Retention of the placenta in cows: causes, signs, treatment, drugs

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In pedigree dairy or beef cows, unfortunately, in some cases, childbirth occurs with complications. For example, after the birth of a calf, a cow may not have an afterbirth. This condition is considered very dangerous for a cow. Of course, if an animal has such a problem, he definitely needs to be helped. Treatment for retention of the placenta in cows can be done both with the help of drugs and by cleaning.

What is afterbirth

In the womb of a cow, like any other mammal, the fetus is in a special shell. This organ is called the afterbirth or placenta. It is through him during pregnancy that the body of a cow and a calf are connected. The placenta protects and nourishes the baby developing in the cow's uterus.

If childbirth occurs without disturbances, the cow's body gets rid of the placenta after a short period of time after the birth of the calf. The placenta that has come out looks like a sac full of blood vessels. The color of the placenta is grayish, because it contains many venous nodes.

Reason for detention

Sorry, problemswith the release of the placenta in cows are quite common. Miscarriages in cows are accompanied by her, unfortunately, almost always. In some cases, retained placenta occurs during normal labor in cattle.

Causes of such a problem in cows can be very different. For example, often the placenta is delayed in an animal due to inflammation of the uterus. In this case, the placenta may simply adhere to this organ of the cow and subsequently not separate.

Retention of membranes in cows very often occurs due to stress. Another cause of placental failure is malnutrition. In this case, the animal's metabolism is disturbed, which leads to complications during childbirth.

Quite often, brucellosis also becomes the cause of retained placenta in cows. In addition, the risk of such a problem in case of diseases of the external genital organs of cows is greatly increased.

How do cows give birth and when should the afterbirth

As with almost any other large animal, calving in cows takes quite a long time. The process of the birth of a calf usually lasts at least 1.5 hours. Sometimes the birth of a cow is delayed for 5-6 hours. The first two hours before the birth of the calf, the cow begins to behave restlessly, mooing, and refusing to eat. At this time, the uterus opens in the animal. This preparatory period usually lasts 2 hours, but sometimes it can stretch up to 10.

As soon as the cow's uterus fully opens, the cub is born. When does the afterbirth of a cow come out after calving? In most cases, almost immediately after the birth of the baby, the uterus begins to gradually get rid of the placenta. In most cases, it takes about 9-10 hours for the shells to come off completely. If after this time the placenta has not separated, measures should be taken to help the animal.

Detention classification

How cows give birth is thus understandable. In any case, the afterbirth after the birth of the calf comes out within a maximum of 6-10 hours. At the same time, his detention can be classified into:

• full;
• incomplete;
• partial.

In the first case, all the fetal membranes are inside the uterus and are completely indistinguishable from the outside. Speaking in a more scientific language, the chorion, with complete retention, maintains a connection with the caruncles of both horns in the uterus, and the amnion and allantois remain in contact with the chorion.

In the second case, most of the afterbirth hangs down behind the cow in the form of a red-gray cord and reaches the hocks. That is, with incomplete retention, the chorion retains its connection with the capuncles of the horn only in the place where the fetus was located. In this case, it separates from the other horn.

When the membranes are partially retained in one of the horns, the connection of the chorion with several caruncles is preserved. In this case, the urinary and aqueous membranes also partially hang outward.

What is the dangerous condition

Helping the cow get rid of the placenta, if it does not come out naturally, is a must. Detention of the placenta in cows for more than 6-10 hours is fraught with the following consequences:

• the beginning of inflammatory processes in the uterus of the animal;
• intoxication of the body;
• the entry of rotting products into the blood of a cow and, as a result, sepsis.

Also, when the placenta is retained in a cow, serious complications such as mastitis, postpartum infection, vaginitis, endometritis can occur. If the placenta begins to decompose and sepsis sets in, the animal may even die.

Symptoms

In the event that the afterbirth does not come out of the uterus partially or completely, the cow will try to get rid of it. In this case, the animal is likely to take a pose as for urination. The cow will stand with an arched back, a tucked up stomach and push hard. If the animal overdoes it, it may even fall out of the uterus.

Signs of the release of the placenta after calving, in addition to its noticeable hanging parts and the characteristic posture of a cow, are:

• putrid smell from animal;
• depressed state of the cow;
• increased body temperature;
• indigestion and diarrhea;
• lack of appetite;
• decrease in milk production.

Important

The birth of a cow must be supervised by the owner, and even better - by a veterinarian. Only in this case it will be possible to detect that the animal is experiencing any problems, including with retained placenta. If the owner lets things take their course, precious time will be wasted.and the cow will die.

In any case, it is necessary to release the animal from the placenta after childbirth within a maximum of 2-3 days. On the fourth day, the cow is almost 100% likely to develop sepsis with a fatal outcome.

What to do if the placenta is not visible from the outside

If after 6, maximum 10 hours, the afterbirth of the cow has not completely separated, it is necessary to carefully examine its external genitalia. If hanging shells are not visible from the outside, the uterus of the animal should be examined. To do this, first of all, you should wash your hands and put on medical gloves. After that, you need to stick your hand into the birth canal of the cow to the uterus and feel the walls of the latter. Sometimes it happens that the cow just eats her placenta, and the owners do not notice this. If the placenta remains in the uterus, its parts will be well felt by hand.

It is possible to determine that the cow ate the placenta by another sign. In this case, the animal will begin to have diarrhea after a while. But it is still necessary to make sure that the uterus of the animal remains mechanically clean.

In some cases, the cow's placenta comes out, but some parts of it still remain inside the uterus. If the placenta in the animal has separated, mechanical palpation can be omitted. In this case, the bag is simply straightened on the table and carefully examined. The placenta of cows is characterized by the fact that the vessels in it are connected in a closed network. It is possible to judge the presence of the remains of the placenta in the uterus by the gaps in the latter.

How to treat: conservativemethods

Retention of the placenta in a cow is actually a very dangerous phenomenon. Usually, if after 6 hours the placenta does not come out, the cow begins to be treated with conservative methods. In this case, the animal is given special drugs. Treatment with medicines should be complex. The cow should be given funds:

• increasing myometric tone of the uterus;
• antibiotics to prevent infection by pathogens;
• immune boosters;
• means that restore energy loss after childbirth.

Means to increase the tone of the uterus

For this purpose, veterinarians most often use Sinestrol or Pituitrin. Both of these medicines very well increase the tone of the uterus of cows. "Sinestrol" is administered to cows in the absence of the placenta in the form of injections in the amount of 2-5 ml. This drug begins to act an hour after the injection. The effect of it continues for 8 hours.

Pituitrin is also administered to cows under the skin at a dose of 3-5 ml. This medicine is considered more effective and safer than Sinestrol. The use of the latter, unfortunately, can lead to a decrease in the cow's milk production in the future. When using "Pituitrin", the cow's uterus begins to contract after 10 minutes. In this case, the effect of the drug subsequently lasts 5-6 hours. Repeatedly this medicine can be administered to the animal only after 6-8 hours.

In addition to these two drugs, to increase the tone of the uterus of cows in the absence of the placenta, you can also use:

• "Estradiol-Dipropionate" at a dose of 6ml.
• "Carbocholine-CARBOCHOLIN".
• "Estron-(folliculin)-OESTRONUM".

Quite often, to improve the contraction of the walls of the uterus, the drug "Prozerin" (injections) is also used. Instructions for use of this drug prescribe injections of 0.5% solution of 2-2.5 ml.

What else can increase tone

A drug to improve the contractile function of the uterus should be given to a cow in the absence of an afterbirth. Also, to increase the tone, the animal needs to drink 3-6 liters of amniotic fluid. In this case, the uterus will not begin to contract immediately, but after a while. At the same time, the effect of taking amniotic fluid will last for about 8 hours.

It is also possible to increase the tone of the cow's uterus by drinking her colostrum. Usually it is given to cows in the amount of 2-4 liters. Some owners of farmsteads claim that after using such a tool, the afterbirth of cows is separated after 4 hours.

Antibiotics

In most cases, when a problem such as retained placenta in a cow occurs, Tricellin is used to protect against infection. This drug can be used in this case both in the form of powder and suppositories. In most cases, 2-4 suppositories or 1 vial of powder are injected into the cow's uterus by hand. This procedure is then repeated after 24 hours, and then after 48 hours.

Also, for the prevention of infection in case of non-separation of the placenta in cows, streptocid and streptomycin or penicillin can be used in combination. In this case, the preparations are administered to the cow every 4 hours. Atthis use 20-25 g of streptocide and 2 million units of penicillin or streptomycin.

In addition, veterinarians can be used for cows and "Exuter M". To prevent infection, this drug is administered to cows in the uterus, 1-2 tablets. Treatment is repeated if necessary after 24, 36 and 48 hours.

Auxiliary drugs

To support the body of a cow during the retention of amniotic membranes, among other things, it is necessary to use glucose. This substance allows you to replenish the animal's reserves of energy material. 40% glucose solution is administered intravenously to cows in the amount of 150-200 ml twice a day.

The rotting of the placenta in cows usually begins on the 2nd day. In this case, among other things, the load on the liver of the animal increases. A feature of glucose is that it is able to support this organ of the animal.

Operation

If conservative treatment does not lead to the separation of the placenta in a cow within 2 days, veterinarians usually take emergency measures to save the animal. In this case, the cow undergoes an operation to remove the placenta or parts of it.

In this case, the specialist puts gloves on his hands first. The animal is first anesthetized. Then the veterinarian takes the hanging parts of the placenta with his left hand, and inserts the right hand into the cow's vagina. Next, the specialist separates the placenta from the uterus and carefully pulls it out.

Preventive measures

Failure of the placenta after delivery can thus lead to the death of the cow or a decrease in her milk production.productivity. Therefore, on farms, it is imperative to take preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of such a complication of childbirth in cows. Pregnant cows should be taken out to fresh air from time to time. In summer, a pasture is shown for such animals, and in winter - just walks around the yard.

Also, pregnant cows must receive vitamins. In particular, it is important to add premixes to animal feed during the month before birth. You can also give pregnant cows vitamin injections every 10 days. Such prophylaxis is usually carried out for weakened cows.

Cows should, of course, be kept in clean, well-ventilated areas. This will ensure that the animals do not develop any infectious disease, which will result in retained placenta. Of course, pregnant cows on the farm should also receive all the nutrients they need (with hay, concentrates, root crops, etc.).