C-section

westlander

Hello all,
had a c-section on a heifer here about 2 months ago. Lost the calf unfortunately.

She is an old enough heifer (4 years) but she has made a full recovery.

She was too fat and that is why the section had to be done (in my opinion).

Just wondering do people keep cows/heifers after a section or is it best to get rid in case of a repeat situation happening again?

First section I've ever had.

Thanks,
westlander

Genghis Cant

westlander wrote: »

Hello all,
had a c-section on a heifer here about 2 months ago. Lost the calf unfortunately.

She is an old enough heifer (4 years) but she has made a full recovery.

She was too fat and that is why the section had to be done (in my opinion).

Just wondering do people keep cows/heifers after a section or is it best to get rid in case of a repeat situation happening again?

First section I've ever had.

Thanks,
westlander

Some people keep them, particularly a PB or perhaps in a case where they're were mitigating circumstances.
We've had 4 sections that I can remember and we didn't keep any afterwards!

yellow50HX

westlander wrote: »

Hello all,
had a c-section on a heifer here about 2 months ago. Lost the calf unfortunately.

She is an old enough heifer (4 years) but she has made a full recovery.

She was too fat and that is why the section had to be done (in my opinion).

Just wondering do people keep cows/heifers after a section or is it best to get rid in case of a repeat situation happening again?

First section I've ever had.

Thanks,
westlander

If she has made a full recovery and is back bulling again the. Put her back in calf. If the vet has done a good job then the cow will be fine. Have a couple here and no issues going back in calf.

greysides

Could you keep her? Yes.

Would I keep her? No!

If she was too fat at 4 y.o. what will she be like at 5 y.o. after another year not rearing a calf?

orm0nd

if she was a 2 year I'd say give her another chance if she was valuable

however I would be culling a 4 year old if she was mine

whelan2

had a section on a pb aa cow last year, first one on a suckler in over 20 years of having them, cow had bloat calf was upside down and backwards, my dad said he would cull her, she is now 7 months in calf, hopefully i will be on holidays when she goes to calve this year

doyleshill

Had a cow with a second section this year. First calf was a section,calved the second calf on her own and then this year another section. smashing calves thats why I might try to put her in calf to an AI easy calver .

High bike

Had one two yrs ago,calved twice prob on her own since

blue5000

I'd take greysides' advice on this one, 4yrs old and nothing in the bank yet.

Future Farmer

westlander wrote: »

Hello all,
had a c-section on a heifer here about 2 months ago. Lost the calf unfortunately.

She is an old enough heifer (4 years) but she has made a full recovery.

She was too fat and that is why the section had to be done (in my opinion).

Just wondering do people keep cows/heifers after a section or is it best to get rid in case of a repeat situation happening again?

First section I've ever had.

Thanks,
westlander

Can I ask why she is a 4 year old heifer?

pajero12

greysides wrote: »

Could you keep her? Yes.

Would I keep her? No!

If she was too fat at 4 y.o. what will she be like at 5 y.o. after another year not rearing a calf?

But surely that comes down to the animals diet?

westlander

Future Farmer wrote: »

Can I ask why she is a 4 year old heifer?

Well shes 3 and a half really. I switched from AI to stock bull.

I'm working full time also so I missed her for AI.

westlander

pajero12 wrote: »

But surely that comes down to the animals diet?

I was hoping to out winter her to keep her lean this time around.

But yes I know its a risk

ALANC81

westlander wrote: »

I was hoping to out winter her to keep her lean this time around.

But yes I know its a risk

A lot of c-section's can be avoided by taking the cow/heifer in 6 weeks before calving and restricting there feed.
If the heifer is mud fat then the calf is probably bigger than it should be to.
The only c-sections we've had in years are when a calf is coming wrong.

barryoc1

Adding to this thread rather than starting a new one.
Quick query, how long usually after a section should the stitches be removed or does it depend on how well she has healed?
I have a suckler cow that had a section bout 3 weeks ago. Brought her in over the weekend with the intention of taking them out but didnt look all that well healed so decided to leave another while. I was then told they can be very hard to remove if left in too long.

whelan2

barryoc1 wrote: »

Adding to this thread rather than starting a new one.
Quick query, how long usually after a section should the stitches be removed or does it depend on how well she has healed?
I have a suckler cow that had a section bout 3 weeks ago. Brought her in over the weekend with the intention of taking them out but didnt look all that well healed so decided to leave another while. I was then told they can be very hard to remove if left in too long.

vet said here to leave them in . We cut 2 of them that were left after a few months

greysides

All going well they could probably be taken out after two weeks BUT it does depend on the healing going normally. Any infection will delay healing.
Left to there own devices they will eventually be expelled by the body so that's your fall-back plan.

Depending on how they're stitched they may be harder or easier to remove, generally simple enough. Just check carefully you've got them all.
The animal is likely to complain a bit when you pull on them so be careful how you do it. In a crush with the stitches along a wall can be problematic as the cow will scrape your hand along the wall if she sprocks. Find the knot and catch it, pull it off the skin slightly and with a sharp blade cut only the thread on one side, then use the knot to pull it out. If it's one long thread shorten it periodically as you go to avoid having to pull too much material through.