Found an aborted calf today

[shadyhollownj]

Ok so I was walking in the woods today checking things before the blizzard today. I just happened to noice an aborted calf on the ground. I am guessing it has been there for about 2 to 4 weeks based on how it looks. It has been barely above freezing for only a few days this month so its hard to tell. We are out with our cows everyday and havent seen any discharge or anything abnormal. We did get rid of an old cow two weeks ago that got real old real quick this year. I am hoping it was her since most of our other cows are AIied. I am figuring the calf is around six mouths old. There is no hair on the body but some around the mouth. It is the size of a large cat. I was hoping someone could tell me if this an accurate estimate since im trying to figure out who's it is. The only way I can figure it out for sure is to palpate but ive never done it. Now all of are cattle are vaccinated with triangle 9 plus type2. So my question is do I take the cow for a ride if its one of our good cows or just let it slide since we have never had an abortion before. Also any thoughts on a reason to abort so late. Thanks Mike.

 

[dun]

Did you have one cow recently that seemed to be mooing and carrying on more then usual? If so, that's the one that aborted. That's the only obvious sign I've ever seen of a cow that has aborted.

 

[shadyhollownj]

The only thing that I noticed was that the older cow that we took to the auction always laid back by the woods. She was very slow to get up for feed so we never thought anything of it. Who knows. I just dont feel like waiting to see who drops a calf in spring or who goes into heat in hopefully 2 months. We'll see eventually. Any thoughts on keeping the cow if it a young one. I know you like to cull hard for a good herd.

 

[dun]

The only thing that I noticed was that the older cow that we took to the auction always laid back by the woods. She was very slow to get up for feed so we never thought anything of it. Who knows. I just dont feel like waiting to see who drops a calf in spring or who goes into heat in hopefully 2 months. We'll see eventually. Any thoughts on keeping the cow if it a young one. I know you like to cull hard for a good herd.

If she's a young cow that has raised good calves in the past and had excess feed I would probably give her a free ride. The thing to watch out for is that she doesn;t get too fat between now and when she calves again.

 

[KNERSIE]

That foetus is about 7 months. If you do find the cow and decide to keep her have her blood and an earnotch analysed just in case it might be Brucellosis or BVD to prevent her from spreading it deper into your herd.

 

[Hereford76]

do the "woods" include any pine trees?

 

[Anonymous]

Fwiw, my reading on calf abortion and pines needles pointed to the main culprit being ponderosa pines

 

[shadyhollownj]

No the woods dont have any pines. We dont have any on our property. The only thing that out there besides hardwoods is cedar trees. I dont believe they are a cause of abortion. You think that fetus is seven months old. It doesnt have any hair on the body so that why I was figuring on 6 months. Kernsie we do vaccinate for bvd thats why I dont think it that. Thanks.

 

[cypressfarms]

There are so many things that could cause a cow to abort. I've seen bad feed do it, heard of all types of plants doing it, seen twins make moma spit out each way too early for the calves to live. Sometimes it makes you wonder how so many cows have calves trouble free. From your description, though, I would say it was the older cow that was hanging back by the woods. Hopefully it was her, and you can move on from there.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Cattle are just like people. Sometimes there isn't any rhyme or reason - it just happens. And, there may be another one laying on the ground somewhere - the other twin. Twins abort early quite often.
Unless I'm looking to get rid of a cow, I don't normally cull for an abortion.

 

[robert]

no meal ticket (calf) = no meal, simple as that for me, losing calves at any stage sucks out loud, but I've found over time that the fewer problems you tolerate, the fewer problems you will have.

 

[pdfangus]

no meal ticket (calf) = no meal, simple as that for me, losing calves at any stage sucks out loud, but I've found over time that the fewer problems you tolerate, the fewer problems you will have.

AMEN..... :cowboy: :clap: :nod:

And i always strived not to import other peoples problems.
raised my own heifers and used my own young bulls to clean up behind AI.
A lot of the experience and medical knowledge I earned in the first half of my cowboy career.....
languished from lack of use in the second half of my cowboy career

 

[dun]

You might find this of interest
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=44910

 

[shadyhollownj]

Thanks Dun. Based on that I gotta go with five or six months. There was no hair on body and no color markings since it was a hereford I would think that would be noticable. i thought it was six based on size. I'm gonna try my hand at palpating them this week on at least the handful of 8 that I think it could be. Should be easy to tell at 6 or 7 months old. At least I hope so.

 

[shadyhollownj]

Ok so I think the cow that aborted was actually our best heifer. She is due to calf with a few other cows on the 22. She has definetly lost a lot of weight in the last 6 weeks so I believe its her. She was as wide as a house and we always said she looks like she is having twins. I looked for the second calf that could have been aborted if it was twins but no luck. My dilemma now is do I let her slide and rebreed her for next spring or will she be too fat to calve as a three year old. Money at the barns are good now so do I just chalk it up as a loss. Thanks Mike.

 

[hillsdown]

Ok so I think the cow that aborted was actually our best heifer. She is due to calf with a few other cows on the 22. She has definetly lost a lot of weight in the last 6 weeks so I believe its her. She was as wide as a house and we always said she looks like she is having twins. I looked for the second calf that could have been aborted if it was twins but no luck. My dilemma now is do I let her slide and rebreed her for next spring or will she be too fat to calve as a three year old. Money at the barns are good now so do I just chalk it up as a loss. Thanks Mike.

Find out what is going on inside of her and then go from there..

 

[robert]

if she's lost a lot of weight that would indicate she's still carrying twins and they're dragging her down, unless of course she's ill from an infection and is going down fast that way...

 

[Beef Man]

Why keep a cow around that does'nt wean a calf? We used to make excuses for a young cow but have found that they will most always show up with some problem sooner than later. The old timers here always shipped the fat dry's in late June or early July[right after branding]. They eleminated a whole lot of headache's downthe road. Range calving like they did took care of a lot of weakeness's that we have let go by and justiafie as better management. I would sell the cow/heifer and put the money into a safe place and save the feed. There will always be another cow some where.

 

[shadyhollownj]

Thanks for the replys. Beef I'm leaning your route. Robert she isnt losing condition she has just lost the width that she had. My other heifers and cows that are due with her are huge. She just looks like a cow that just had a calf. She just had it 3 months early. Thanks guys.

 

[B.C.K Red Angus]

hello, im new hear and i just had the same thing happen to me , my best cow aborted her calf a month early .