my cow was inseminated 27 days ago and today she acts as if she is having a painfull bowel movement but she is passing stool and urinating fine. She is walking backwards and straining and lays down a lot. She seems to be having contractions but I am not sure. What should I do and how long will this take? She is also unstaable on her feet and I can't get a large animal vet at this time. Any advice? Russ-Alabama

-- Russell Cherry (whiteoakbaskets@aol.com), March 24, 2002

Answers

The best advice is to get a vet there immediately. If she is losing the calf and you don't get it out of her she will die also. Watch her very closely especially for any bloody discharge. The blood may look like it is in the bowels or urine but watch for that because that is a sure sign of a miscarriage. If she is gentle enough you need to take her temp, but if she is not very gentle that will be hard. Make sure she doesn't stay down for long at a time you definately want to keep her on her feet as much as possible untill a vet gets there. Be sure to get a vet as soon as possible. Most vets are not equiped to handle large animals at their facility but if you have a chute most will come out, but if nothing else they can give you more advice and get you in touch with a large animal vet. good luck and let me know what happens.

-- Brad H. (FIRE_RESCUE126@HOTMAIL.COM), March 24, 2002.

I don't know a lot about cows- I raise goats. But miscarrying at 27 days hardly seems like a serious problem, unless there is some complicating factor. A miscarriage this early is not even blinked at in humans. And with her having been A.I.'d there isn't a way to know 100% (well, a blood test), if she was pregnant to begin with. Is she eating and drinking normally?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 25, 2002.

27 days since insemination??? You won't even see anything. Maybe her odd behaviour is totally unrelated? Sounds a bit weird , maybe gut involvement. Get a vet!

-- Cowvet (cowvet_nz@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

Get a large animal vet NOW! This is not anything to do with a breeding problem. 27 days would be reabsorbed you'd see nothing, cow would act normal. Sounds more like a digestive system problem to me, possibly a twisted stomach or blockage of some type, which would be very serious. Don't lose time on this. Get the vet. Good luck with her.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), March 25, 2002.

I agree with Jennifer, as well as the fact that at 27 days a miscarriage would be nothing. I think the signifigance of the 27 days may be that she somehow got infected during the insemination, and now has a raging infection to deal with. It is all guess work for us, of course, but the point is, something is badly wrong, and you do need a vet pronto.

-- Dianne Wood (woodgoat@pacifier.com), March 25, 2002.