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certherfbeef

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Does anyone know of a good way to clean a cow after she has calved? Hopefully this doesn't involve the vet. My grandpa has been farming all his life and he said something about iodine and water. Any ideas or suggestions?
 
I heard something once about my great grandpa throwing iodine on it then tieing a small rock in it. The rock wasn't too heavy just enough weight to help pull it out slowly and without ripping anything.
 
I'm not really sure. I'd wait a few days then if it's not showing any signs of coming out load her up and take her to the vet. We've had a cow on stalks have twins that had the placenta out for a week and a few days before we could get the trailer and panels into her.
 
any thoughts on why she didn't clean? Decient hay all winter, plenty of mineral, 85lb calf out of a BIG wide hipped Hereford. She is a 1997 model and not too fat. Did not have to pull the calf. I did my part right??
 
certherfbeef":1f4sffzz said:
any thoughts on why she didn't clean? Decient hay all winter, plenty of mineral, 85lb calf out of a BIG wide hipped Hereford. She is a 1997 model and not too fat. Did not have to pull the calf. I did my part right??

sometimes this happens for no apparent reason....could have been delivery, minerals, etc.

another thing you can do to help her clean is to take a stick......wrap the end of the retained placenta around it. continue wrapping & pulling using gentle but firm pressure.
 
A shot of Lutalytes will help her clean. Ask the vet clinic for more detailed info, but personally, I usually don't worry too much about it as long as the cow doesn't act depressed - loss of appetite, hunched up, etc. Looks like hell, but mine all eventually clean and very low precentage of open cows in the fall.

For what it's worth, since all the breds here are now fed a loose salt/mineral ration developed for our selenium deficient area, I haven't noticed many cows retaining their placentas. Sounds like you have a decent program going. Our region has undergone a drought the last two years, so feed rationing has been an ongoing challenge this winter (at one point hand pailing 1100lbs of barley a day to supplement the hay and straw).

Not to offend the Hereford folks (I've got a few of them myself in the herd, dandy cows), but one trait that I've heard that the Hereford breeders have worked hard to rectify is the tendancy of the cows to have weaker uterus' and more prolapses. From what I understand, this was related to the same gene that gives Herefords more tender meat (muscle tissue is perhaps not as 'strong' as in some other breeds). Anyway, that's all just heresay, you understand. Not saying it's the Bible.

Good luck with your cow. Let us know how things turn out for you.
 
Unfortunetly you're right about Herefords having a higher incedence of prolapse. But when that Hereford is cut by breeding them to another breed, in our case Red Angus, the problem seems to disappear. That's one of the reason a blady is such a great cow.
There is an old vet joke about a guy that ran a mixed herd of cattle out in the open range. One day to check them out he buzzed the herd with a helicopter. The Simmenthals ran to a fence and jumped it, the Angus crawled under it, the Limousin ran through it, the Herefords layed down and prolapsed. No offense meant, just a joke I've heard from a number of vets so that particular joke must be pretty wide spread.

dun


CattleAnnie":xq4jo5jl said:
A shot of Lutalytes will help her clean. Ask the vet clinic for more detailed info, but personally, I usually don't worry too much about it as long as the cow doesn't act depressed - loss of appetite, hunched up, etc. Looks like hell, but mine all eventually clean and very low precentage of open cows in the fall.

For what it's worth, since all the breds here are now fed a loose salt/mineral ration developed for our selenium deficient area, I haven't noticed many cows retaining their placentas. Sounds like you have a decent program going. Our region has undergone a drought the last two years, so feed rationing has been an ongoing challenge this winter (at one point hand pailing 1100lbs of barley a day to supplement the hay and straw).

Not to offend the Hereford folks (I've got a few of them myself in the herd, dandy cows), but one trait that I've heard that the Hereford breeders have worked hard to rectify is the tendancy of the cows to have weaker uterus' and more prolapses. From what I understand, this was related to the same gene that gives Herefords more tender meat (muscle tissue is perhaps not as 'strong' as in some other breeds). Anyway, that's all just heresay, you understand. Not saying it's the Bible.

Good luck with your cow. Let us know how things turn out for you.
 
Thank you all for your info. The lute I assume causes the uterus to contract and that is what makes her dump the placenta. Correct? An old dairy farmer once told me that if you use lute to syncronize cattle that you can expect half of them to retain their placentas. I used CIDRS and lute to sync my spring cows. Am I in for a lot of problems?
Also, I have herd the that hereford joke. Even the hereford guys 'round here tell that one! Every breed has its shortfalls just like every breed has its benifits.
 
My choice would be oxytocin rather then lut. The oxytocin is supposed to help the uterus involute (get back to normal).
We don't synch anything but most of the dairys do and they haven't had problems with retained placenta any more then is normal for hard pushed high producing dairy cows.
Lutalyse has been used for many years and I've never heard of a problem with it, other then typically induced heats are less fertile then natural heats.

dun

certherfbeef":2yf5ja1d said:
Thank you all for your info. The lute I assume causes the uterus to contract and that is what makes her dump the placenta. Correct? An old dairy farmer once told me that if you use lute to syncronize cattle that you can expect half of them to retain their placentas. I used CIDRS and lute to sync my spring cows. Am I in for a lot of problems?
Also, I have herd the that hereford joke. Even the hereford guys 'round here tell that one! Every breed has its shortfalls just like every breed has its benifits.
 
What about infusing the uterus? There is boluses and all kind of concocktions at the feed mill? What are your thoughts on this?
 

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