inyati13":367sbiz5 said:
GRF, think of it this way, for the uterus or vagina to prolapse there has to be a weakness in the connective tissue, anatomy of the organ or physiology of the reproductive system. It would be easy to say that the prolapse is due to a failure of the connective tissue, etc. But the deeper analysis would be that the failure is the result of genes that dictate how the connective tissue is formed and built into the cow. Thus, in the end, there is a snip of DNA that is not doing a good job. Your vet may be correct in so far as saying the uterus prolapsed because the connective tissue that holds it in place failed. But remember, those chemicals that make up that connective tissue are coded in the DNA in the nucleus of the cell. Messenger RNA carries the information to the cytoplasma of the cell and instructs the cell how to make the building blocks of the connective tissue. If that DNA does not transmit a high quality message, then the connective tissue is not as good in the cow that prolapsed as it is in the cow in the next stall that does not have the compromised DNA snip. The cow you reference probably has genes that do not do their job well. I know this is not written as you would get it from a molecular biology or cellular physiology text but the idea is there. Hope I made it clear enough that the message comes across.
I was about to start a thread about prolapse and whether you can re-breed a saved momma who has healed and showing zero amount of distress, but I guess I can ask here.
If a cow has prolapsed (obviously a partial, non fatal prolapse), just what are the odds of it happening again?
And to say that it is all genetics is a bit sketchy at best. First, where are the studies pro & con? and in my particular case, I just had a heifer partially prolapse. We were able to get the uterus back in, gave a shot of penicillin to ward off infection and 2.5 weeks later, both the heifer and her calf are doing fine. She is separated from the rest of the herd because my bull is out with the herd AND she is also in with a bottle baby. Now, here's the kicker...........
The bottle baby came from this heifer's mother who also prolapsed (fully & fatal). Both cows are/were around the same size (900-1000 and fairly small framed) and the cow was I believe 7 yrs old. Therfore, she has had 4 calves with no issues whatsoever until this one. So could genetics be a factor? Yes, BUT, why then would the cow be able to produce and raise 4 previous calves without any sign of prolapse? To throw another wrench into it, this particular calf was positioned just fine or so it seemed. When she couldn't deliver, the calf had to be pulled. Now the front have was perfectly positioned, but as the calf came out, I watched the rear half rotate and then come out. So in fact, the rear half was twisted and THAT I believe is the reason she prolapsed. Why did the heifer prolapse? I don't believe I will ever know, and now the decision needs to be made as to let her out and re-breed her, or keep her penned and cull her when the calf goes to market.