Pregnant holstein with sac around belly

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Manunitedtopgear

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Hello everyone, I have a holstein heifer that is about 9 months pregnant. Earlier today I noticed that she has a sac hanging down from her belly. This is about 5 to 6 inches in front of her udders. I am concerned this could be a hernia, but I have also read that this could be edema. I will post some pictures here, please let me know what you think.




 
From the pictures I am thinking that you are referring to her belly button it that it? It does look larger than normal. When is she due? If she is due soon you could just wait it out until she calves to see if things change.
 
Yes, it's right around her naval, I took her to the vet on Tuesday and he said that she could calve any day now. I just noticed this enlarged naval a few hours ago.
 
It may be enlarged due to the pregnancy. I would wait and see if it goes down after the calf before doing anything. I would check and see how hot it is. Just make sure that it is not red and hot because that may mean infection.
 
I can't tell you exactly what it is, but I've seen my fair share of it. Never seen it come to a bad end, so I wouldn't worry about it.
 
It still looks like mostly udder edema to me. The holsteins that I have seen over the years will have it for anywhere from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks after calving. Sometimes the farmer will give them a shot for it, but it often will hamper the milk production. So if it stays the same or slowly goes away, leave it alone. Her body will re-absorb the fluid in its' own time. If it gets bigger then I would say possible hernia. Give it at least a week or two if it is not hot or red or looks like it is causing her any real pain. The tighter/harder the udder usually means more edema to be worked out. Use one of the products for dairy animals that has the mint in it, to rub on it. The formulas cause a little heat but mostly increase the blood circulation which will help the fluid to be absorbed into the blood stream and carried out of the area. Those "creams" are more liquid than say bag balm, smell like a mint field and do a fantastic job of increasing the blood flow.
 
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