, I've seen no evidence of transmission despite Neospora being present in the herd for many years. When we finally tested it was only in two families and all cases could be pinned back to vertical transmission from the original cows.

Most of mine eat their afterbirth, but some of them get so distracted with the process I end up whipping it away from them. I've seen a couple of cows nearly choke on it so I thought they were going to drop dead in front of me - I've heard a couple of stories of that happening. The only other creatures here to come and get it are Hawks, which unsettle the cows when they're near the new calves, and recently we've had Black Backed Gulls from over at the coast, some 10+ miles away.

 

[inyati13]

I have only seen the placenta eaten one time in the short time I have been at this. MS Bartlet sat back on her rump, picked it up with her right front hoof and sucked it down like a raw oryster on the half shell. Then she chased it with a dry gin martini. She told me that is the way she always celebrates getting the brat out.