Cow's Afterbirth - How do you dispose of it?

pakalasa

Just wondering, what do people do with the cows's afterbirth (cleaning)?

Muckit

makes a great skin for black puddin ...... yummmmmmm

Timmaay

Just had to remove some from a fresh calver today who had held on to it for afew days. So thanks Muckit, that's turned me right off my lunch now!

hugo29

my next door neighbour puts it down the slats

another one fires it up onto the trees

just do it

Leave it out and the foxes will take care of it in the in the dark hours if night

bob charles

come on shep a bit of grub for you

aaakev

just do it wrote: »

Leave it out and the foxes will take care of it in the in the dark hours if night

If your doin that dont waist it, shoot the foxes when they come in!

Dunedin

pakalasa wrote: »

Just wondering, what do people do with the cows's afterbirth (cleaning)?

an excellent tip is to put it into an old (plastic) meal/nuts bag, leave it for a few days and come back and put your head into the bag............ definitely worth trying.:D:D:D:D

pakalasa

just do it wrote: »

Leave it out and the foxes will take care of it in the in the dark hours if night

That's why I asked the question. I've always done this. Turns out this is a lethal way of spreading Neospora....And I've just have a heifer that aborted tested positive with it. Anyone else come across Neospora.

webels

aaakev wrote: »

If your doin that dont waist it, shoot the foxes when they come in!

Then you have to dispose of the fox....although maybe not such a bad idea

aaakev

webels wrote: »

Then you have to dispose of the fox....although maybe not such a bad idea

A nice rug fir the woman and food for the dogs..

bob charles

aaakev wrote: »

If your doin that dont waist it, shoot the foxes when they come in!

I have a few foxes in the yard at night and never have to lay poison for vermin. dogs love chasing them out of the yard when they catch a glimpse

aaakev

bob charles wrote: »

I have a few foxes in the yard at night and never have to lay poison for vermin. dogs love chasing them out of the yard when they catch a glimpse

A couple of jack russels will do the same job on the vermin! Each to there own tho, i know a few lads who like havin them around for the same reason

stop animal cruelty

l remember my dad just putting it in with the dung & spreading it!

webels

pakalasa wrote: »

That's why I asked the question. I've always done this. Turns out this is a lethal way of spreading Neospora....And I've just have a heifer that aborted tested positive with it. Anyone else come across Neospora.

I just had a look at the lifecycle of Neospora, it seems that the dog/fox is key to its lifecycle (being an intermediate host), cut out the dog/fox feeding on a cow carcass (and as you say afterbirth or even aborted calves) and you decrease the risk of Neospora spread. Infected Dogs shed the eggs in their faeces for couple of weeks making this a risky material that could infect cow fodder or water.

stop animal cruelty

webels wrote: »

I just had a look at the lifecycle of Neospora, it seems that the dog/fox is key to its lifecycle (being an intermediate host), cut out the dog/fox feeding on a cow carcass (and as you say afterbirth or even aborted calves) and you decrease the risk of Neospora spread. Infected Dogs shed the eggs in their faeces for couple of weeks making this a risky material that could infect cow fodder or water.

ha l was just looking that up too, doesnt make sense to feed it to a fox.

greysides

Neosporum is the most commonly diagnosed cause of abortion in Ireland.

pakalasa

greysides wrote: »

Neosporum is the most commonly diagnosed cause of abortion in Ireland.

Would foxes and dogs feeding on cow's afterbirth be a major source of the infection.

grazeaway

down the slats it goes. always pick it up when a where i can. it'll break down over time in the slurry.

a lot of the time the cow will eat it her self (supposed to be full of goodness). wouldnt leave it lying around cos as the boys above say its a good way to spread disease.

greysides

pakalasa wrote: »

Would foxes and dogs feeding on cow's afterbirth be a major source of the infection.

I doubt foxes have much relevance in this, the main culprit is the dog which eats the afterbirth and then defecates in straw/hay/silage which cattle may consume.

It's a problem near Dublin city where lawn clippings are dumped over hedges.

maxxuumman

greysides wrote: »

I doubt foxes have much relevance in this, the main culprit is the dog which eats the afterbirth and then defecates in straw/hay/silage which cattle may consume.

It's a problem near Dublin city where lawn clippings are dumped over hedges.

Neosporia caused 11 cows here to abort a number of yrs ago. I blooded the rest of the cows and I had 5 more positives. All cows were culled later that spring. 2 of the 5 cows had heifers and they were never bulled.
We have no dogs here at all. But are riddled with foxes. Last yr shot 2 in the calving pen. We never got the foxes tested but have no doubt but that it was the foxes that caused the problem

kevthegaff

know a lad with greyhounds who cant grae paddocks that were used for greyhounds

Bizzum

grazeaway wrote: »

a lot of the time the cow will eat it her self (supposed to be full of goodness).

On this point, be very carefull allowing a cow to eat it, (I know sometimes she cleans and eats it fairly lively), 2 year ago I calved a cow, she cleaned shortly after and as I stood there took to eat it, and took to choke on it on front of me, staggering around the shed. We caught her and I managed to pull it back up out of her airway.
So if you're gonna feed it, do so under supervision!

grazeaway

Bizzum wrote: »

On this point, be very carefull allowing a cow to eat it, (I know sometimes she cleans and eats it fairly lively), 2 year ago I calved a cow, she cleaned shortly after and as I stood there took to eat it, and took to choke on it on front of me, staggering around the shed. We caught her and I managed to pull it back up out of her airway.
So if you're gonna feed it, do so under supervision!

usually take it off them, but sometimes they have calved, cleaned and eaten it before i even know it.

another use for it is if she has too much milk and you want to double suckle. we would take the afterbirth and wrap it about the second calve that way she might think she has another calve and will take to it easier (dosent always work though)

redzerologhlen

Bizzum wrote: »

On this point, be very carefull allowing a cow to eat it, (I know sometimes she cleans and eats it fairly lively), 2 year ago I calved a cow, she cleaned shortly after and as I stood there took to eat it, and took to choke on it on front of me, staggering around the shed. We caught her and I managed to pull it back up out of her airway.
So if you're gonna feed it, do so under supervision!

We always leave it to them and they wont all eat it but a lot of them will, never seen them to choke on it but I can see how it could happen.

blue5000

I always left it for the foxes, heard somewhere that a fox eats a rat a day. Love seeing foxes round the gaff.

49801

Stick it in the fym pile here

Interesting about neospora. Never like seeing dogs around

Min

Down the slats so the dogs won't eat it, one has to be concerned about the possibility of neospora.

13spanner

Min wrote: »

Down the slats so the dogs won't eat it, one has to be concerned about the possibility of neospora.

Same here, drop it between the slatts if she calves at home.

As most of them calf out in the winterage, we just leave it where it lands. Plenty foxes and badgers to be fed out that way

bogman_bass

is the afterbirth not a good sourse of vitimin E for the new born cow?

slippy wicket

If the cow does not eat it, it goes into a tank or hole in the ground (steep sided and about 7ft deep) to rot away.

gozunda

Re fox as carriers - have a couple of coverts on the land - that's why I leave the local hunt in to keep foxes down to the ones that arn't likly to predate near the yard. Ye will quite get rid if the bu**ers - take them all out and others move in but it does get rid of the old / less able that tend to hang around looking for easy pickings such as after births . Works for me tbh.

simx

generally cows eat it, never had a problem with choking/swallowing if still there next day it goes down slats

pakalasa

Just to update - I had the heifer, her mother and full sister tested. The heifer retested positive, so factory for her. Mother and sister came back negative. Delighted in a way, as mother is best cow I have and daughter, I wanted to breed from.
Up to a month ago, I had never even hear of Neospora.

Bigbird1

pakalasa wrote: »

Just to update - I had the heifer, her mother and full sister tested. The heifer retested positive, so factory for her. Mother and sister came back negative. Delighted in a way, as mother is best cow I have and daughter, I wanted to breed from.
Up to a month ago, I had never even hear of Neospora.

That's great,at least now you have an answer,which you can get some satisfaction from,was it just a blood test taken by your vet?

pakalasa

Bigbird1 wrote: »

That's great,at least now you have an answer,which you can get some satisfaction from,was it just a blood test taken by your vet?

Ya. I had another heifer abort early in the year, so thought it better to get her tested. Vet came and took a blood sample, similar to the brucellosis test. The lab tests for Brucellosis, BVD & Neospora.

rayzorsharpest

dwn da slats is ur only answer. dont listen 2 ejits telling u to leave da fox or dog eat it. ull end up with neosporem. let it rot inda slurry tank, its no harm if the cow eats it herself,tis only natural.