Can cow with no uterus go into heat?

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BK9954

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Took a heifer to get palpated. The bull had been mounting her a month ago. Vet went in, for a while, looked puzzled. Said something didnt feel right. Said he couldnt find a uterus. Felt like fluid in fron of where a baby is supposed to be forming. He even used an ultra sound. Said her bladder was real full. He told me to bring her back in a couple of months. I left pretty puzzled. Can a cow go into heat with no uterus?
 
Problem is he palpated her with ultrasound 7 months ago when I got her and he didnt notice anything wrong then. Going to take her to another vet next time I guess. I wouldnt have fed her for 7 months had he told me that. Got me scratching my head.
 
Now that I think about it this is the 3rd time she has been palpated by 2 different doctors. The first 2 times, they had to have found a uterus right? I dont know exactly what all organs they are touching in the palpation process. Hate to take a loss at the market.
 
Yes if she is a free martin (twin to a bull) she can have parts of the female reproductive tract and not all; many are lacking the uterus or parts of it, most seem to have at least one ovary but not always. She can "come in heat" with the typical signs of mounting and being mounted. They are often used on dairies as "heat detectors" so they don't have to deal with bulls, and only use AI for breeding. They usually are very active, more so than a late castrated steer. We always have the vet check the "free martin" females to see if they are "good" as far as a normal feeling repo tract. There is also a blood test I think. If he did her 7 months ago, and she was showing heat signs, and the bull was breeding her, there may be an accumulation of fluid that will get "stuck" in the partial vagina and it can't go anywhere if there is a dead end.
We use a rod like AI and see if we can go in; the tract is small in a heifer but it is easy to feel if it is all there if you know what you are feeling.
Have a dairy that has the uncanny luck of getting more "free martin" heifers that wind up being good than anyone I know. Vet friend said that if they are forming in different horns, sometimes the male hormones, which develop first, don't "invade the placenta" in the other horn and the heifer will develop normally. They are milking 3 that are "free martins" right now.
 
farmerjan":pg6ezgw7 said:
Yes if she is a free martin (twin to a bull) she can have parts of the female reproductive tract and not all; many are lacking the uterus or parts of it, most seem to have at least one ovary but not always. She can "come in heat" with the typical signs of mounting and being mounted. They are often used on dairies as "heat detectors" so they don't have to deal with bulls, and only use AI for breeding. They usually are very active, more so than a late castrated steer. We always have the vet check the "free martin" females to see if they are "good" as far as a normal feeling repo tract. There is also a blood test I think. If he did her 7 months ago, and she was showing heat signs, and the bull was breeding her, there may be an accumulation of fluid that will get "stuck" in the partial vagina and it can't go anywhere if there is a dead end.
We use a rod like AI and see if we can go in; the tract is small in a heifer but it is easy to feel if it is all there if you know what you are feeling.
Have a dairy that has the uncanny luck of getting more "free martin" heifers that wind up being good than anyone I know. Vet friend said that if they are forming in different horns, sometimes the male hormones, which develop first, don't "invade the placenta" in the other horn and the heifer will develop normally. They are milking 3 that are "free martins" right now.
If they carried a pregnancy they aren;t freemartins. Just being born twin to a bull doesn;t make one.
 
Much harder to diagnose an open cow than a pregnant one even with ultrasound. If you can't find something is it hiding somewhere or is it actually not there. It also gets down to how hard do you want the vet to go on the early pregnant ones just to give you an answer at the risk of being a bit rough on an early pregnant uterus.

Ken
 
Being that the first 2 palpations didnt notice that there was no uterus makes me question this one. Going to get a 2nd opinion before I take a $200 hit on this girl at the barn.
 
Yeah, I know that if they carry a pregnancy they aren't a "free martin" but just a twin. They just call them that when they come in the milking parlour; it makes it easier for me as I am taking the milk samples and the numbers; and they call them that on the farm just because they were a twin to a bull. Guess you'd call it a term of affection... that's why I put it in quotations.

I think at this point I wouldn't bother with another vet bill since you are likely to spend 50 or 100 bucks. Plus you already have all that lost time in her. But I guess it would be nice to know...
 
Saw the other vet yesterday that did an ultrasound 2 months ago. Asked him why he didnt notice there was no uterus. He said that cant be right. He said bring her by this week for another ultrasound, no charge.
 
Will be very interesting to see what he says this time around. Good of him to be willing to do it no charge, but it is also a way for him to "recheck" himself....Let us know
 
Oh yeah, I took her to a second opinion. He said the uterus was deformed and off to the side a little. He said if you werent looking for a deformed or abnormal tract you might have missed it. He said most vets would not have caught that on a young heifer. They just feel for a fetus. I sold her at the auction. $1.10 at 800 pounds in Febuarary. A fair price that week. Took that money and bought a other heifer that week. I was di$$appointed about losing that girl but atleast I found out and could make the right decision and move on. I paid higher for ear and naval. I wont buy from guys I dont know anymore. Met that one on craigslist. I have made enough connections networking through the local cattlemen.
 
What kind of reputations do your vets have when it comes to palpating cows? Finding a uterus isn't rocket science unless she has a microscopic repro tract. Which could absolutely be the case.
 
ricebeltrancher":3uld5ew8 said:
What kind of reputations do your vets have when it comes to palpating cows? Finding a uterus isn't rocket science unless she has a microscopic repro tract. Which could absolutely be the case.
Pretty good reputations. Of course both A&M graduates, one younger, one closer to 60. The only complaint around the ranching community is they are not the cheapest. The one I trust the most used to work on my grandfathers cattle. He was the second and final opinion on this heifer. He is not cheap but I will get a final answer when I have a serious issue. The younger one I use more and has always been dead on except for this one. He did my AI a couple of years ago, uses ultrasound and all that fun stuff. AI didnt go that well though.
 

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