Surgical Abortions in Cattle

Abstract

Termination of early pregnancy in mismated, valuable heifers and cows are often requested by purebred breeders. In performing an abortion by any of several commonly recognized procedures (i.e., estrogen injections, expression of the corpus luteum, etc.) one must consider some of the disadvantages of altered hormone balances and its sequelae, trauma to the ovary, excessive hemorrhage, and others. Because of these unwanted effects, many purebred breeders hesitate to have abortions performed thus resulting in a loss of valuable breeding time and immature heifers suffering the sequelae associated with difficult parturition.