Post Birth

Post-Calving Complications

Retained Placenta

Retained placenta occurs in about 5 to 10% of otherwise normal calvings. The frequency of retained placenta increases with premature or difficult calvings, and also in the case of bacterial infections. The placenta should NOT be removed manually because of possible injury to the uterus and the risk of permanent sterility. Efforts should focus on trying to avoid infections and stimulate uterine contractions (treatment with estrogen is sometimes successful). Prevention of retained placenta should be an active part of reproductive management because it is often followed by other complications. Prevention includes proper sanitation during calving and proper nutrition during the dry period.

Metritis

Metritis is an inflammation of the uterus most often due to an invasion of microorganisms. Metritis can frequently be diagnosed by a purulent vaginal discharge. Difficult calving or retained placenta increases the risk of metritis. Unless metritis is severe, cows usually recover without any treatment for several weeks. In severe cases, the veterinarian may evacuate fluids from the uterus by rectal palpation followed by an infusion of the uterus with an antibiotic solution. When antibiotics are used, the milk has to be discarded, usually for a period of three or four days. An alternative treatment is to induce heat using the hormone prostaglandin. During heat, uterine contractions help to clear the infection and minimise the need for antibiotics.

Pyometra

As in metritis, this problem involves an infection of the uterus. However, in the case of pyometra, the cervix is closed, preventing drainage of the infectious material from the uterus. The uterus fills up with pus and the cow does not come in heat. The damage caused by pyometra may lead to permanent sterility.

Calving Guidelines

Good management practices are very effective at minimizing the stress at calving and calf mortality. Managing a dairy herd with an aim to minimise difficult calving is essential to a successful operation and requires the control of many factors:

Proper feeding: Proper feeding of heifers is important because they should not be inseminated until they have reached proper body weight. Cows should not be overfed during the last part of lactation or the dry period because over conditioning (obesity) increases the risk of difficult calving.

Use a maternity pen: A maternity pen should be reserved for about every eight cows in a herd. Thus a 40- to 50- cow herd should have six or seven individual maternity pens in which cows can move freely during calving. The pen should be dry, well ventilated and thoroughly cleaned after each calving.

Be patient but ready to call for veterinary assistance when trouble occurs: Look for the early signs of calving and observe the progression of the calving. Give the cow adequate time to prepare herself for delivery; after one to two hours of intense pushing, the forefeet of the calf should appear. If there are no signs of progress and the cow begins to show signs of distress, check the position of the calf. If you are unable to determine the position of the calf or you are not sure of how to correct the problem, call for veterinary assistance immediately.

If the decision to assist the calving is made, use strict sanitary conditions: When examining a cow, use strict sanitary procedures to minimise the risk of infection.

Provide good care to the newborn calf: Clear the nostrils of mucus and make sure the calf is breathing. Tickling the inside of the nostril with a finger is usually sufficient to initiate breathing. If the lungs are obstructed by a large amount of mucus, the fluids may be cleared by holding the calf by the hind legs for a short period of time. Use a disinfectant to prevent infection of the umbilical region. Feed colostrum within a few hours after birth to help the calf gain immunity against infectious diseases.