Hi. Well I show cattle. I have a heifer who is the daughter of Mossy Oak. If you don't know that Bull he has EXTREMELY straight legs. Well this heifer has his legs. We put her out to pasture and she got bad. Just fell apart. (which I understand happens) But she was very thin. You can't see bones, but she is thinner than all the other calves (and they aren't show cattle) We figured it was those darn legs, the hurt her. Okay. So she was put to pasture and was bred. We had her preg checked. Okay so she is about 7 months today. (due in december-january) I went out today, she had a HUGE bag, very tight. But her stomach was flat. I also noticed some junk hanging from her rear, but it wasn't manure. My mom thought she may have aborted the calf and it was the afterbirth. We looked around for an hour or so and couldn't find a calf. But we also have dogs..so they might have taken it? Btw she was in a medium sized lot after we found she was pregnant. My question is does it sound like she has.....
2006-10-02 15:15:28 · 9 answers · asked by Katie 3 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
...aborted? We can't take her to the vet for about another week. We have several things going on this week and just can't make the time. Please please and insight on this would be great I'm very worried about my girl. Please.
2006-10-02 15:16:58 · update #1
It's not that we can't have a vet out. (Yet the ones around here are EXTREMELY expensive) We have something going on all week. We can probably take her Saturday. And it's not that she's in pain. She doesn't show pain at all. I'm just a little confused if she is still pregnant or not.
2006-10-02 15:28:26 · update #2
Twistedmo..I believe you misunderstood me. She was pregnant BEFORE she lost the weight. Mind you she was probably around 1100-1300 pounds we put her to pasture she got pregnant, and lost some wait. She is back home now. We are feeding her hay and a small amout of sweet feed. Please don't take me the wrong way.
2006-10-02 15:47:47 · update #3
Oh and the dogs don't chase her, they are simply around. They are farm dogs and don't chase anything but birds and coyotes (on occasion) The reason I said this is because they may have taken the fetus and eaten it or buried it.
2006-10-02 15:50:16 · update #4
See the thing about her weight it really is odd. She was a perfectly fine calf. We ludalased (sp) her and left her at the pasture for a week. We noticed the bull wasn't interested and brought her home and ludalased (sp) her again, took her back up to the pasture and noticed right away the bull was trying to ride her. Well we weren't sure if it was just the normal 'greeting' or if she was actually in heat. Well we didn't go up there for a couple of months but my grandma owns the land and checks on them about three times every two weeks. Well 3 months later she calls us and tells us that we need to go up and get the heifer. She lost a lot of weight. Practically overnight. I'm sure this isn't true but that's just how it seems. We finally caught her & took her to get preg checked. He said she was around 5 months then gave her allergy medicine. (she was a little congested) We asked about worms & he took a stool sample& said he didn't see any. So we took her home and fed her& she gained some
2006-10-02 16:00:05 · update #5
she needs to be checked to see if she still has a fetus inside as if it died inside her it quickly turns to blood posoning,,,sounds like there is a good chance she did abort,especially if she was bagged up and has after birth hanging out, in which she can also get an infection, if she does not clean up, which can be done with oxytocin...to get her to clean up, if your on a ranch you should have antibiotics, she needs to be on them along with boluses immediatly...and get yoour vet to check her out asap and find out why she aborted..if she prolapsed, it is usually firm and looks like a balloon coming out, in which case it is put back in and sewn up for a while...i know you say you are busy but i have bred.. raised and shown registered catlle and run commercial herds most all of my life and they come first, it takes no time at all for a heifer to die if this goes untreated...we run over a 1000 head and you have to stay on top of them and not let it go when one of them is sick or needs help, no matter what
2006-10-02 18:45:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
First off, I think it is strange how people who have no clue about the cattle industry are accusing you of abuse. Heifers and cows need to be able to survive because you can't always call an expensive vet to your farm not to mention the availabilty of large animal vets is very low in many places. That being said I would consider culling this heifer after you figure out was happened. heifers have more trouble than cows with their first calf and often lose weight, but you don't need to keep a cow that won't give you a calf even if it out of Mossy Oak.
here is an article from the Iowa beef center on heifers with their first calf: http://www.iowabeefcenter.org/pdfs/bch/02110.pdf#search=%22first%20calf%20heifers%22
also here is some information on abortion in cattle http://extension.usu.edu/files/agpubs/beef36.pdf#search=%22calf%20abortion%22
The stuff you saw could also be prolapse (from this website http://www.iacuc.arizona.edu/training/cattle/app2.html"Vaginal/rectal prolapse )
Causes: The tissue around the birth canal becomes relaxed as the cow starts the last third of gestation, increased pressure in the abdominal cavity will push the vagina or the rectum out. If the tissue is trapped outside the birth canal it will swell and may become infected. In some cases the bladder is also trapped and the animal is unable to urinate. This condition is more common in older cows. Overly fat cattle and cattle on pasture with a high legume concentration are at higher risk.
Treatment: Epidural anesthetic is usually necessary. Replace the tissue and suture in place. Vaginal sutures must be removed before calving
Prevention: Remove animals from the breeding herd that develop this condition. Don't allow cows to gain too much weight during the last trimester of pregnancy."
I would try to get a vet out there when you can, just to confirm what is going on with her.
2006-10-06 07:37:15 · answer #2 · answered by ekaty84 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes she definitly could have aborted the calf or she could have had a rupture in the sac and still be carrying the calf only without the sac in which case the calf would be dead inside her. A third scenerio is she was having twins and only lost one. The loosing weight is a big issue here especially if she was pregnant, had she been wormed lately as cattle as well as horses pick up parasites in pasture. With not finding a calf and even with dogs and vultures you would still see remains, you really need to get a vet out now. If she didn't deliver the calf and it is dead in her it can set up an infection and be fatal or prevent her from being bred again. I know vets are expensive to have come out to the farm but honestly if you can't get her in till the weekend it needs to be done, we have lost cattle before from infections from birthing even with a vet there.
2006-10-02 15:44:36 · answer #3 · answered by Martha S 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Okay. You're going to get bombarded by people who will want to know why you can't make time to take this very special show cow to a veterinarian. Or why you don't have one in your area who does large animal calls. Or why you or your Mom don't know too terribly much about a pregnant cow, yet you're breeding this crippled animal with the "darn legs"????
That aside, this forum is probably not the one you need for your answers if you're really serious. I have seen very few cattle breeders on here. Since you have access to the internet, search and contact other ranch web sites. There are many family ranchers out there with a lot of knowledge about what they're doing. Since you seem to have zero, even if you are young and your mom is no help whatsoever, please contact people in the business, not a forum like this where 75% of the responders are guessing.
Good luck to you, and God help that poor cow.
2006-10-02 15:26:11 · answer #4 · answered by Charlotte M 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What kind of cattle do you raise that you seem to think it is ok to breed one that is thin and poorly and very under weight? She probably did abort. It also probably had a lot to do with her being in bad condition or having dogs chasing her around. There is no excuse for breeding an animal that is not healthy. Don't you think getting that poor critter to a vet is a teensy weensy bit more important than your "things going on this week"?!!!!! If you don't think so you shouldn't have animals. I'm not one to make a habit of lecturing someone but one of the most basic rules of animal care is that you don't breed an unhealthy animal. Another of the basics is proper vet care isn't optional. This isn't simply my opinion here, I believe you've broken the laws concerning neglect and health care.
2006-10-02 15:39:13 · answer #5 · answered by twistedmouse 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like a spontaneous abortion, and prolapsed uterus to me.. Septicemia, is the concern now...If you can't afford the vet.Put her down...Obviously the straight legs are a problem, but not in this case,,,,,,She has a fault, should not be bred, and I would avoid the bloodline of the bull you mentioned...She may die on her own, will probably not be breed-able, and infection would make her ineligible for market. Spend the money or put her down.
2006-10-02 17:20:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you are serious, you need to call a vet immediately. This isn't a job for the forum, but for a vet. If she miscarried, but didn't expel the fetus, she will die.
2006-10-02 15:54:58 · answer #7 · answered by hoodoowoman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buzzards also like to be around when a calf is born...they could be the culprits.
2006-10-02 15:22:15 · answer #8 · answered by my two cents 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_b/b-215.html
I can't understand WHY you have to wait so long on a vet.
Call him to come out to your house.
If she is as special as you say-WHY LET HER DIE?
2006-10-02 15:22:01 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋