Why is That Cow Eating Her Placenta?

First, you see the cute new calf. Then, you see the cow eating her placenta. Yuck!

The cow eating her placenta after parentage is actually a pretty normal thing . Believe it or not , the moo-cow eating her placenta is a healthy cow . After the calf is born , the placenta sack must also be born within eight hour . Then , what should be done with it ? Well , gratefully , this cow is clean up her own mess . But why else would this moo-cow be eating her placenta?Well , I ’ve been raising kine for over 30 days but I still think of understandably as a small fry : get the cow eat her placenta . It ’s healthy for her . It ’s give her energy . This is what I was taught to believe . And when I take on dissimilar sites and sources remark possible side effects of eating placenta , it ’s hard for me to dismiss three decades of allowing cows to eat on their placenta after raising and manage a healthy grass fed cow herd with no problem from natural practices , like eating their placenta . I’m going to share with you my thoughts and colligate to some scientific source from enquiry . I ’m not saying it ’s honorable or bad when you see a moo-cow eating her placenta . Really , I could care less if she eat it or not . I just want my moo-cow to be a healthy skilful mum and take attention of her sister . But I am going to talk about three specific topics and answer some motion you might be having . In this situation , I ’m going to secern you :

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Removal of “New Baby Smell” Evidence

The first reasonableness you might see a moo-cow eating her placenta is for protection . That new babe smell is so sweetened , is n’t it ? honeyed enough to eat!Predators love a fresh baby sura . This cow is eating her placenta to protect her calfskin from predators . Well , is n’t she a wise mama cow?Here ’s the quite a little : If the placenta outride present , the smell of refreshed blood and fluid may draw in predators to the cow and calf . As the moo-cow eat her placenta , she gets rid of the evidence and sweet smell of her new sister calf . It ’s a condom matter that I appreciate very much as a cattle manufacturer . Plus , the placenta is pack full of dependable nutrition for the new mom . At least she thinks so .

Nutrition for Recovery

Birth is very heavy piece of work . Not only is it a workout for the female person ’s eubstance , but a stack of fluid and blood is fall back within the labor process . Therefore , the cow mechanically thinks she must restore those nutrient lost right on aside . Some seed say that the placenta is chalk full of beneficial nutrients ( Calcium and Iron ) and internal secretion for the cow . These nutrient and hormones will help the cow recover internally . And this is why other species ( including some human race ) will also consume their placenta . wipe out her placenta may or may not assist this cow be a better female parent because her body will be on the road to recovery . She will be able to produce deal of milk for her baby as well due to the natural endocrine being replace by the placenta . But , there ’s one more reason mama cow might be concerned in her placenta .

The placenta tastes delicious

What ? ! ? Sorry , but if the moo-cow did n’t like the sense of taste of the placenta she would not be eating it . Cows are very selective in what they like to eat . I have intercourse this just by walk out into the eatage and noticing which betray they wish and which ones they don’t . For more info on managing Spring Pastures , Go Here . Even though cattle are known to be herbivore , that moo-cow sure depend like she ’s enjoying the taste perception of her blooming placenta!And it ’s dependable that kine are primarily herbivore , meaning they eat plants in the first place . But , I would call them the occasional omnivore for this reason . Omnivores are animals that eat both plants and animals . Some moo-cow do stick to the all - veggie dieting . These cows do not eat their placenta and merely prefer to move their calf somewhere else away from the placenta to protect them . This cow took her calf very far away and stay there for a few days . Then , she return to the ruck . It ’s not a bad estimation to incline of placenta if the moo-cow decide she does n’t desire to eat it . loosely , I allow my guard duty dog Si to take care of the placenta when the it is give up . He thinks they savour delicious , too . The main important affair is for that placenta to be dispose of one style or another to forestall predators from being tempt into your pasture .

Possible Side Effects of Eating Placenta

I heart skill . I am an Animal Scientist and really treasure enquiry . There is some sparce enquiry out there on the effects of placenta on moo-cow wellness . A study that results showed increased feed breathing in after consuming placenta : This abstract of the study from the Journal of Dairy Science can be found here . Note that the study does say it really has small to no effect on the health of the moo-cow . Another potential side gist could be digestive turmoil . I could n’t find a study on this – Just opinion . And I ’ve never seen kine bear digestive problems . So , as you could see , there is very little enquiry that has been done on this topic . We can only provide knowledge , as cows producers , with what we can see and what our experience is . Again , cows are bright creatures . They are selective eaters and peachy mothers . If you may trust the cow ’s instinct , you may trust that eating her placenta is the right thing she can do .

Now You Know Why That Cow Is Eating Her Placenta

We ’ve learned a few things here . She could be simply protect her calf or meeting a nutritionary need . Or she may just love the gustation of her placenta . Or , she ’s really hungry for a little supererogatory branding iron and atomic number 20 . One matter is for sure . This cow is a goodish cow who is well on her way to raising her healthy and felicitous calf .