Retained cleanings is also known as retained fetal membrane or retained placenta and occurs when the calf’s side of the placenta fails to separate from the mother’s side.
When cows calve down, they usually expel their fetal membrane or cleanings three to eight hours after calving.
Usually after the 24 hour mark, if the cow is still holding onto her cleanings, the cow may have to be treated in order to release the cleanings and get the cow back to herself.
Retained cleanings are characterised by varying amounts of discoloured and foul smelling membrane hanging from the vulva off the cow for over 24 hours after calving.
Occasionally, the retained cleanings may remain within the uterus of the cow and is not obvious to the naked eye and the presence of the cleanings may become evident by a foul-smelling discharge.
Retained cleanings in herds can be expensive to rectify and can have knock-on effects related to getting the cow back in calf and reduced performance in the lactation.
The knock-on effects of cows with retained cleanings are as follows:
- Risk of ketosis;
- Risk of metritis;
- Risk of mastitis;
- Increased infertility;
- Increased vet and medicine costs.
Sometimes, the best thing to do with retained placenta is to separate the cow from the main herd and leave her in a clean pen where she can be monitored closely and allowed to release her cleanings stress-free.
If the cow takes a turn, and she shows signs of increased illness, the farmer may have to react and consult the vet.
Retained cleanings
The reasons behind a cow retaining her cleanings can be from a number of different issues which mainly relate to feed and mineral deficiencies and metabolic diseases.
The causes of retained cleanings in cows are as follows:
- Subclinical milk fever;
- Overfat cows;
- Selenium/vitamin E deficiency;
- Twins;
- Difficult calving;
- Premature birth/abortions;
- Low immune system.
Manual removal of the retained cleanings is not recommended and can be potentially harmful to the cow and cause lesions in the uterus, unless the placenta can be pulled out with ease and comes without restraint.
If cows are untreated, it could take up to 11 days for them to expel the cleanings.
If cows are treated with antibiotics, it will help reduce the bacterial load present in the uterus and may present the development of endometritis.
A plan to treat the cow should be discussed with your vet as some antibiotics may slow down the release of the cleanings.
With any health issues, prevention is the best option and this starts with good dry cow management and keeping facilities clean and hygienic while reducing the bacterial load on mats by using hydrated lime.
The supply of the correct nutrients is essential in the dry period with magnesium being the most crucial to maximise dry matter intake and to maintain the correct body condition score (BCS).
Over conditioned animals should have their silage restricted and late calving cows should be monitored closely to make sure they don’t put on too much condition.
Magnesium will also play a big role in decreasing the number of milk fever cases which subsequently causes the placenta to be retained – increasing selenium and vitamin E levels in the animal is also crucial.
