Has your cow aborted its calf? This may be why.
Jun 23, 2021 20:04:50 GMT -5
richard olson and jerseyrose like this
Post by Debbie Lincoln on Jun 23, 2021 20:04:50 GMT -5
I haven’t been on much lately and there are many reasons. One of them revolves around the issue of abortion in our herd. In 5 years, we have experienced 3 witnessed abortions and/or undeveloped calves, and also had issues with cows getting and staying in calf. I attributed some of this to BLV (many of ya’ll already know what we face with this), moldy feed (we’ve had very wet springs), and cow condition (extreme obesity).
Research has led me to the discovery of a little-known issue with an organism called “neospora”. “Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite that is emerging as an important infectious cause of weak calves and abortion in cattle.”
I feel like I should have recognized this, investigated better, done SOMETHING sooner…but even my vet says he knows very little about it, and in fact just diagnosed his first neospora case in a beef herd a couple months ago. I am number two.
Neospora time line:
Abbey: summer 2016 aborts calf at 5-6 months. Rebreeds quickly. Dies suddenly Spring 2017. Known BLV positive. We thought moldy feed was the reason.
Cici: delivers calf October 2017. Rebreeds easily. Aborts 3 months. Rebreeds 2 more times and loses fetus at 2 months each time. Tested BLV positive. Did not test neospora. Extremely obese cow. Culled into freezer.
Harriett: Aborts 6 1/2 months fetus December 2018. Rebred AI 3 times. Would not take. Culled 10/16/19. BLV negative. We should have started investigating here!!
Aggie: 2/20/21 delivered full term underdeveloped stillborn bull calf. Culled 4/7/21. BLV negative. Did not test for neospora, but now strongly suspect it.
We tested all cows for neospora.
Cinco: 7/23/20 Successfully calved healthy bull calf. Rebred 2 1/2 months. Confirmed bred 3 months. Tested positive neospora. Culled immediately. This one really hurt. Best beef cow on the place.
All remaining 3 cows (Sophie, Elvira and Totsy) and 3 heifers (Ocho, Cissy and Ellie Mae) have tested NEGATIVE neospora.
For more info, please read this. It explains how it is transmitted and the life cycle. Canines are intermediary hosts :-(
afs.ca.uky.edu/dairy/neospora-caninum-abortion-cattle
Research has led me to the discovery of a little-known issue with an organism called “neospora”. “Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite that is emerging as an important infectious cause of weak calves and abortion in cattle.”
I feel like I should have recognized this, investigated better, done SOMETHING sooner…but even my vet says he knows very little about it, and in fact just diagnosed his first neospora case in a beef herd a couple months ago. I am number two.
Neospora time line:
Abbey: summer 2016 aborts calf at 5-6 months. Rebreeds quickly. Dies suddenly Spring 2017. Known BLV positive. We thought moldy feed was the reason.
Cici: delivers calf October 2017. Rebreeds easily. Aborts 3 months. Rebreeds 2 more times and loses fetus at 2 months each time. Tested BLV positive. Did not test neospora. Extremely obese cow. Culled into freezer.
Harriett: Aborts 6 1/2 months fetus December 2018. Rebred AI 3 times. Would not take. Culled 10/16/19. BLV negative. We should have started investigating here!!
Aggie: 2/20/21 delivered full term underdeveloped stillborn bull calf. Culled 4/7/21. BLV negative. Did not test for neospora, but now strongly suspect it.
We tested all cows for neospora.
Cinco: 7/23/20 Successfully calved healthy bull calf. Rebred 2 1/2 months. Confirmed bred 3 months. Tested positive neospora. Culled immediately. This one really hurt. Best beef cow on the place.
All remaining 3 cows (Sophie, Elvira and Totsy) and 3 heifers (Ocho, Cissy and Ellie Mae) have tested NEGATIVE neospora.
For more info, please read this. It explains how it is transmitted and the life cycle. Canines are intermediary hosts :-(
afs.ca.uky.edu/dairy/neospora-caninum-abortion-cattle