Contents
The difference between abortion and premature birth is that in the first case, the fetus always dies. The birth of a dead calf after the normal duration of pregnancy is not considered an abortion. Such a fetus is considered stillborn. The causes of abortion in all farm animals are the same. A miscarriage in a cow is no different in this respect from an aborted fetus in a goat, sheep, or pig.
Why did the cow get aborted
Causes of abortion in cows range from feeding the wrong feed to contracting brucellosis, which is also dangerous to humans. All types of miscarriages can be divided into 3 large groups: infectious, non-infectious and invasive. According to clinical signs, abortions are distinguished:
- full;
- incomplete;
- hidden;
- habitual.
Hidden abortion does not lead to miscarriage, and the owner of the cow often does not even suspect that this has happened. It is more often thought that the cow was blanched in the first mating and it is necessary to cover it again.
Infectious causes of miscarriages in cows
Among the infectious abortions are also invasive, that is, caused by parasites. Such miscarriages are not infectious, since the scheme of infection with parasites is different.
Infectious miscarriages cause:
- brucellosis;
- young;
- listeriosis;
- pseudotuberculosis;
- tularemia (not always);
- rinderpest;
- infectious rhinotracheitis;
- viral diarrhea;
- respiratory syncytial infection of cattle;
- infectious catarrhal fever of sheep (sick and cattle) or “blue tongue”.
Brucellosis is one of the most common infectious causes of abortion in cows. In some herds, miscarriages at 5-8 months occur in 50% of cows. Also, brucellosis is one of the main causes of abortion in heifers. Given that this disease is not treated, in a herd with an annual introduction of heifers, miscarriages can occur for several years in a row.
Invasive abortions
Occur as a result of infection of the cow with parasites. In cows, only two types of parasites cause abortions: Babesia and Trichomonas. Babesia is carried by ticks, and the main peak of babesiosis occurs in the summer. Since cows usually happen in March-April, a miscarriage occurs more often as a result of infection with babesiosis.
Trichomonas have other hosts and vectors. Infection with these parasites does not depend on the time of year. Carriers of the causative agent of trichomoniasis in cattle are sires. The parasite is transmitted to the cow through semen. With trichomoniasis in the 1-3rd month of pregnancy, early hidden abortions occur without miscarriages. After that, the cow comes into heat again and aborts again. This gives the owner the impression that the cow is sterile.
Non-contagious causes of abortion
This group is divided into:
- alimentary;
- traumatic;
- idiopathic.
Miscarriage can also occur as a result of feeding feeds oversaturated with mineral fertilizers. Cows often throw off as a result of overexertion or fright. Abortions occur due to poisoning by poisonous plants, by the use of vegetable estrogens by cattle, and by the use of uterine remedies.
Alimentary abortions
In fact, these are miscarriages as a result of food poisoning. Alimentary abortion in a cow can cause:
- sprouted or rotten potatoes;
- moldy hay;
- rancid concentrates;
- frozen root crops;
- sour silage;
- bard with mustard seeds;
- fruits and plants of castor beans (very poisonous plant);
- juniper;
- pasture;
- tansy;
- hemp;
- mustard;
- horsetail;
- rape.
Plant estrogens, which can cause miscarriages, are found in the maximum amount in herbs at the time of flowering. For this reason, it is undesirable to give flowering clover to a pregnant cow. Cows are also aborted due to a lack of essential amino acids, vitamins, complete proteins and minerals in the body.
Due to the active use of nitrogen fertilizers, even benign traditional feed for cattle has become dangerous:
- peas;
- clover;
- alfalfa;
- rye;
- corn;
- roots;
- kale.
When the content of nitrates is more than 0,2-0,35% in the dry matter of the diet, pregnant cows are aborted.
Traumatic abortions
Traumatic miscarriages include:
- bruise of the abdominal wall;
- received a blow to the head;
- thermal and chemical effects;
- long-term transportation;
- stressful situation;
- too much physical activity.
If the injuries are small, their consequences may not appear until a few weeks later, when the owner has already forgotten about the incident. In this case, the miscarriage will be a complete surprise and it may seem that the cow dropped the calf for no reason.
Traumatic abortion can occur as a result of a fight between two cows in a herd. In the video below, the miscarriage occurred as a result of the horns piercing the peritoneum. The owner blames the law forbidding dehorning. In fact, the cow can throw, even if the blow was delivered by a polled rival. It’s all about the force of impact.
A stressful situation can also arise “from scratch”. As a result of explosions of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve near the barn, many cows throw off from fear. If the animal dropped a live calf, this is premature calving. Even if the calf died a couple of minutes after birth. At the birth of an already dead fetus, this is a miscarriage.
If the cow has been forced to move too much and actively, a miscarriage may occur within the next 1-2 days. This can happen when the herd is moved unreasonably quickly from one pasture to another, or if the herd was driven by dogs.
Idiopathic abortions
A type of miscarriage when a cow’s body gets rid of a non-viable fetus. In veterinary medicine, idiopathic abortions are considered to be caused by alimentary causes or gamete inferiority.
Similar miscarriages occur during development:
- abnormalities in the fetus;
- pathologies of the fetal membranes;
- dropsy of the fetus or membranes.
Idiopathic abortion is possible even if the genotypes of the bull and cow are incompatible. In this case, 4 ways of pregnancy development are possible:
- latent abortion at an early stage;
- miscarriage due to pathology at a later stage;
- fetal death followed by mummification or maceration without miscarriage;
- the birth of a live calf with deformity.
In the latter case, the cub usually does not live long, even if the owner tries to leave it.
Hidden abortions
The same as embryonic mortality. They can be caused by infectious diseases, trauma or genetic incompatibility. It differs from what is commonly called an abortion by the absence of miscarriages. Characterized by the death of embryos at an early stage of development. The cow looks perfectly healthy. An external symptom is only a repeated hunt 28-54 days after insemination.
The main causes of embryonic death are:
- abnormal fertilization caused by incompatibility of gametes during inbreeding;
- untimely insemination;
- protein incompatibility;
- chemical substances;
- avitaminosis E;
- immunological processes;
- inferiority of the function of the corpus luteum of the ovary;
- incompatibility of blood groups;
- the presence of cocci in the uterus.
The death of embryos most often occurs at critical moments of their development. One of these moments: the implantation of the embryo and the formation of a placental connection. But such operations are carried out on large farms, implanting an embryo from a highly productive donor to a low-yielding recipient. Such manipulations are not profitable for a private trader because of the complexity of the implementation and the high price.
Abortion without miscarriage
At a later date, the embryo can no longer resolve on its own, but miscarriages also do not always happen. The dead embryo may remain in the uterus, and then two scenarios are possible: maceration and mummification.
Maceration
This is the name given to the liquefaction of the soft tissues of a dead embryo under the action of fermentation microbes. There is maceration in the middle of pregnancy. Softening of the tissues is accompanied by inflammation of the endometrium of the uterus. The “freed” bones move and put pressure on the cervix. Under pressure, the neck partially opens, and the bones come out along with the liquid decomposed tissues. The color of the outgoing mucus is gray-brown, the smell is sharp and sour.
During maceration, the cow shows signs of intoxication, loss of appetite and depression. During bowel movements, a foamy liquid is released from the vagina, and then a mucous mass with pieces of bones.
A cow will be infertile as long as she has the remains of the fetus in her uterus. Fertilization is possible only after cleaning the uterus and restoring the functions of the endometrium.
Mummification
Also occurs when the fetus dies in the middle of pregnancy. But in this case, there are no fermentation bacteria in the uterus, but there is a reduced contractility of the myometrium and a closed neck. Mummification occurs as a result of a violation of the reflex connection between the central nervous system and the neuro-reflex apparatus of the uterus.
If there is a mummy in the uterus, the cow cannot be fertilized again. The corpus luteum is in a state of persistence. Hormonal activity is reduced. Watching:
- prolonged infertility;
- reduction in milk yield;
- loss of appetite;
- reduced water consumption.
A rectal examination reveals the absence of fluid in the pregnant horn and an enlarged diameter of the middle uterine arteries without “signs of life”.
Treatment is carried out by removing the mummy. Since in the process of mummification and the further presence of the fetus in the uterus, dystrophic and inflammatory processes occur in the endometrium, reproductive abilities are not always restored.
Signs of a miscarriage
In the early stages, if a latent abortion has not occurred, then there are no signs of an impending miscarriage. The fetus is expelled from the uterus, along with the fetal membranes, unexpectedly for the owner. If this happens in a pasture, abortion can even be skipped.
In the later stages, the signs of an incipient abortion and normal calving are similar:
- decreased appetite;
- change in the composition of milk;
- reduction in milk yield;
- udder swelling in non-lactating cows;
- anxiety;
- attempts;
- discharge from the vagina of cloudy bloody mucus.
The final stage of a miscarriage is the expulsion of the embryo. In contrast to normal calving, miscarriage often results in retention of the placenta and inflammation of the uterus. In the cow, these two factors often lead to long-term infertility.
What to do if a cow is aborted
The owner’s actions in the event of a miscarriage depend on the situation. Veterinary instructions provide for the disposal of non-contagious corpses in special crematoria. But first you need to make sure that the miscarriage did not really occur as a result of an infectious disease.
The calf’s corpse, together with the placenta, is placed in a plastic bag until the veterinarian arrives. The place where the miscarriage occurred is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. The uterus of the cow, if possible, is cleaned from the remnants of the placenta. To prevent inflammation of the uterus, a cow is pierced with a course of antibiotics of the penicillin group. Dosage, frequency of injections and duration of the course depend on the type of antibiotic used.
All veterinary manipulations can be done by a called veterinarian. Including prescribing an antibiotic. But in real life, more often than not, everything happens, as in the video below: the litter after the miscarriage was cleaned out, the calf’s corpse was covered and later simply buried without research.
Methods of abortion therapy in cattle
Abortion is not treated anywhere. What has died cannot be revived. It is only possible to use antibiotics to prevent inflammation and prevent miscarriages before they occur.
The only option when there is a chance to prevent a miscarriage is premature attempts. If a healthy cow pushes ahead of time, but the cervix has not yet fully opened, miscarriage can be prevented.
Signs of premature attempts are the same as at the hotel:
- the cow looks back at her belly;
- shifts from foot to foot;
- worries;
- often lies down and gets up.
Possible consequences
The consequences usually do not depend on the fact of a miscarriage. If there was a “natural” miscarriage of a non-viable embryo due to genetic problems and there is no inflammation, then all the consequences are the need to happen the cow again with another bull.
If the abortion is due to health problems and pregnancy pathology, then the result can be lifelong infertility. But more often it is necessary to seriously treat the cow before trying to happen it again.
Preventive measures
Preventive measures depend on the type of abortion. When alimentary for the prevention of poisoning with nitrates, solutions of glucose and ascorbic acid are used intravenously. The same is done in the treatment of this type of miscarriage.
To avoid traumatic miscarriages, it is necessary to create comfortable living conditions for cows. Floors must be non-slip so that the bed animal cannot fall. From the herd it is necessary to exclude aggressive individuals that can damage the internal organs of other cows.
Prevention of idiopathic abortions – the correct selection of the parental couple. This is possible only with thoroughbred animals, the origin of which is known. In any other case, only the empirical path is possible.
With infectious abortions, treatment and prevention of diseases are carried out, and not the miscarriages themselves. With mass abortions in the herd, an examination is carried out and the cause is eliminated. After that, compliance with the sanitary norms for feeding and keeping pregnant cows and bulls is monitored.
In case of embryonic death, only preventive measures are possible:
- compliance with sanitary requirements for insemination;
- insemination of a cow at the end of the hunt;
- injection of progesterone solution 1%;
- disinfection of the uterus with Lugol’s solution 12 hours after insemination;
- feeding with vitamins and minerals.
In practice, few people carry out preventive measures in private households.
Conclusion
A miscarriage in a cow is a serious blow to the budget of the owner, who was counting on the sale of milk and a grown calf. But if in some cases it is really impossible to prevent abortion, then the prevention of infectious and parasitic diseases is entirely in the hands of the owner of the cow. Vaccinations according to the plan and regular deworming of the cow will significantly reduce the risk of miscarriage.