When early calving is actually late-term abortion
Megan Hindman, clinical assistant professor, CVM Veterinary Field Services

As if I have to say it, calving season is quickly approaching. Or if you’re like me, in denial that calving season is already here. Wherever you might be, hopefully, you’re getting prepared for the calves to hit the ground. But what if they happen earlier than anticipated? What do we do, how do we handle it? Who are you going to call? I’ll give you a hint: it's not Ghostbusters. This article will hopefully clarify some information and provide at least a road map for late-term abortions.

Late-term abortions
What is a late-term abortion? It is described as a dead premature calf born in the last trimester of gestation, i.e., six months or greater in gestation. Not to be confused with a stillborn, which is a calf that has died but is considered full term, where it would be considered viable if it were alive. Typically, most producers will notice a cow in labor, a water bag, “strings hanging,” or even an underdeveloped dead calf that is on the ground in a cow that isn’t supposed to be calving. It’s important to keep an eye on these cows to ensure they themselves are not sick either prior to the abortion or after due to a retained placenta or calf. Isolation of the cow or heifer from the rest of the gestating cows is also not a bad idea.

Who are you going to call? Your veterinarian
Let’s talk about how to set you and your veterinarian up for success. But first, let’s set some expectations: it’s important to know that only 20% of submitted abortions to a diagnostic lab actually have a confirmed diagnosis. Why, you might ask, because the 20% are infectious or toxin-related, and those are able to be diagnosed. The other things that cause abortion (environmental stress, cow condition, and uterine environment to name a few, are not able to be captured by the current diagnostics we have available.

First, when calling your veterinarian, it’s important to answer their history questions completely (i.e., new cow, old cow, vaccinated, not vaccinated, when was she due, etc.) Second, in order to set your veterinarian and your diagnostician up for success, it’s wise to collect the following tissues: placenta and fetus, but if you can’t submit the entire thing, then thymus, spleen, liver, heart, stomach, and blood, and even serum from the cow/heifer is a good backup as well. If you can’t submit the whole fetus, it is also useful to take a picture of the fetus and send it in as well. Finally, if the cow appears clinically sick, it is also important to tell your veterinarian about it and have her evaluated for potential treatment.

What causes abortions
The causes of late term abortions are:
* Leptospirosis
* Listeriosis
* Fungal abortion
* Neospora
* Truperella
* Non-specific placentitis (It is evident and may be infectious, but no specific cause can be found)
* Idiopathic (most common and means no diagnosis)

Now what?
It is important to note that if you are privileged to have a diagnosis, steps can be taken to prevent or treat the herd. However, understand that if idiopathic or nonspecific is your diagnosis there are still some broad steps that can be done to prevent it in her in the future or for the rest of the herd.

First and foremost, ensure your cows are in adequate nutrition for their gestational stage. Having a partnership with an ACTUAL cattle nutritionist is key to every operation. It's important to really dial in key nutrients that are needed not only to keep her from aborting but also for calf viability, fetal programming, and her subsequential breeding cycle.

Second, ensure proper biosecurity. Biosecurity can be thought of as a “swine thing,” however, it can prevent exposure to new pathogens when introducing apparently healthy animals onto the farm by keeping them isolated from the rest of the herd for no less than 30 days.

Third, ensuring animals are properly vaccinated particularly for Leptospirosis.

Finally, avoid contamination of feedstuff from wild or even domestic animals (cats, dogs, raccoons, coyotes, etc.) by having a pest control management plan for your feedstuff.

The moral of the story is if there is ever a question if a cow is aborting at any point, reach out to your local veterinarian for guidance. Happy calving season!

Source: Iowa State University Growing Beef Newsletter