What would you do?

[Wick]

I got a mature cow that has started to vaginal prolapse. Had her stictched to keep in. She's approx. 3 weeks from calving. She's what I would call a real cow, raises a great calf every year. Here is question. I work off farm job and am not here all the time, should I keep and hope for the best (being here to cut stitch, and hope she doesn't fully prolapse after calving, chance of loosing both cow and calf) or sell her at the market as buthcer cow. She wasn't given antibotics for the latter chioce. Vet said leave it tied for couple weeks and then loosen and she might be fine. If sell now guarantee to get butcher price minus vet bill or hope for the best and might get healthy calf and all will be well or might turn out with loss of one or both. What do you think you would do??????????? Sale is Friday.

 

[double v]

Look's like its up to you, how much can you do? Can you afford to loose her(birthing problem) if you don't sell her? I work off the farm to and it's to hard having headaches like this, there are other real cows out their. Let her go.

 

[bigbull338]

you just have todo whats best for you.since your not there id say weigh her up.because if she calves when your not there.she could prolapse an you could lose her.or you could get someone to watch over her while your gone.an try to calve her out.an see what happens.

 

[Cowdirt]

I got a mature cow that has started to vaginal prolapse. Had her stictched to keep in. She's approx. 3 weeks from calving. She's what I would call a real cow, raises a great calf every year. Here is question. I work off farm job and am not here all the time, should I keep and hope for the best (being here to cut stitch, and hope she doesn't fully prolapse after calving, chance of loosing both cow and calf) or sell her at the market as buthcer cow. She wasn't given antibotics for the latter chioce. Vet said leave it tied for couple weeks and then loosen and she might be fine. If sell now guarantee to get butcher price minus vet bill or hope for the best and might get healthy calf and all will be well or might turn out with loss of one or both. What do you think you would do??????????? Sale is Friday.

Talk to the vet who stitched her. If she was that close to calving, I'll bet he stitched her in a way that she can tear-out the stitch/stitches and successful calve. If she prolapses during/after calving, have her stitched again. Vet is required to leave a string hanging so that an unsuspecting buyer doesn't take her home. Just keep her away from your bull and you can decide later when to sell.

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

What would we do?
1. Talk with your vet... if you have to remove the stiches for her to calve... do so.
2. Stitch her back up immediately after delivery.
3. Allow her to raise her calf to weaning weight.
4. Sell her for slaughter -- you don't have time to mess with this one and her muscle structure will likely not be restored... unless she is vaginally prolapsing because she is "over-conditioned" a.k.a. fat.

If she doesn't calve out successfully and/or you lose the calf... she goes for slaughter... if the need for antibiotics comes into play so you have some salvage money out of her... wait for the withdrawal time and then off she goes.

 

[cfpinz]

We had one in the same situation last year. Wife stitched her up and we cut the stitches out a few days before she calved. She vaginally prolapsed the day before she calved but it went back in as soon as she calved, or at least before I got home from work. We didn't breed her back and sold her as soon as the calf got up to around 500lbs. I also jerked her daughter from the replacement group and showed her the door.

 

[angus9259]

What would we do?
1. Talk with your vet... if you have to remove the stiches for her to calve... do so.
2. Stitch her back up immediately after delivery.
3. Allow her to raise her calf to weaning weight.
4. Sell her for slaughter -- you don't have time to mess with this one and her muscle structure will likely not be restored... unless she is vaginally prolapsing because she is "over-conditioned" a.k.a. fat.

If she doesn't calve out successfully and/or you lose the calf... she goes for slaughter... if the need for antibiotics comes into play so you have some salvage money out of her... wait for the withdrawal time and then off she goes.

Got one just like that. Put the stitch in myself 2 months ago. Everyone said to send her to slaughter then. I'm pig headed and she's an AI cow with an AI calf in her. Stitch is still in - a little infected, but still in. She's due in 20 days. I'll cut it the week before calving and hope for the best. Don't plan on reusing her though. Basically, my plan is exactly beefmasters. Time will tell if I'm fool or genius. Such a fine line between the two isn't there?? :lol:

 

[Wick]

Hey thanks for the input!!!!!!!! She is fat as are most of the cows this time of year for me, on just mixed grass hay. I am still up in the air on this one, I think if I loosen the stich a few days before she calves she will be fine. I sure hope so anyway. She will definatly travel this fall if it gets that far. Lost cows before to the uterine prolapses and that is not good for anyone, cow or my pocket. Vets are some time hard to get when needed. You know how that goes. Still debating on this one. :???:

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Vag. prolapse is not as bad or as likely to recur as uterine. I've fixed a few but they were after calving. Personally I would take the chance to get the calf and stitch her back up after if she pops it out.

 

[glesamiz]

This may not be helpful for this particuliar cow but for another time or just for information my favorite way to repair vaginal prolapses is to use prolapse "pins" or "buttons". These are pins that are inserted thru the vaginal wall just behind the cervix and out thru the skin with a plastic washer-like retainer slid over the pin and held on by a simple cotter pin. These pins are installed after the prolapse is "put back in" and one is used on each side. There is no reason anyone couldn't put them in and they are cost effective. The cow calves as normal as the birth canal is not obstructed and they are removed a few days after calving. CAUTION: they have to be removed at some time or you will have a real mess as the skin tries to grow over the pin and washer. They are available to any Veterinarian and maybe other sources.

G Lesamiz, DVM

 

[dun]

Conventional wisdom is that if they prolapse before calving they'll do it again, if they prolapse after they won't.
I just went through the same prolapse deal with one of my best cows. She was stiched up using a noose and a week before she was due I removed it. 4 days later she prolapsed again. Sewed her up using eyes and a boot stitch. We did 2 hourly checks on her so that we culd cut it if she went into labor. 4 days past her due date she was laying down straining so I cut the stitch. She promptly got nback up and didn;t strain anymore. 2 days later she prolapsed again so we restictched her. Another week of 2 hourly checks. I happened to be looking down that way and saw her strain once and her watere broke. Cut the stitch, and sure enough she got up and didn;t do anything for about 4 hours. Then she layed down and popped the calf out with no problems. She's fat as a pig but has really good muscle tone. Gonna miss that old cow when we wean calves in the fall.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

This may not be helpful for this particuliar cow but for another time or just for information my favorite way to repair vaginal prolapses is to use prolapse "pins" or "buttons". These are pins that are inserted thru the vaginal wall just behind the cervix and out thru the skin with a plastic washer-like retainer slid over the pin and held on by a simple cotter pin. These pins are installed after the prolapse is "put back in" and one is used on each side. There is no reason anyone couldn't put them in and they are cost effective. The cow calves as normal as the birth canal is not obstructed and they are removed a few days after calving. CAUTION: they have to be removed at some time or you will have a real mess as the skin tries to grow over the pin and washer. They are available to any Veterinarian and maybe other sources.

G Lesamiz, DVM

A livestock officer from Canada told me about these and I would love to have a set, he gave me a link to an on-line place in Canada - but I wonder why they aren't more readily available in the US?

 

[Wisteria Farms]

OK guys, please help me out here....will you look at this picture and tell me if this is what you're talking about (vaginal prolapse). I thought this was just my cow getting good and loose before calving but now I'm worried my inexperienced eyes arent' recognizing a problem....

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Wisteria, I can't quite tell from your picture. the bright pink spot where she seems to be a little open looks fairly normal - but the darker portion below and to the right in the picture - I can't quite see it very well, is it normal outer tissue or is it a big lump that is dried and crusty, possibly bleeding a bit? A prolapsed vagina will be about the size of a 10 bag of sugar or flour and generally will hang out when she stands. she will stand with her tail up and often cannot urinate very well - one of the first things to happen when you shove it back in will be a flood of pee.

Normal loose pre-birthing tissue is the same fairly dry, soft skin as before it gets puffy and jiggly (excuse my technical, scientific language )

I just can't see from your picture - take another with her standing in better light and we can tell real quick.

 

[Wisteria Farms]

Hippie Rancher,
I can't take another picture...she calved almost 2 weeks ago. This was a day before she calved. I was taking pictures because I wanted to remember what to look for next time (I'm new to this). There wasn't anything resembling a 5lb bag of sugar or anything hanging... she was just REALLY loose so when she laid down, her vulva hung open. I wasn't sure if this maybe was a prolapse but it doesn't sound like it. Thanks for taking a look... I appreciate your help.

 

[dun]

Hippie Rancher,
I can't take another picture...she calved almost 2 weeks ago. This was a day before she calved. I was taking pictures because I wanted to remember what to look for next time (I'm new to this). There wasn't anything resembling a 5lb bag of sugar or anything hanging... she was just REALLY loose so when she laid down, her vulva hung open. I wasn't sure if this maybe was a prolapse but it doesn't sound like it. Thanks for taking a look... I appreciate your help.

If all you are refering to is the bright colored area and it doesn;t stick out of the vagina and looks like a bubblee, sort of, it's nothing to worry about. If it isn;t visible when the cow stands it's pretty normal. Some cows will show that way a couple of weeks before calving, some never do. Some will one year and not the next. I meant to get pictures of a real prolapsed vagina but the weather was alwasy at it's nastiest and I wanted to get it replaced and not dither around with pictures.

 

[milkmaid]

Dun.... pics of vaginal prolapses.
View attachment 1


I believe I have one other prolapse pic on the "cow problems" thread.

 

[dun]

Dun.... pics of vaginal prolapses.

Good, now I don;t feel so bad about not taking pictures.
The first one is the type that is fairly normal with late term cows and will 99.9% of the time go back in when she stands. The second on is the kind that has to be shoved back in and stitched

 

[Wisteria Farms]

Thanks for taking time to show these pics....that really helps...

 

[angus9259]

That picture isn't the vaginal prolapse I've got. There was a good softball + size vaginal bubble coming out of mine. Hard to tell from the picture, but that's more of what I think normal pre-calving dilation / swelling looks like.