Fetal Absorption

[OwnedByTheCow]

I have a first time heifer who has been confirmed bred two months ago. She had a very large amount of bloody discharge this weekend and I'm told it is from a fetal absorption. Now I have questions.
What is a fetal absorption exactly? What causes it? Will it happen again? What can I do to prevent it?
Anything else I should know about it?

 

[Bright Raven]

Could be an infectious organism. Several can cause abortions: leptospira, IBR(infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis), etc.

Could be a developmental defect. A defect in the embryonic tissue differentiation can lead to an aborted embryo.

Could be a systemic disease in the heifer such as a cancer, this would be more rare.

You should vaccinate with Fetal Protection 5 vaccine. There are too many to mention. I use Bovi-Shield Gold FP 5

 

[OwnedByTheCow]

Can I use this on all my cows or just one who has previously had an issue? Can I do it to ones that are already bred? How often do I give it?

 

[Bright Raven]

Can I use this on all my cows or just one who has previously had an issue? Can I do it to ones that are already bred? How often do I give it?

Bovi-Shield Gold Fetal Protection 5 contains Modified Live Virus preparations. The acronym is MLV. The preparations containing MLV for BVD Types 1 and 2 can cause abortions in cattle not previously exposed to a Modified Live Virus vaccine. Therefore, if you are not sure that the cow/heifer is unbred (open), you should use a killed or chemically inactivated preparation such as Cattlemaster Gold Fetal Protection 5 which is safe for any cow, any calf at anytime. It is made by Zoetis. It is safe because the only modified live virus component is BRSV. There are numerous other killed or attenuated vaccines for the Fetal Protection 5 virises as you will see in the link at the bottom of this post.

Most FP vaccines can be obtained in combination with bacterins such as Leptospira, Vibrio, etc. You should consult a vet or other specialist in your area to see if you need to include those preparations in your FP vaccine.

Most vaccines for FP require two initial vaccinations about 30 days apart followed by an annual booster.

Here is a link to FP vaccines to give you an idea how many there Are to choose from. I have already sorted this link to display only vaccines for FP.

https://www.jefferspet.com/categories/c ... productive

 

[Bright Raven]

BTW: fetal absorption and abortion are both the loss of a pregnancy and can be caused by the same thing, i.e., infectious disease, in utero anomalies, developmental disruption. Regardless, FP vaccination would be a preventative measure.

 

[OwnedByTheCow]

I looked over the Zoetis website and their products are very interesting. Do you use them often? How well do they work?

 

[Bright Raven]

I looked over the Zoetis website and their products are very interested. Do you use them often?

Most of my vaccines are Zoetis. Was a branch of Pfizer at one time.

 

[Lucky_P]

I'm of the opinion that 'fetal resorption' does not happen... there's no absorptive epithelial tissue in the bovine uterus. But, people - including veterinarians and reproductive specialists - continue to make the claim to their clients... but I'm not buying it.

Rather, my stance is that there is degenerative liquefaction of embryonic/fetal/placental tissues - resulting in noticeable vaginal discharge... or, expulsion of conceptus/fetus and fetal membranes, without anyone ever seeing them...the cow just comes up 'open' or returns to heat after you'd thought or confirmed her as pregnant.

Had a 10-yr old cow that went to the salebarn this morning. We'd pulled her in to the 10-acre lot behind the house about a month ago, as she was getting close to her delivery date, based on when we'd seen the bull service her - and she's got horrible teats, so we were afraid we might have to help the calf get started. After a couple of weeks... all of a sudden, she didn't really look pregnant anymore, and her udder was regressing... I palpated her... open, with a big, involuting uterus... she'd evidently aborted (as two others had done recently, most likely due to Neospora)... but we never saw the fetus or membranes. There ain't no fetus in there any more! But just because I didn't see her dump it, doesn't mean she 'reabsorbed' it.

 

[Bright Raven]

I'm of the opinion that 'fetal resorption' does not happen... there's no absorptive epithelial tissue in the bovine uterus. But, people - including veterinarians and reproductive specialists - continue to make the claim to their clients... but I'm not buying it.

Rather, my stance is that there is degenerative liquefaction of embryonic/fetal/placental tissues - resulting in noticeable vaginal discharge... or, expulsion of conceptus/fetus and fetal membranes, without anyone ever seeing them...the cow just comes up 'open' or returns to heat after you'd thought or confirmed her as pregnant.

Had a 10-yr old cow that went to the salebarn this morning. We'd pulled her in to the 10-acre lot behind the house about a month ago, as she was getting close to her delivery date, based on when we'd seen the bull service her - and she's got horrible teats, so we were afraid we might have to help the calf get started. After a couple of weeks... all of a sudden, she didn't really look pregnant anymore, and her udder was regressing... I palpated her... open, with a big, involuting uterus... she'd evidently aborted (as two others had done recently, most likely due to Neospora)... but we never saw the fetus or membranes. There ain't no fetus in there any more! But just because I didn't see her dump it, doesn't mean she 'reabsorbed' it.

Lucky,

I did some reading before you posted, it does appear the term for the condition of fetal resorption is being used "loosely". While the properties of the epithelial lining of the bovine uterus do not include absorptive functions, the disintegration (liquefaction) of the embryo/fetus without any noticeable (observed) discharge is "loosely" being referred to as fetal resorption. In practice, it matters little. What is important is that a pregnancy is lost whether you call it abortion or resorption.

 

[OwnedByTheCow]

I did not notice anything until the third day of the fair. She had a very large amount of thick red blood it only happened once. Once I wiped it off it didn't come back. It was not a normal heat cycle discharge. All I know is what the vet told me. Didn't give me an explanation on why it happened or anything.

 

[Bright Raven]

I did not notice anything until the third day of the fair. She had a very large amount of thick red blood it only happened once. Once I wiped it off it didn't come back. It was not a normal heat cycle discharge.

I have seen post ovulation bleed offs with more blood. However, it could well be when she lost the pregnancy. One cause not mentioned, is stress.

 

[OwnedByTheCow]

She does stress out very badly at fairs. A couple days earlier we had tattooed her and done some procedures on her. She had to stay in the trailer for a long period of time as well.

 

[Bright Raven]

She does stress out very badly at fairs. A couple days earlier we had tattooed her and done some procedures on her. She had to stay in the trailer for a long period of time as well.

Stress looks likely

 

[cow pollinater]

Lucky is right. I spent over a decade directly behind cows for eight-nine hours a day. I don't believe in resorption. I've seen to many little strings under their tails and or milky mucus discharges that were followed by flaming heat on a cow that was already diagnosed pregnant. It all comes out, we just aren't always there to see it.
If a cow were capable of absorbing a pregnancy through her uterus then pyometria would be much less common yet it's a leading cause of infertility.

 

[ddd75]

all my cows kept aborting/ absorbing.. got lepto from the neighbors cows from the creek water.

 

[Bright Raven]

Here is another cause for abortions.

Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite that is emerging as an important infectious cause of weak calves and abortion in cattle.

Problem with protozoan parasites which includes Trichomonas in cattle, there is not an efficacious vaccine.

A killed vaccine is available (NeoGuard, Intervet Inc) but studies suggest it has only a modest effect in reducing abortion risk and much uncertainty remains.

Here is a good read:

https://afs.ca.uky.edu/dairy/neospora-c ... ion-cattle

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I am a firm believer of vaccinations - for animals and for children.
You do not have a "closed" herd if you are going to fairs.
A good practice is to vaccinate all your breeding animals a minimum of 30 days prior to breeding with a MLV such as BS5L5FP (BoviShield 5L5 FP). All replacement heifers should be vaccinated at least 2 times prior to breeding season (30 days apart).
Lepto should be vaccinated for in the spring & fall. Lepto vaccines do not protect for very long.