Prolapse all over again ?

[Stocker Steve]

Had a bull that threw some big calves this spring. He is gone. I still have two cows and a heifer that we had to stitch up. What are the odds of them prolapsing again next year after an average sized calf ?

 

[Aaron]

Provided they survive, I am quite happy to cash in on them - rather than play roulette again.

 

[John SD]

Provided they survive, I am quite happy to cash in on them - rather than play roulette again.

:nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod:

 

[kenny thomas]

Had a bull that threw some big calves this spring. He is gone. I still have two cows and a heifer that we had to stitch up. What are the odds of them prolapsing again next year after an average sized calf ?

My thoughts have always been that the size of the calf has little to do wih prolapse. I feel it is genetic nd some mineral issues. But read my signture and decide on your own.

 

[Bigfoot]

Personally, I don't blame calf size either. I keep one that prolapses at birth, but not before.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

A prolapse is a ticket to the sale barn for me after she has weaned her calf.

 

[Nesikep]

Especially with vaginal prolapse, I think there are cows that are just more prone to it than others.. regular excercise before calving seems to really reduce the occurrence and severity of it, but it's a bandaid solution to a deeper problem.. I have some cow lines that more often than not will have some prolapse, and others that just NEVER have it.. and the line that never has a prolapse problem is one of the ones that has the 140 lb calves with no problems.

Uterine prolapse is a whole other thing... We've only had 2 incidences of it, and shipped them out both times, not so much because of the worry of them doing it again (though that was on our mind), but because it really seems to affect them breeding back.

 

[ANAZAZI]

Cows do not prolapse two years in a row, because once they have prolapsed they are culled. And rightly so.

 

[dun]

I've seen overly large calves cause uterine prolapse but no vaginal. Vaginal before calving and odds are she will do it again, after calving not such high odds.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I've seen overly large calves cause uterine prolapse but no vaginal. Vaginal before calving and odds are she will do it again, after calving not such high odds.

I did a post calving search -- body condition/fill, genetics, and calving difficulty were noted major causes.
They implied that it was OK to retain dairy cows, but not beef cows, after a prolapse. Could be a calving observation thing.
One study showed only a 50 to 60% survival rate for Holstein uterine prolapses. Does this sound right for beef cows?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Uterine prolapse is mostly caused by having a hard time calving. Not likely to happen again. Vaginal prolapse is more likely to happen again.

 

[bigbull338]

what you have to worry about is if they will breed back.

 

[Quigly]

If they developed a uterine prolapse following calving, I would plan on keeping them. It is rare for a uterine prolapse to recur, I think a lot of heifers are unnecessarily culled for this reason. I believe calf size plays a role, they dont have to be huge calves for a prolapse to occur, but it seems like a large percentage of them are heifers with calves that will be in the top half of birth weights. They do have a little harder time breeding back, but have them preg checked and you can sell them at weaning if they are open. The most important factor here is to remove the stitch. A uterine prolapse stitch only needs to be in a couple days, I recommend removing them before going to summer grass or you are going to forget. If you have a cow try to calve with a stitch in, then you will probably wish you had sold her.

Vaginal prolpase cows should be sold. They are the gift that keeps on giving for vets.

 

[Chris H]

If they developed a uterine prolapse following calving, I would plan on keeping them. It is rare for a uterine prolapse to recur, I think a lot of heifers are unnecessarily culled for this reason. I believe calf size plays a role, they dont have to be huge calves for a prolapse to occur, but it seems like a large percentage of them are heifers with calves that will be in the top half of birth weights. They do have a little harder time breeding back, but have them preg checked and you can sell them at weaning if they are open. The most important factor here is to remove the stitch. A uterine prolapse stitch only needs to be in a couple days, I recommend removing them before going to summer grass or you are going to forget. If you have a cow try to calve with a stitch in, then you will probably wish you had sold her.

Vaginal prolpase cows should be sold. They are the gift that keeps on giving for vets.

Yep. Only got rid of 1 uterine prolapse. As doc was putting it back in he said uterine prolapses were not genetic, so on and so on, rarely happened twice, and just as he was ready to put the stitch in he said, 'oh oh, looks like scar tissue from a prior stitch, better just ship her', and we did after she healed.
Vaginal prolapse before calving only happened 1 time per cow, they never got a second chance. If they had a heifer, she was also culled.
Vaginal prolapse after calving seems to be due to a weakness in the vaginal wall and occurred(for us) on first calving. We saw that last year and this, from one particular bull, again, cow & calf culled.

 

[Supa Dexta]

Had a red angus bull throw a string off offspring that can't keep their insides in. I'm still culling them because of it.

 

[wacocowboy]

Cows do not prolapse two years in a row, because once they have prolapsed they are culled. And rightly so.

A prolapse is a ticket to the sale barn for me after she has weaned her calf.

That's the way I think

 

[Stocker Steve]

Cows do not prolapse two years in a row, because once they have prolapsed they are culled. And rightly so.

A prolapse is a ticket to the sale barn for me after she has weaned her calf.

That's the way I think

Have you ever tried to calve one again?

 

[Aaron]

Have you ever tried to calve one again?

Once. A 1993 model that pushed it all out as a first timer, did a good job on the calf and stuck around for a 2nd time. Same thing all over the second time. Girl had lots of stitch marks by the time she hit the road in the fall. After that, never again.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Steve don't sell a good cow on internet advice. Talk to a vet.

 

[Stocker Steve]

The reason I posted this was that the (mostly dairy) vet said keep the young ones....
I think a stall barn is a much easier place than my back pasture to deal with a bad outcome.