Bovine Pregnancy Diagnosis

Question 1

Why should you pregnancy check cows?

Answer 1

• ID open/ not pregnant cows
• Can treat open cows
• Culling non-productive cows
• Can ID embryonic loss

Question 2

Why should you pregnancy check dairy cows? Beef?

Answer 2

• Dairy: ID cows that need to be breed again or cull overly bred cows
• -> perform around 30 or 60 days
• Beef: ID non-pregnant animals to be culled

Question 3

What is the landmark for trans-rectal palpation?

Answer 3

The cervix

Question 4

What are the four cardinal signs of pregnancy?

Answer 4

Fetal membrane slip
Amniotic vesicle
Placentomes
Fetus

Question 5

What is the earliest sign of pregnancy and when is it palpable?

Answer 5

• Membrane slip!
• Palpable from 30-90 days
• Chorioallantois slips when palpating pregnant horn

Question 6

When is the amniotic vesicle palpable and what does it feel like?

Answer 6

• Palpable at 32-35 days (difficult after 55-60)

- Feels like turgid vesicle

Question 7

What makes up the placentomes?

Answer 7

• Maternal caruncle and fetal cotyledone
• Are palpable around 80 days
• Must find at least 3 placentomes before making diagnosis

Question 8

When is the fetus first palpable? What is the timeframe of its travel in the uterus?

Answer 8

• Palpable at 55-65 days gestation
• Begins descent at 70 days
• Descent complete at 150 days
• Ascent begins at 210 days
• Ascent complete at 240 days

Question 9

What are supportive signs of pregnancy?

Answer 9

• Asymmetry of the uterine horns
• Thinning and tone of uterine wall
• Fixation of cervix
• Fremitus of middle uterine artery
• Presence of CL

Question 10

What is fremitus in middle uterine artery?

Answer 10

• seen in broad ligament
• Increases in size depending on age
• • Don’t confuse with immovable iliac artery**

Question 11

When is estimation of fetal age most accurate?

Answer 11

• 1st half of gestation

Question 12

When is transrectal palpation most accurate?

Answer 12

• 35-40 days for experienced, 50-55 for inexperienced

Question 13

What are some hazards of palpation?

Answer 13

• Rectal perforation
• Rupture of amnionic vesicle or fetal heart sac
• Aggressive membrane slip may terminate pregnancy via PGF2a

Question 14

Why is US useful for detecting pregnancy?

Answer 14

• Allows for earlier detection and can see heartbeat

Question 15

What other tests can you use to detect pregnancy?

Answer 15

• Bovine pregnancy specific protein B (made by trophoblastic cells)
• Progesterone (use for open cows)
• Estrone sulfate (only good in animals that can’t be palpated)