Retained Placenta

[Silver]

Yes, I always cringe when "DR POL" strips all his upper clothes off & goes in bare-armed. I was taught to be cautious.

I don't just cringe when he does that, I get quite vocal actually. My wife tells me I'm not allowed to watch Dr Pol if I can't calm down and not yell at the tv.
Also on shaky ground with Goldrush Alaska and the reality gold mining shows. Apparently I have very strong opinions on the way things should be done. :lol2:

 

[TCRanch]

Yes, I always cringe when "DR POL" strips all his upper clothes off & goes in bare-armed. I was taught to be cautious.
People want to treat a cow, but the way I was explained, antibiotics will kill all the good bugs needed to "eat" up the tiny little pieces left behind.
I have seen some people will tie it up in a knot if it is dragging the ground. You can cut the length off, but the weight helps get it "pulled" out natural. Don't want to jinx myself, but I cannot remember last one not cleaning in less than 24 hours - even with twins.

I was going to say the same thing, glad you did I can't handle another a jinx this year.

I had 2 this year that didn't clean. One was long enough (but not dragging) I tied the knot, gave her a shot of Lutalyse and called it good. She passed it later the same day. Other one was in the pasture, straining but nothing hanging out so I just parked the Polaris next to her, dumped some cubes & hit her with Lute when she was eating & least expecting it. Took her a few more days but she cleaned.

 

[Buck Randall]

Yes, I always cringe when "DR POL" strips all his upper clothes off & goes in bare-armed. I was taught to be cautious.

I don't just cringe when he does that, I get quite vocal actually. My wife tells me I'm not allowed to watch Dr Pol if I can't calm down and not yell at the tv.
Also on shaky ground with Goldrush Alaska and the reality gold mining shows. Apparently I have very strong opinions on the way things should be done. :lol2:

I always figure that if Dr. Pol can keep his license, I don't have much to worry about. Some of my ugliest and most embarrassing performances as a veterinarian wouldn't even stand out on that show.

 

[Buck Randall]

Yes, I always cringe when "DR POL" strips all his upper clothes off & goes in bare-armed. I was taught to be cautious.
People want to treat a cow, but the way I was explained, antibiotics will kill all the good bugs needed to "eat" up the tiny little pieces left behind.
I have seen some people will tie it up in a knot if it is dragging the ground. You can cut the length off, but the weight helps get it "pulled" out natural. Don't want to jinx myself, but I cannot remember last one not cleaning in less than 24 hours - even with twins.

I was going to say the same thing, glad you did I can't handle another a jinx this year.

I had 2 this year that didn't clean. One was long enough (but not dragging) I tied the knot, gave her a shot of Lutalyse and called it good. She passed it later the same day. Other one was in the pasture, straining but nothing hanging out so I just parked the Polaris next to her, dumped some cubes & hit her with Lute when she was eating & least expecting it. Took her a few more days but she cleaned.

I'm not sure the lutalyse helps, either, but it's harmless and a good job to give to the person who insists on doing something.

 

[76 Bar]

Thread drift...You've peaked my curiosity...Who is DR POL? Disclaimer...haven't had access to TV in 20 some years so perhaps that explains my ignorance.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Thread drift...You've peaked my curiosity...Who is DR POL? Disclaimer...haven't had access to TV in 20 some years so perhaps that explains my ignorance.

I watch TV every night and was about to ask the same thing.

 

[Buck Randall]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2htwkXOr1wQ[/media]

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Buck, I'm glad you said it - Lutalyse "may" help, but not until 7-10 days after calving, from what I understand. But, it does absolutely ZERO before that. May even be 14 days, before it may help.

 

[Bright Raven]

Buck, I'm glad you said it - Lutalyse "may" help, but not until 7-10 days after calving, from what I understand. But, it does absolutely ZERO before that. May even be 14 days, before it may help.

There is absolutely no recent research that demonstrates any benefit to using Lutalyse. If I remember, even the Merck manual says there has been no research results that concluded Lutalyse makes any difference in the elimination of the membranes.

 

[76 Bar]

I think you are on the right track having her tested for Lepto and perhaps "Bangs".

If you don't have an aggressive vaccine protocol for Lepto HB but of course. In the best of circumstances 80% vaccine efficacy is a reasonable expectation. Are your juvenile heifers officially Bangs vaccinated in a timely fashion? If so, I'd find it unlikely you'd need to test them.
I fully understand your angst & admire your commitment to resolve the issues your dealing with.

 

[Bright Raven]

I think you are on the right track having her tested for Lepto and perhaps "Bangs".

If you don't have an aggressive vaccine protocol for Lepto HB but of course. In the best of circumstances 80% vaccine efficacy is a reasonable expectation. Are your juvenile heifers officially Bangs vaccinated in a timely fashion? If so, I'd find it unlikely you'd need to test them.
I fully understand your angst & admire your commitment to resolve the issues your dealing with.

I am not sure if you are asking JW IN VA or me. My heifers are vaccinated for Brucellosis at the time of pelvic scoring. Brucellosis in Kentucky must be administered by a vet. All my cattle are vaccinated against the 5 Leptospira species including the Hardjo Bovis strain.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Bruc vaccinated at time of pelvic score???? In NY, we can only vaccinate between 4 and 8 months of age. I do vaccinate all my females for Bruc.

 

[Bright Raven]

Bruc vaccinated at time of pelvic score???? In NY, we can only vaccinate between 4 and 8 months of age. I do vaccinate all my females for Bruc.

Yes. That is when they are vaccinated for Brucellosis. Approximately, 12 months old.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Isn't it strange how each state is so different? Ours is strictly 4-8 months.

 

[Bright Raven]

Isn't it strange how each state is so different? Ours is strictly 4-8 months.

Well. I don't personally know the rules. But that is when my vet vaccinates for Brucellosis. He vaccinates when I have him out to do pelvic scores.

I give the Leptospira vaccination myself at the same time I give FP 5. I use Bovi Shield Gold FP 5 VL5.

 

[Buck Randall]

Isn't it strange how each state is so different? Ours is strictly 4-8 months.

Ours is 4-12. Because brucellosis is still endemic in Wyoming, I believe they require it on all intact females. If you want to ship an unvaccinated cow from a state where it's illegal to vaccinate a mature cow, she has to stop at a quarantine facility in Wyoming to get vaccinated.

 

[wbvs58]

It is a long time since I had anything to do with Brucellosis vaccinations, we called it Strain 19 vaccine. Way back in the late 1970's I think. I seem to recall that the upper age limit was to minimise the chance of false +ves when blood tested later. We moved from vaccinating to purely whole herd testing and slaughter of +ves and then the herd had to have 3 clear tests.

Ken

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Yes Ken, the age limit is for the false +ves. They do have a mature cow vaccine - which I never heard of until last year. Our sale had a large group purchased going to California. Turned out a few did not have vaccinations, so they were held & received the adult version.
I mainly vaccinate because I sell cattle all over the US, and there are some states still requiring vaccinations. I also do it because if we have an outbreak in NY, my cattle will be "immune" (hopefully!). Bangs is still around and cattle move all over all the time. Virtually no one vaccinates here anymore.

 

[Bright Raven]

Yes Ken, the age limit is for the false +ves. They do have a mature cow vaccine - which I never heard of until last year. Our sale had a large group purchased going to California. Turned out a few did not have vaccinations, so they were held & received the adult version.
I mainly vaccinate because I sell cattle all over the US, and there are some states still requiring vaccinations. I also do it because if we have an outbreak in NY, my cattle will be "immune" (hopefully!). Bangs is still around and cattle move all over all the time. Virtually no one vaccinates here anymore.

The only reason I vaccinate for brucellosis is because I have sold heifers out of state.

 

[Bright Raven]

Update:

I talked to the vet for about 20 minutes this morning. A blood panel is going to have some limitations. At this point, I can only sample the heifer. The calf and placenta are no longer available. Since this heifer has been vaccinated for vibriosis, Leptospira, BVD, brucellosis, etc. Those titers are going to show up if the vaccinations were effective.

The heifer was not vaccinated for Neospora or anaplasmosis so if those titers show up, we will know that she has been exposed at some time in her life to those pathogens.

We will not know what caused the abortion. We will only know what this heifer has been exposed to that resulted in her forming antibodies against.

Regarding Neospora. He said it is not a concern to the rest of the herd. It is transmitted vertically not laterally. Meaning from mother to calf. One cow does not transmit it to another cow. The protozoan is carried in the environment by predators such as dogs, coyotes, foxes.

Edited to add:

80 % of abortions are due to Non-infectuous causes and in most cases are non-recurring.