Vaginal Prolapse Options

[cowgirlboots]

I have a 6 year old Hereford cow that had a vaginal prolapse last winter. She calved a couple weeks ago and everything is fine, she did not prolapse again. As luck would have it, this cow is the one cow that I would never get rid of. She was my first purebred show heifer, and is kind of my 'baby'. Even though I know she will be more work and will not be earning her keep, she will not be sold now. That being said, what are my options as far as rebreeding her? Is rebreeding too risky, and I should separate her when the bull gets let out with the herd? What are the chances that she will prolapse again/ will it keep getting worse? I understand that vaginal prolapse is hereditary and I should not keep heifers from her, but what about the cow specifically?

 

[branguscowgirl]

If I understand you correctly, she just had her 2nd calf with no prolapse this time?
If that is the case, why are you worried? Sounds like she could do just fine.

 

[cowgirlboots]

branguscowgirl- she had a vaginal prolapse (her first prolapse) this winter (Jan. 2014) and calved this spring (April 2014). My question was more along the lines of 'is it okay to breed a cow that has had a history of vaginal prolapse?' What are the risks? What would you do if you knew that getting rid of the cow was not an option?

 

[branguscowgirl]

If she did not prolapse when she calved in April, I would breed her back.
There is always a chance she could prolapse, as with any cow. I would deal with it then. (Since you are keeping her anyway.)

 

[Nesikep]

I've always found it both is hereditary, and gets worse with age. That being said, I also will breed back until they really have a problem. I do try and get rid of them the year before they have the problem though. I guess the short answer to your question is "Yes". The risks? well, more of the same... What would I do if getting rid of her wasn't an option.. well, I'd get rid of her after giving her a year of "retirement". My cows are pets too, and I had to put down my 17 year old last fall.. tis not fun, and she didn't get her year of retirement, with her arthritis, I couldn't have her go through another winter... she had 16 calves for me.

 

[Chris H]

Hereford breeder here & speaking from experience.

Vaginal prolapses happen during the later stages of pregnancy and will get progressively worse with each pregnancy. You already know not to keep heifers out of her, so why breed her? If you want to keep her as a pet, then consider her a non-breeding pet. The vaginal prolapses are prone to injury while the cow is laying down, prone to frostbite in the winter, attract flies in the summer. They can get real ugly. Don't put your pet through that. Shipping her to slaughter is more humane.

 

[dun]

Hereford breeder here & speaking from experience.

Vaginal prolapses happen during the later stages of pregnancy and will get progressively worse with each pregnancy. You already know not to keep heifers out of her, so why breed her? If you want to keep her as a pet, then consider her a non-breeding pet.

That's sort of what we did years ago with the wifes pet Hereford. But we ended up turning her in with feeders that we would buy and being around her would calm them right down. Also used her at weaning to train the calves and if someone got out and was wild we would turn her out and they would follow her right back in.

 

[Dega Moo]

Depends on how much effort you want to invest in this girl but you could always bring her in and sew her up at around 7 months. Take it out just before she's due.

 

[bmoore87]

Depends on how much effort you want to invest in this girl but you could always bring her in and sew her up at around 7 months. Take it out just before she's due.

Agreed sew her up and she can make it. I would try to get the string out prior to calving but have had a cow calve and break the 1/8 inch umbilical tape we use to sew up and the calf was fine.

 

[kucala5]

We had a vaginal prolapse on a 10 year old last year. Never considered shipping her without another chance. She did fine this year.

 

[cowgirlboots]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I think I will give her another chance this year and see how that goes. If I have to sew her up again, then that's just what will happen.

 

[Nesikep]

Sew her up, and use velcro or snaps

If you can force her to walk more, especially in the third trimester, that would help her a bit... don't know the size of your place, but a mile is a good number if you can manage it

 

[Chris H]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I think I will give her another chance this year and see how that goes. If I have to sew her up again, then that's just what will happen.

I have a different question about her. You said she is 6, so this should have been her 5th calf. Was this time the first time she had a prolapse of any size? Has she had any heifers and what have you done with them?

 

[cowgirlboots]

Chris H-
The calf she just had is her 5th calf, and the only heifer she has had was her first one, in 2010. The heifer wasn't worth keeping, so she was put on the trailer with the steer calves after weaning. Since that first scrawny heifer, she has raised a good calf (but all bulls). This is the first time she has had a prolapse.

 

[branguscowgirl]

I would say that you have a good chance that she may not prolapse every time. If she means a lot to you, sewing her up sounds like a great idea!

 

[Chris H]

Chris H-
The calf she just had is her 5th calf, and the only heifer she has had was her first one, in 2010. The heifer wasn't worth keeping, so she was put on the trailer with the steer calves after weaning. Since that first scrawny heifer, she has raised a good calf (but all bulls). This is the first time she has had a prolapse.

OK, the reason I asked is we have occasionally had a vaginal prolapse on an older cow. The vet said a large or malpresented calf can cause a tear or weakening in the vaginal wall, this may not be hereditary. You won't necessarily notice it on the delivery that caused it, you'll see it in the next pregnancy. Those prolapses look a bit different than the genetic ones, in our experience. They start off small, maybe softball sized, and we've gotten several calves out of a cow after it first makes its appearance.

Since I can't see what you are dealing with, ask the person who sewed her up. I'd take their advice over someone who hasn't seen the cow & prolapse.

 

[W.B.]

There is a very good chance if this cow is bred that she will die from complications from vaginal prolapse. I would not breed her for love or money. Keep her as a pet don't torture her with future complications. I grew up around Herefords and dealt with this problem would rather have sharp objects shoved under my fingernails than have to sew another one. Nothing worse than retrieving a 2-3 day dead calf out of one then having to resew her after she prolapses again. Nothing is worth that.