Bovine: Repro

Question 1

How do you detect pregnancy in cows?

Answer 1

1. eval herd fertility (bull/cow fert)
2. monitor repro health for dz’s
3. Approx. calving dates to sort cows according to dates
4. Cull open cows to save maintenance costs, prevent dz transmission, concentrate of calving distribution
5. reestab a valid VCPR with vetclinic
6. Convenient time to booster vx

Question 2

At what time do you typically palpate for pregnancy?

Answer 2

manual palpation rectally at 35-45 days pregnant
does have risk of pregnancy loss

Question 3

How do we use ultrasound for pregnancy detection?

Answer 3

rectal probe at 13-21 days
1% less pregnancy loss
can detect twins, gestational age, sex
not so hard on shoulder joint

Question 4

How do we use blood for pregnancy detection?

Answer 4

blood samples from coccygeal blood and submit to lab
producers in areas w/o vet services

Question 5

What causes dystocia in cattle?

Answer 5

5% multiparous cows and 10% heifers
caused by maternal/fetal mismatch bc bulls w/ high birth weight calves
also from malposition, long gestation and over/under conditioned cattle

Question 6

what are the signs of dystocia?

Answer 6

Early intervention!
after amnion is present at vulva, time for calf on ground for cows (1hr) and heifers (1.5-2hrs)

calve heifers before cows about 2-3 wks prior to allow better surveillance, reduce dz transmission and reduced colostrum quality/calving grounds clearer

Question 7

What happens to calves with dystocia?

Answer 7

calves have 2.4x inc chance of dz, increased stress, inadequate colostrum and inc mortality by 9-18%

Question 8

How can we minimize effects of dystocia?

Answer 8

heifers prior to cows, proper facilities to assist, clean/dry calving area, timely intervention, proper resuscitation, adequate colostrum intake, pai control for cow/calf, proper pen management to prevent dz transmission, treat dz’d calves quickly

Question 9

When should we intervene?

Answer 9

1-2hrs since amniotic sac @vulva
feet + nose at vulva but no progress after 30 min
active labor but no amniotic sack
solves of hooves pointing up (posterior presentation)
more than two hooves at vulva (twings, single calf with hind foot also in canal)
feet only no nose at vulva (head back)
tail only at vulva (breach
WEAR GLOVES to protect cow AND you from dz

Question 10

What do we need to do to a calf after dystocic delivery?

Answer 10

calf must be resuscitated in a recovery position, look for straw in nose, water in ear and rub vigorously

do NOT hang upside down to prevent abdominal contents press on diaphragm, restrict respiration
fluids is from stomach and not the lungs

Question 11

What is a vaginal delivery and what equipment do we need?

Answer 11

Reposition calf if necessary/possible
require bucket w/ warm water, rectal sleeves, calving suit, calving chains/handles/jack puller/snare, J-lube

don’t be too aggressive and make the decision for c-section early

Question 12

What pain medication can be used for birth?

Answer 12

administer NSAID to both calf/dam after a difficult birth for a brighter calf, increased bonding and colostrum intake

Question 13

When do we call a vet when a cow is in dystocia? what can we do if the calf is alive vs dead?

Answer 13

call when there is a breech, uterine torsion, not dilated, deformed or unsuccessful after 15 minutes

C-section is alive and fetotomy is dead calf

Question 14

How do we prepare for a C-section?

Answer 14

block and prep left paralumbar fossa as the left side used as rumen helps keep intestines in abdomen as uterus and calf are exteriorize
Clock options are paraveterbral and epidural

Question 15

What is a fetotomy and what equipments do we need for it?

Answer 15

to cut a calf into small pieces to assist removal vaginally
equipment is hand held fetotomy knife, snare, frick speculum if fetotome not available +/- scapel
J-lube + pump and hose

Question 16

In terms of abortion and infertility rates, what is the ideal % of pregnant cows at the end of breeding season. When should we be concerned with open cows? How often is abortion in cows vs heifers

Answer 16

Ideally >95% pregnant at end of breeding season
Concerning when >6% cows, >8% heifers open at pregnancy detection
>3% abortion in cows, 6% in heifers

Question 17

What happens when abortion and infertility strikes? what could be a cause of abortion?

Answer 17

abortion storm outbreaks through investigation for dietary changes, vx protocols, new animals introduced and what stage of gestation they were in.
Can be caused by vita A + E deficiency, poor BCS, toxicity, BVD, Bovine herpes virus, neosporisis, tritrichomoniasis, leptospirosis, brucellosis, campylobacteriosis, clamydia

Question 18

How can BVDV affect abortion? What happens at conception, 1-4 months and 4-6 months of gestation? How can we prevent this?

Answer 18

@ conception: early abortion/reabsorption
1-4 mo: abortion, resoprtion, fetal defects, persistently infected
4-6mo: ocular, CNS, bone congenital defects, still born, premature/dysmature, weak

prevent by id’ing and fully persistently infected calves, inc biosecurity and vx

Question 19

What is tritrichomoniasis and campylobacterosis? how is it spread? How can you test?

Answer 19

Tritricho - trich = protozoal parasite, vibrio = bacteria
spread to cows during breeding - asymp in bulls
test by scraping of bulls prepuce at semen collection for a PCR

Question 20

What is vaginal prolapse? how do we treat? prognosis?

Answer 20

over conditioned/under exercised cows suspectible - especially in late pregnancy
its the relaxation of the pelvic ligaments in which the vaginal prolapses out of the vulva, pressure causes the cow to strain and exacerbates prolapse
tx w/ epidural, replace, buher stitch
px excellent but likely to recur

Question 21

What is uterine prolapse? Emergent? tx? px?

Answer 21

prolapse of the uterus
After partruition - common bc of hypocalcemia
Emergent - causes endotoxemia, hypovolemia, uterine artery hemorrhage, ketosis
tx w/ caudal epidural, replace prolapse, buher stitch
px guarded + reduced fertility

Question 22

What can mastitis be from? what % of dairy herds have subclinical mastitis?

Answer 22

from staph aureus and strep agalactiae
can be acute/chronic
can be clinical/subclinical
75% have subclinical mastitis

Question 23

What are the clinical and subclinical symptoms of mastitis?

Answer 23

clinical: dec milk prod, anorexia, fever, swelling/heat of affected quarter
subclin: elevated somatic cell count in bulk tank - California mastitis test

Question 24

How can we treat mastitis clinically vs subclinially? what is the prognosis for mild, severe, clin, cubclin and acute

Answer 24

tx w/ frequent stripping of udder
clinical: systemic + intramammary antibiotics and NSAIDS
Subclin: intramam antibiotics, milk discarded to meet drug WT’s
px - excellent for mild/subclin
poor - severe/clin/acute

Question 25

How can we prevent mastitis?

Answer 25

dry cow intramam antibiotics, clean milking parlor, wash hands/wear gloves while washing teats
germicide dip of teats after milking

Question 26

What is urolithiasis? is it an emergency? what are the symptoms, tx and px?

Answer 26

Occurs in feedlot steers (or on high protein, high conc, low forage diets)
the urinary calculi that blocks the narrow urethra of steers (bc of early castration), common site is sigmoid flexure
EMERGENT
symp: stranguria, dysuria, dependant edema, enlarged abdomen, skin necrosis, and death bc of cardiac + kidnehy failure
tx w/ remove calculi + perineal urethrostomy
px guarded by a salvage procedure