Bulldog Births - reply to Kathleen on "probs other than..

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 7:48 pm

A recent reply on another thread doubts that cows are traumatised by the delivery of a bulldog. Indeed many may be delivered without any more trouble than a normal calf, but this is not always the case.
Even carrying the bulldog can cause cows extra suffering as there is often an abnormal amount of fluid in the uterus, and this can put extra strain on the cow.
If delivery is at a premature stage a small bulldog may slip out easily and I have seen this. I have also seen a heifer carrying first calf go to term with one and it was touch and go whether a vaginal delivery was possible. Another of my cows had a very extended delivery of a macerated bulldog. It was already dead and decomposed except the bones before delivery began in the first week of September, and the cervix never more than 1.5 inches dilated despite administration of drugs to help. Only what bones could be reached at any one time with a finger through the cervix could be delivered, and it was during the last week of the month before the last was removed. She took 6 months to conceive again, lost it at 3 months, and never conceived again, slaughtered 2 years later. I did consider a caesarean for her in the first place, but doing a caesarean for a small bundle of bones is not a simple matter and very likely to result in contamination of the abdomen so I decided against.
My own experiences of bulldogs came after using short legged bulls on short legged cows without trouble for several years, then I got 4 bulldogs from 3 females in less than a year.
Any other comments, criticisms or shared experiences welcome.

Duncan

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 4:47 pm

Hello Duncan,

There are some things on this site which take my knowledge to realms beyond my worst nightmares. Is it really possible for a babe to die and rot in the womb without any sign of smelly discharge or other abnormal behaviour?

jane · Post by **jane** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:39 pm

Nature's a wonderful thing! I know more about deer and they can reabsorb the foetus if under stress during the early winter, but this is only at an early stage of development. They will then pass a tidy parcel of the bits they couldn't absorb without any apparent problem, self preservation I guess. Presumably the bulldog calf had died early enough in the pregnancy for something similar to take place.

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:56 pm

Yes nature can be wonderful at providing means of survival. This sort of thing does not just happen with bulldogs, other causes of foetal death can result in a parcel of bones in the uterus, and as long as the cervix remains closed and there is no bacterial decomposition the cow can remain completely healthy despite the disaster within. We see cases like that every year in this practice, looking after approx 6000 cows. Actually it often surprises me the amount of infected material there can be locked away in isolated places in the body without any general illness eg in cattle with retained placenta and the aftermath of that.

Duncan

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 7:52 am

Thanks for that Duncan,
I am glad you note that these things (other than BD calves) happen to other cattle and not JUST Shortleg Dexters.

I have seen some particularly nasty cases in HF's (Aus Black & Whites) ...the worst in my oppinion was a hiefer that was 'rotting' ...the farmer had pulled the calf out and because of the inability for her to drain (same physical problem which cause the inability to deliver her calf) she was a walking sewer. The stench made you want to chuck everytime she went by!

But that still leaves the 'other problems' - the ones which can not be _blaimed_ on the dreaded 'gene'. But maybe you have been realy fortunate and havent seen any.

All the best
Kathleen.