Is there a correlation between stillborn calves and a selenium deficiency in the cow.

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WFfarm said:
Why would you not feed supplemental minerals all year long? Low Selenium comes from deficiency of Se in the soil. That doesn't go away during the summer months. You would need to have soil samples done on your pasture and hay ground know for sure if your area is low in Selenium. If it's ok, then it at least eliminates that possibility.
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Part of the reason I don't give mineral all year long is far away to make sure all the feeders would have mineral. The farm is three hours from my uncles ranch, where I summer my cows.
 
This is the first year I have had this problem. With having so many I started to think that maybe it could be because of what we are doing. This is the first year feeding the Panhandle mineral. Last season I fed the Cargil right now bronze.

Here is another thought. Can stress have anything to do with a cow having a stillborn calf? The reason I ask is I noticed that while I was shoveling out some of our cement ditch there were a couple of cows that were really upset with the dog being near by. I put the dog in the truck and they calmed down. About the time we lost the calves there was a neighbors dog in the pasture with the cows. I don't think it was chasing the cows, but I am sure it did stress them out.
 
CowboyRam said:
This is the first year I have had this problem. With having so many I started to think that maybe it could be because of what we are doing. This is the first year feeding the Panhandle mineral. Last season I fed the Cargil right now bronze.

Here is another thought. Can stress have anything to do with a cow having a stillborn calf? The reason I ask is I noticed that while I was shoveling out some of our cement ditch there were a couple of cows that were really upset with the dog being near by. I put the dog in the truck and they calmed down. About the time we lost the calves there was a neighbors dog in the pasture with the cows. I don't think it was chasing the cows, but I am sure it did stress them out.
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They are not really that fragile, well mine are not.

Ken
 
CowboyRam said:
I just lost a month old calf today. Not sure what happened with it.
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At that age it could be enterotoxaemia. Did you notice at him kicking at his belly? Was his behind dirty and could you tell if he had been switching his tail? Those are indications of over-eating. It usually affects the biggest best calves.
So sorry. It's bad enough to lose them, but when they are a month old, it's even worse.

If you cut him open, his guts will be purple if it is over-eating. Have you given 7-way (or 8-way) with C&D yet? Also what are you feeding your cows? If you are feeding second cutting alfalfa or some kind of grain hay, I would consider stopping that. It makes the cows give too much milk, which can cause over-eating. Just cut your hay with some grass hay. It's safer to feed grass hay after calving.

Good luck!
 
I would have not gotten real upset with one stillborn, stuff happens. The 2nd one would have me very concerned, probably taking it to the vet; and the 3rd one would have me at the vet's, with the dead calf; or to the state lab, as fast as I could get it there... to post it and find out if there could be a reason found. A month old calf would have me calling the vet or state lab right away......but blackleg would be a first guess if there weren't any obvious signs of scours...
Yes, low SE will cause some different kinds of problems. We are in a selenium deficient area. I would not be guessing the reasons with losing 3 calves. We calve out 75 spring and about 50-75 in the fall. If we have 1 stillborn I get watchful and a 2nd one would have me taking it to the vet for a post. The weather here will contribute to some being born and dying in 24-48 hours (cold, icy, rain, snow etc.) and we try to deal with the weather. Seems like we get more weather changes late winter and early spring than we used to which makes calving more of a risk in March. If we can get them on the ground and 24 hours, they usually will do okay, even when the weather changes. But it is hard on them. One day 50, next 75 then dropping to 30 and cold rain.... crazy...
 
faster horses said:
At that age it could be enterotoxaemia. Did you notice at him kicking at his belly? Was his behind dirty and could you tell if he had been switching his tail? Those are indications of over-eating. It usually affects the biggest best calves.
So sorry. It's bad enough to lose them, but when they are a month old, it's even worse.

If you cut him open, his guts will be purple if it is over-eating. Have you given 7-way (or 8-way) with C&D yet? Also what are you feeding your cows? If you are feeding second cutting alfalfa or some kind of grain hay, I would consider stopping that. It makes the cows give too much milk, which can cause over-eating. Just cut your hay with some grass hay. It's safer to feed grass hay after calving.

Good luck!
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I have not noticed anything like what you mentioned, and I have not given the calves anything yet. All I have is second cutting alfalfa, maybe I should cut back on how much I am feeding them.

farmerjan said:
I would have not gotten real upset with one stillborn, stuff happens. The 2nd one would have me very concerned, probably taking it to the vet; and the 3rd one would have me at the vet's, with the dead calf; or to the state lab, as fast as I could get it there... to post it and find out if there could be a reason found. A month old calf would have me calling the vet or state lab right away......but blackleg would be a first guess if there weren't any obvious signs of scours...
Yes, low SE will cause some different kinds of problems. We are in a selenium deficient area. I would not be guessing the reasons with losing 3 calves. We calve out 75 spring and about 50-75 in the fall. If we have 1 stillborn I get watchful and a 2nd one would have me taking it to the vet for a post. The weather here will contribute to some being born and dying in 24-48 hours (cold, icy, rain, snow etc.) and we try to deal with the weather. Seems like we get more weather changes late winter and early spring than we used to which makes calving more of a risk in March. If we can get them on the ground and 24 hours, they usually will do okay, even when the weather changes. But it is hard on them. One day 50, next 75 then dropping to 30 and cold rain.... crazy...
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We have had some crazy weather, and just a couple days ago we got about 2 inches of rain. April was colder than normal.

I was just talking with someone else today that has had a stillborn calve this year. Maybe it could be related to weather, IDK.
 
Honestly, you have had too many still-borns. The month-old calf could be something entirely different. One more still born and it needs to go to the vet and have an autopsy to find out what is going on.

Good luck! I hope you don't lose any more.
 
CowboyRam said:
This is the first year I have had this problem. With having so many I started to think that maybe it could be because of what we are doing. This is the first year feeding the Panhandle mineral. Last season I fed the Cargil right now bronze.

Here is another thought. Can stress have anything to do with a cow having a stillborn calf? The reason I ask is I noticed that while I was shoveling out some of our cement ditch there were a couple of cows that were really upset with the dog being near by. I put the dog in the truck and they calmed down. About the time we lost the calves there was a neighbors dog in the pasture with the cows. I don't think it was chasing the cows, but I am sure it did stress them out.
Click to expand...
If any of the still born calves or calves that die suddenly for no apparent reason have an underbite because of an underdeveloped, short premaxillary bone and narrow dental pad, the calves likely have internal birth defects also, like enlarged right ventricle of the heart, underdeveloped and/or inflamed thymus and often inflammation of the lungs. Calves with birth defects can have weak blood vessels. If a blood vessel suddenly ruptures near the lungs the calf will drown in its own blood, even when it is two or three months old. That takes just a couple of minutes. If the ruptured blood vessel is in the intestines, it takes longer for it to die. The bite on dead calves (or other newborn livestock, including sheep, goats, horses, camelids, etc.) should always be checked, whether they are still born or die sometime after they are born. If the dead animal has an underbite (very common on cattle) or an overbite (which are quite rare on cattle), you will know that the mother was exposed to something that caused disrupted fetal development. Exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid was shown to cause such birth defects. Effects are highly increased if the exposure is to imidacloprid and glyphosate simultaneously. There is a much more damaging synergistic effect with exposure to both. In areas downwind of where both are used in high amounts, they fall in dust, rain and snow on all the foliage, even far from where they are applied.

Since there seem to be quite a lot of calves stillborn, born too weak to stand and suckle, or that look fine at birth, but die sometime after they are born, it would seem to be a good rule to check the bite on such animals (same for other newborn livestock). If the bite is normal, they are less likely to have been killed by toxin exposure, making it important to look for infectious disease as the cause. Thus, checking the bite saves time and money in helping you diagnose the cause of the death. That would seem to make it worth your while to check the bite on all dead domestic animals, including livestock and newborn pets, since it only takes a minute to do so. And don't forget your newborn children and grandchildren. Children are being born with the same birth defects as the other animals, but no one seems to care about them and this is not a children website.
 
Wow, speaking of children, the newly chosen Gerber baby, Asa, is a baby girl who was born with missing bones in her right leg. Missing bones, missing limbs and missing digits have become much more common, but are fortunately quite low in prevalence, on wild and domestic animals since the birth defects listed above that have a fairly high prevalence began in spring of 1995.
 
J Hoy said:
If any of the still born calves or calves that die suddenly for no apparent reason have an underbite because of an underdeveloped, short premaxillary bone and narrow dental pad, the calves likely have internal birth defects also, like enlarged right ventricle of the heart, underdeveloped and/or inflamed thymus and often inflammation of the lungs. Calves with birth defects can have weak blood vessels. If a blood vessel suddenly ruptures near the lungs the calf will drown in its own blood, even when it is two or three months old. That takes just a couple of minutes. If the ruptured blood vessel is in the intestines, it takes longer for it to die. The bite on dead calves (or other newborn livestock, including sheep, goats, horses, camelids, etc.) should always be checked, whether they are still born or die sometime after they are born. If the dead animal has an underbite (very common on cattle) or an overbite (which are quite rare on cattle), you will know that the mother was exposed to something that caused disrupted fetal development. Exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid was shown to cause such birth defects. Effects are highly increased if the exposure is to imidacloprid and glyphosate simultaneously. There is a much more damaging synergistic effect with exposure to both. In areas downwind of where both are used in high amounts, they fall in dust, rain and snow on all the foliage, even far from where they are applied.

Since there seem to be quite a lot of calves stillborn, born too weak to stand and suckle, or that look fine at birth, but die sometime after they are born, it would seem to be a good rule to check the bite on such animals (same for other newborn livestock). If the bite is normal, they are less likely to have been killed by toxin exposure, making it important to look for infectious disease as the cause. Thus, checking the bite saves time and money in helping you diagnose the cause of the death. That would seem to make it worth your while to check the bite on all dead domestic animals, including livestock and newborn pets, since it only takes a minute to do so. And don't forget your newborn children and grandchildren. Children are being born with the same birth defects as the other animals, but no one seems to care about them and this is not a children website.
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I checked my recent death, and it did not have any underbite. As far as I could tell it looked pretty normal. I don't know about the stillborn's, I can't check them now. I am beginning to think it is due to my mineral; that is the only thing that has changed from the year before. Although I think ole mother nature has been PMS'ing this year; cold one moment and hot the next.
 
CowboyRam said:
I checked my recent death, and it did not have any underbite. As far as I could tell it looked pretty normal. I don't know about the stillborn's, I can't check them now. I am beginning to think it is due to my mineral; that is the only thing that has changed from the year before. Although I think ole mother nature has been PMS'ing this year; cold one moment and hot the next.
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The results of mineral imbalance or deficiency of certain minerals is what is suspected as the cause of the listed birth defects. What needs to be addressed is what causes such severe mineral imbalance. Regarding underbites showing up on ultrasound, you would have to ask a doctor or veterinarian. Some very small fetuses I removed from dead pregnant females had obvious underbite and of course some didn't, so I assume that underbite would show on an ultrasound, but don't know.
 
Maybe ask a doctor or vet about the correlation between underbites and enlarged heart ventricle or lung inflammation.
 

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