It’s devastating. A long, hard winter finally eases its grip, the snow begins to melt, and you find a dead calf on the ground. With today’s calf prices and production costs, the financial aspect of a dead calf is a tough enough pill to swallow, but when added to the emotional toll, the abortion issue is not an enjoyable topic.
We just found our first dead calf on the ground and I’m asking questions and looking for answers to a problem I’d never spent much time thinking about. According to industry standards, you can expect a 1-2% abortion rate in the cow herd as run-of-the-mill. Beyond that, though, it’s time to start looking for a problem.
Late term abortion in beef cattle can happen for two reasons: 1) infectious agents, and 2) environmental conditions.
Infectious Agents
The infectious agents responsible for abortions in beef cattle include Bovine Virus Diarrhea (BVD), Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR,rednose), Leptospirosis, Neospora, Brucellocis and a number of others.
Environmental Conditions
Non-infectious causes for cattle abortions are common. These include nutritional deficiencies, particularly low protein in the diet, and mineral deficiencies, commonly attributed to low selenium or other vitamins and minerals. In some cases, even the best of management of most aspects of the herd cannot prevent abortion. It can take place as a result of low water availability for a short period of time, falling on the ice, or even being head-butted in the belly by another cow.
Abortions in beef cattle are an economic and emotional problem on the farm. I hope we don’t see another one of these for a very long time, and if we’re doing things right, hopefully we won’t. Each time we encounter a problem like this one is an opportunity for learning and improving things we may be lacking in our cattle herd management. The links below provide more information on late term abortion, its causes and possible prevention.
Preventing Abortions: UC Davis Veterinary Medicine
IGrow: Diagnosing the Cause of Late-Term Abortions
Cattle Today: Abortions in Cows…
New Mexico State University: Pregnancy Loss in Beef Cattle
AgriLabs: Simple Ways to Keep Abortions from Eroding Your Profits
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