cow can't calve

Help Support CattleToday:

regolith

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 17, 2009
Messages
2,795
Reaction score
2
Location
New Zealand
http://cowcalfandvet.wordpress.com/2009 ... nvestment/

I'm just curious whether anyone has seen this before. The cow started 'aborting' (saw placenta) but when I checked the cervix was still almost closed. Vet gave prostaglandin and when it hadn't made any difference by the following morning he said it might take a full 24 hours to soften the cervix, but didn't always work on stillbirths. (I went back in at the 24 hour mark and spent fifteen minutes or so working the cervix but it didn't have much effect)

She's still looking healthy, a little uncomfortable. She's only got to hang on another 36 hours before the petfood guy picks her up. From the size of the calf it would've died about four months ago.

I think I'm gonna have to change my icon. That's her.
 
Yeah I've seen it happen twice here.
First was my aunts stud Limousin cow they saw her have a couple of contractions & that was it they left her go for a while to see if the birth progressed any further - it hadn't, so my aunt rang the vet & got them to come out & have a look. Long story short the vet ended up doing a c-section as the cows cervix hadn't opened far enough to allow the calf to be born. My ant ended up selling the cow too as she would never go back in calf to much scarring or something
2nd was an Angus x cow on her 2nd calf - calf was dead but vet gave her a shot of something & eventually pulled the calf the cow was a bit stiff & sore for a few days - we have her in the dairy milking her
 
regolith":1ysccs9w said:
http://cowcalfandvet.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/still-learning-that-carryover-cows-are-a-bad-investment/

I'm just curious whether anyone has seen this before. The cow started 'aborting' (saw placenta) but when I checked the cervix was still almost closed. Vet gave prostaglandin and when it hadn't made any difference by the following morning he said it might take a full 24 hours to soften the cervix, but didn't always work on stillbirths. (I went back in at the 24 hour mark and spent fifteen minutes or so working the cervix but it didn't have much effect)

She's still looking healthy, a little uncomfortable. She's only got to hang on another 36 hours before the petfood guy picks her up. From the size of the calf it would've died about four months ago.

I think I'm gonna have to change my icon. That's her.

For what it's worth, in 2005 a Krugerrand heifer was walking the pasture with one leg sticking out of her. I watched her for a while. Sometimes you could see both feet, but no nose. So I got the vet up here and she pulled him. The vet said everything was fine inside the cow. She was in labor, plenty of room for the calf to pass, the cervix was relaxed, but the outer muscles around the vagina hadn't relaxed. She said she didn't think it was a genetic problem; she'd seen several cases in commercial herds that spring. So we didn't haul her to the sale barn. She licked the calf from stem to stern, he got up, nursed and turned into a decent bull calf (Pfred). The cow has since had several other calves with no problems. The one daughter in production hasn't had problems.
 
Frankie":1cj4fqdc said:
For what it's worth, in 2005 a Krugerrand heifer was walking the pasture with one leg sticking out of her. I watched her for a while. Sometimes you could see both feet, but no nose. So I got the vet up here and she pulled him. The vet said everything was fine inside the cow. She was in labor, plenty of room for the calf to pass, the cervix was relaxed, but the outer muscles around the vagina hadn't relaxed. She said she didn't think it was a genetic problem; she'd seen several cases in commercial herds that spring. So we didn't haul her to the sale barn. She licked the calf from stem to stern, he got up, nursed and turned into a decent bull calf (Pfred). The cow has since had several other calves with no problems. The one daughter in production hasn't had problems.

Our vet calls that heifer disease.
 
Our vet calls that heifer disease.

Weird. I've never seen it before - tho' if an older cow is all presented right and not getting on with it I treat her for milk fever, give her two - three hours then pull the calf if she still hasn't had it. I do see those every once in a while.

Well, the cow has gone now. She did stay healthy - apart from occasional discharge, the last day or so you wouldn't really have known anything was wrong with her.
The petfood guy recognised me from a farm clear across the country I managed four years ago :oops:

The vet said there was a chance the calf could have rotted down without her getting sick but it would have been three or four weeks to complete the process and then sell her to the meatworks - it wan't worth it.
 
regolith":3qrjrcvg said:
then sell her to the meatworks - it wan't worth it.

Sorry to hear that regolith. By the avatar, she was a nice looking cow. don't change the avatar, it wouldn't be the same.

Katherine
 

Latest posts

Top