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Post by Maple View Farm on Jul 25, 2012 10:58:54 GMT -5
Just wondering if anyone has had problems with poor pelvis development or too small of pelvis ? Just had to put down a heifer that was diagnosed with too small of a pelvis and too small of a cervix and her calf was unable to be born because of it, resulting in it dying inside her. She never really went into labor to tell us she was calving because the calf was unable to move into the birth canal to trigger the birthing process and labor.
We have two other friends that bought calves from the same place with the same bloodlines as our heifer that are having the same problems too.
Just to educate everyone on a key warning sign, if the heifer or cow are having a difficult time conceiving that could be a precursor to this problem. It took 2 sepperate times to try to get her to take. Our one set of friends have one that has never taken and she is going on 3 yrs old.
We just don't want anyone else to loose the money we did in all this mess. Lost Heifer, calf, breeding expenses, now huge vet bill and loss of one of our breeding stock.
This has really torn us up and I've been a crying mess. Hope this info will help someone.
Sorry to have posted this in the wrong spot before. Hope this is where this question is to go now.
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Post by theburrowfarm on Jul 25, 2012 11:16:36 GMT -5
Sorry for your loss losing any animal can be heartbreaking .How old was the heifer?Was she a shortie?So far I've only had to assist with a first calf heifer that was a shortie she had a large bull calf.She never had issues after the first calf though.
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Post by emgiger on Jul 25, 2012 12:01:32 GMT -5
Was the heifer a product of line-breeding? How old was she when she got pregnant? A few years back I bought a small herd, a cow, her 9 month old heifer who had never been weaned and a bull (the heifer's father). Unbeknownst to me, the heifer was impregnated at 8 months old by her father. The heifer's first calf was stillborn and her second calf (bred on my farm to outside bloodlines) died in utero. I have not given up on her yet, she is due to calf in September. If she is not successful, she will face the same fate as your little girl.
Please accept my condolences for your loss. This is definitely the down side of owning any type of animal. :-(
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Post by Olga on Jul 25, 2012 13:17:28 GMT -5
mvf: you don't say how old the heifer was, or if it was a dwarf. Either of these, or especially a combination could cause a problem. Calving difficulty in Dexters is not all that common, so if it's neither of the above, it may be the person you bought her from isn't paying attention to pelvis angle and apeture in his breeding program (if he has one). Cows not conceiving is, I think, a separate issue. Sometimes it's diet, sometimes too fat, and sometimes it's poor selection. A lot of people really don't want to eat a heifer, even if it's the best use of her. For both these conditions, a vet check can usually tell you if there's going to be a problem. Sorry to hear of your loss. c. |
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Post by Maple View Farm on Jul 25, 2012 13:41:21 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for the kind thoughts. I had nightmares last night from the torture she went through last night with the vets trying to get the calf out. The whole vet clinic stayed afterhours to help and they pulled out all their tricks to try. They were wonderful. My husband and I chose to not do the C-section. She had already been through too much and there were still not good odds.
She was 2 yrs and 5 months old. She had the same problems as the other heifers our friends got from this farm. She gets put with a bull for at least 2-3 months, then after say 4-5 months after she should have been bred, she goes back into heat. It took us two tries to get her bred.
She was a medium leg, beefy type confirmation. The bull is a medium leg with a beefy type confirmation. Her Sire I have no idea what he looked like nor her Dam. We did not actually go to the farm from which she came.
Our friend called that breeder last night and told him what happened to us and what happened to everyone elses heifers. I hope he stops breeding that line because the vet said it's a genetic thing with their body structure. They said she would have not showed us signs of labor because her cervix was so small the baby could not get into the birth canal to trigger the labor.
Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate it.
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Post by emgiger on Jul 25, 2012 14:07:59 GMT -5
Yes Gene, the reason I inquired if she was line bred was because the negative traits (as well as positive traits) can be reinforced. Line breeding can be very beneficial if done correctly. Conversely, it can also cause a lot of problems if the negative traits are not culled.
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Post by Maple View Farm on Jul 25, 2012 17:50:34 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for all your help. We looked at her registration papers and there is no line breeding. I want to send pictures but don't know how to. If someone wants to tell me how to post pics I will.
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Post by lakeportfarms on Jul 25, 2012 18:12:35 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about your heifer. Losing a calf is hard but expected from time to time, but both is really heartbreaking. We've only been through it once, with a Jersey that had been bred to a large Hereford that we bought when we were beginners. After that experience, my wife and I said never again, It's one of the things that led us to our Dexter bull, which was the start of our Dexter experience.
The line breeding point is very good, which leads me to the question about the bull and what were the birth weights of any calves he may have sired if you know. If he has a tendency toward high birth weights, that could have been a factor combined with the issues that your vet pointed about about the heifer.
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Post by Maple View Farm on Jul 25, 2012 18:34:37 GMT -5
Here are some pics of her.   As for the calves born on that guys farm, I have no idea how big the calves were or if he had birthing problems that he would fess up to. |
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dexterlady
member
Wife, mother of two daughters and five grand children
Posts: 647
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Post by dexterlady on Jul 26, 2012 0:12:42 GMT -5
Maple View Farms....Did you contact the guy you purchased this cow from?....How old was this heifer when you purchased her ?.....Can you email me privately so I can ask you some more questions about this cow?...My email is: dljdexterlady514@gmail.com I would really like to talk with you....I am so sorry you lost your heifer.....Look forward to hearing from you.....Thanks...Donna
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Post by goldshaftdexters on Jul 26, 2012 2:13:23 GMT -5
So sorry for your loss  Do you know her PHA status? From the photos I wouldn't have expected any problems! |
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Post by Maple View Farm on Jul 26, 2012 5:47:02 GMT -5
We are in the process of getting our girls tested. She has not been done yet because she was one of the taller ones. We are starting with the short legs first and then working through the rest of the girls. I know when we bought her nothing came with her stating the sire or dam had been tested either.
I'm not sure what the lesson learned is out of all this mess but we were going to take her to the fair and had been grooming, walking and practicing on set ups etc. She normally was really sweat and docile. When we would practice the walking she almost seemed uncomfortable and got grouchy tossering her head at us. Now in hind sight, I think she was not well even earlier this summer when we started all the fair practicing.
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Post by Olga on Jul 26, 2012 7:32:08 GMT -5
MVF, I strongly suggest that you report your story to the ADCA. It is not that you are accusing the breeder of anything, you just need to let ADCA officials follow through with it. I am very sorry for what happened to you personally, I don't expect your nor your friends will see any reimbursement from the breeder. In any case, you can't get a refund an all the involvement you had: the time, the effort, breeding plans and hopes. But as a breeder I think you have a responsibility to the breed and the association. Please, email the ADCA president (who's email can be found at www.dextercattle.org) and recount your story and give names and contact information for those who are in the same situation. She can then relay the information to the genetics committee. They can look through the records, call current owners of heifers from the line you have and gather the whole picture. If there is a problem here, they could work with the breeder or even refer the matter to the ethics committee. What's most important is that animals who are "known" to be unsound for breeding shouldn't be sold as such. It is the "known" part that needs to be independently investigated. Hope you don't get discouraged and stick with the wonderful breed of Dexters. Good luck and let us know if we can be of help. |
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Post by emgiger on Jul 26, 2012 8:07:18 GMT -5
MVF, she looks like a normal healthy cow in the pictures. Goldshaftdexters mentioned PHA and I think that's a valid point. If reported to the ADCA, the genetics committee should be able to tell immediately by her pedigree if PHA runs in her lines. I think it would be well worth it to give them a call or shoot them an email. I am so sorry for your loss, she was a pretty girl.
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Post by ctownson on Jul 26, 2012 10:06:47 GMT -5
Was chondro status & pha status checked? The picture looked normal to me.
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Do you know her PHA status? From the photos I wouldn't have expected any problems! 