Cow Bagging up early

[MR3]

I have a cow that is bagged up and springing, yet she is 3 ½ months out. Could this be an indication of some problem? No sign of plug dissolving. I AI ed her and have about 15 cows in front of her so I know the date to be correct on my list. Both hindquarters are dripping milk. I always wondered what happens to the clostrum on the leaking teats? I have had this cow for 8 years and she always bags up early, but never this early. :idea:

Rod

 

[bigbull338]

I have a cow that is bagged up and springing, yet she is 3 ½ months out. Could this be an indication of some problem? No sign of plug dissolving. I AI ed her and have about 15 cows in front of her so I know the date to be correct on my list. Both hindquarters are dripping milk. I always wondered what happens to the clostrum on the leaking teats? I have had this cow for 8 years and she always bags up early, but never this early. :idea:

Rod

are you sure she is 3.5 months away from calving.from what you say she is about a month out from calving.wich means a bull couldve gotten to her an bred her.

 

[randiliana]

Sounds to me like this cow is going to calve shortly. They don't start leaking that far ahead. I would say she found a bull before you Ai'd her.

 

[MR3]

That's just it I am sure on the date because of the order of my records. Plus the computer date would have to be off. February due cows are looking to be on time. I just looked back at my 2008 calendar where I write down days to look for next heat after insemination and going back 21 days it confirms my date. Bred July 22 due April 30. Records also show she hadn't been with a bull since last calf. I am totally convinced this cow should be over 3 months out. I also know I have proven my self-an idiot all to many times in the past, but this time is different. :?

Yet I look to see a calf every time I go out.

Rod

 

[milkmaid]

When was her calf weaned? any other cows that could have been nursing on her that were sold recently? Just thinking outside the box.

Other than that - keep us posted.

 

[dun]

Any 6 month old bull calves with her 9 months ago?

 

[MR3]

Milkmaid, her calf was weaned some time back. She has been dry as a bone. I have had an eye on a bad cut to her back quarter, that has just finished healing and am glad to see she didn't lose it.

Dun, I was kind of thinking along those lines and you got me to go back through my records. The oldest bull calf would have been 10/05/07 If she was to calve today that bull would have been 6 months 8 days at conception. I don't have his wean date. I'm not totally convinced though. How could I have mistaken standing heat and not noticed the cervical plug at insemination. This would totally deflate my puffed up ego as an inseminator.

Rod

 

[msscamp]

How could I have mistaken standing heat and not noticed the cervical plug at insemination. This would totally deflate my puffed up ego as an inseminator.

Rod

You wouldn't be the first one to do it. :lol: :lol: No, I'm not laughing at you - just remembering some of the stories relating to this particular topic that I've heard over the years.

 

[jcarkie]

also don't overlook early birth, i had a first calf heifer that bagged 2 months early, i thought heifers do things different, she calved six weeks early had a calf about the size of a dog. had one start bagging 3 months early, not full until the end wow what an udder, and she went to her due date, everybody said she will never make it, i knew the date she was bred, i was sure, i was positive. they were heifers and i didn't know how they would do, but and older cow is a little more predictable.
i racked my brain trying to figure out, how they could have gotten bred early, neighbors bull hop the fence and went home, cow hopped the fence and came back, etc... a friend of mine has all brangus, had a cow come up with a smokie gray calf neighbor has a char bull, she jumped the fence and came back no one knew. until !!!!!

 

[bigbull338]

i bought a cow last year that was with a bull.an she jumped or crawled through the fence an got with another bull.an then got back in her pasture.i knew it when her calf was the wrong color.

 

[MR3]

I don't know Msscamp. One smile face maybe, but two your definitely chuckling at me. That's OK I have to chuckle myself. I was half expecting to see a calf when I got home tonight. No calf, but the cow has distanced her self from the herd some. I have racked my brain trying to think how she could have been exposed early. Only possibility would be Dun's assertion. I appreciate all you guys pitching in to help me figure this out. I will let you guys know when she calves. I should be able to figure out what happen then. The good news is I wanted to back this cow up a couple months. Bad news is I could end up with a one eyed calf.

Thanks guys,

Rod

 

[hillsdown]

My guesses are with Dun and MM..If Dun is right then your new calve should be here very soon as when they finally have milf the calf is right around the corner. Like all said keep us updated and good luck.

 

[redcowsrule33]

Had a cow do this to me once; she dropped a premie calf. Ended up being a placental infection. She bagged up 2 months early. I was hoping the bull had a clandestine affair but no luck.

 

[MR3]

Today the cow had some after birth hanging out. Not fresh looking. Her bag has reduced in size since my first posting. No sign of nursing a calf. After feeding and just before dark I saw her headed across the field by herself and went into the trees. When I caught up with her she was eating pine brows from a Pine tree that had blown down. Almost all the pine brows had been eaten. I think the pine brows caused her to slip her calf and this caused her to bag up months early.

Rod

 

[EAT BEEF]

Had a cow do this to me once; she dropped a premie calf. Ended up being a placental infection. She bagged up 2 months early. I was hoping the bull had a clandestine affair but no luck.

I have a cow that is bagging up about 2-2.5 months early right now and has some discharge I noticed tonight.I never have had many abortions or premature calves.So my question is, is it normal for a cow to bag up if they are getting ready to abort or have a premature calf?

 

[dun]

Had a cow do this to me once; she dropped a premie calf. Ended up being a placental infection. She bagged up 2 months early. I was hoping the bull had a clandestine affair but no luck.

I have a cow that is bagging up about 2-2.5 months early right now and has some discharge I noticed tonight.I never have had many abortions or premature calves.So my question is, is it normal for a cow to bag up if they are getting ready to abort or have a premature calf?

Not that I've seen

 

[EAT BEEF]

So what do you guys think is going on with this cow? She was hit with lut then A.I. missed breed buy the bull 20 days later and preg date matched when we preg checked.So I don't think she got breed early.Her bag is filling up and she acts like shes about to calve.My guess is she's going to abort it just seems strange.What do you folks think?

 

[dun]

What do you folks think?

I think you'll know when it happens. And there isn;t a darn thing you can do about it.

 

[EAT BEEF]

What do you folks think?

I think you'll know when it happens. And there isn;t a darn thing you can do about it.

Yea thats the worst part about things like this.

 

[randiliana]

Had a cow do this to me once; she dropped a premie calf. Ended up being a placental infection. She bagged up 2 months early. I was hoping the bull had a clandestine affair but no luck.

I have a cow that is bagging up about 2-2.5 months early right now and has some discharge I noticed tonight.I never have had many abortions or premature calves.So my question is, is it normal for a cow to bag up if they are getting ready to abort or have a premature calf?

In my experience, they don't generally bag up, or at least not to the extent that you would notice it. Having said that, we don't have a lot of abortions, and when they do, we usually aren't watching them closely enough that I would necessarily notice, unless they were showing very obvious signs.

I have found that most abortions happen within 5 weeks to 2 months before our calving season usually starts.