Chapter 6
Calving
Your cow will in most cases give birth without assistance. All you need do is be available in case you are needed. It is much better not to interfere with calving unless you observe signs of trouble. But you can stay with your cow in labor and watch the birth. Because she is used to you and your family, your presence usually will not worry her. The presence of strangers will slow down labor.
When you suspect that calving is near, clean your cow’s stall and put down a heavy mat of dry bedding. Have water and hay available, and bring her in to calve. She can calve outdoors just as well, if the weather is mild. But part of the enjoyment of keeping a cow and compensation for all the work is being present and participating in the big event of the birth of a calf.
There are two other practical reasons for calving in the stall instead of outdoors. One is the possibility of the calf wandering off or falling over an embankment or otherwise becoming separated from its mother. The other reason is that there is always the possibility of milk fever, and you’ll feel better if you can keep an eye on your cow during and after calving. Expect everything to go easily, but take precautions nonetheless.
Gestation in cows averages 279 to 290 days, with Jerseys having the shorter gestation.
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Signs of Calving
Our veterinarian used to tell us, “I can tell you anything you want to know, except when a cow is going to calve.” In general your cow will calve a little later than you expect, unless she calves suddenly a little early. There are some clues besides the mark on the calendar. As her ninth month arrives, viewed directly from the back or front she will appear round, like an orange on sticks. When calving is imminent the calf shifts position and aligns itself with the birth canal; all of a sudden Bossy looks slab-sided. Signs you can observe on the cow’s body are the rapid swelling of the udder (in contrast to the gradual enlargement that has been taking place) and a spreading of the space between the base of the tail and the pinbones on either side of it. You can put your hand on the space between the tail and pinbone and feel hollowness and wobbliness of her tailhead that wasn’t there before. (You should feel the relationship of these bones well before her due date so that you have a basis for comparison.) The wobbly tail head means that pelvic ligaments are softening. Generally when this opening of the birth canal occurs, labor will begin within a day. The teats get swollen at the top, giving them a conelike shape. There will usually have been strings of mucus from the vulva for several days, particularly in an older cow. When the mucus becomes blood tinged, this is a definitive sign.
Behavioral signs of imminent calving are the cow turning and looking at her back end, kicking at her belly, restlessly moving in semicircles, stepping forward and back, and having a straddle-legged stance. She will stop cudding. She may get up and lie down repeatedly. If she is leaking milk and notices a puddle of it, she may paw at it and give the soft murmuring calf call.
When a large, fluid-filled membrane begins to emerge, you know for certain calving is under way, for this is the water bag in which the calf has developed. By the time you observe the water bag your cow will have been in labor for several hours. A heifer calving for the first time will often take six hours to get to this point. During this first stage, the cow may or may not eat fitfully. A cow will sometimes eagerly seize a mouthful of hay and then lose interest before eating it. She may show signs of irritation and shake her head at you.
In the second and more intense stage of labor, your cow will have less time for you, but I do think that my cows have at times appeared appreciative of my company and support. A cow can calve either standing or lying down, with standing more common. As the water bag moves through the cervix and the vagina, the feet should appear. Watch for something white, which will be the edge of a hoof. This is likely to show and then recede between strains. Hopefully two right-side-up front feet appear. In the correct and most common presentation of the calf, the front feet will be just ahead of the nose, which rests between the calf’s front legs. (We’ll talk about abnormal presentations below.) When you see two front feet and a nose, you know the calf is in the correct position. The water bag usually ruptures at about this time, spilling out a flood. Sometimes you can see the shapes of feet and nose within the bag before it breaks. Don’t be alarmed if the calf’s tongue is hanging out.
After the feet appear, the intervals between bouts of straining become short, ranging from fifteen seconds to two minutes. The strains increase in intensity and last a few seconds each. There will be rest periods between groups of strains, often just after the feet and nose appear and again when the head is out, and from there the rest is relatively easy. As the chest comes through, there will be more fluid as the remaining contents of the water bag are expelled. Mucus will pour from the calf’s mouth and nostrils, opening these passages and preparing them to take over the respiratory function. Occasionally a very large calf will get stuck at the hips and you will need to rotate it. A few more strains and the calf is born. This second stage of labor may last two hours but is often surprisingly quick, giving you barely time to run back for your camera. A heifer takes longer than an older cow, and a large calf will cause the process to take longer as well.
During a slow delivery you can give valuable help by grasping the hoof and pulling down while the cow strains. Don’t pull the leg out past the knee joint unless a second hoof appears. When a second hoof appears, grasp the two of them and pull down while she strains. Now the calf’s nose should appear. This is proof that the calf is lying correctly and you can safely continue to help. Take hold of the slippery forelegs, using a towel for better grip, and with her next contraction pull down hard. A few pulls while the cow is straining will deliver the calf if there are no complications except fatigue.
Advice from the research team at Ohio State University (published in the November 2011 Journal of Dairy Science) is to begin assistance seventy minutes after the amniotic sac appears or sixty-five minutes after feet appear outside of the vulva.
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When the Calf Is on the Ground
Check the calf at once to be sure it does not have part of the sac around its nose. If the calf does not appear to be breathing, pick it up by the hind feet and hold it vertically for a few seconds (not more than three or four seconds). This will usually start respiration. It’s normal for the calf to cough and snort with its head flopping around; if it still isn’t breathing after you’ve hoisted it, try tickling inside its nostril with a piece of hay.
The cow will immediately turn around to start licking her calf. If she is down and doesn’t rise at once, pull the calf around to her head. She will then greet her offspring by starting the thorough licking job that dries and warms the calf. The cow will identify her calf by its distinctive odor as she does this, and no other calf will then suit her so well. A cow bonds intensely with her calf.
Within fifteen minutes the calf usually starts staggering to its feet, rear legs first in the way of cattle. The initial attempts invariably result in a series of nose landings. A calf usually requires a half hour of effort to get it all together and stand on four feet, wavering. A step toward the cow usually results in collapse and a new start, but with each try the calf becomes better coordinated.
The calf should have colostrum (the first milk after calving) as soon as possible. A calf is born without antibodies to disease, so it badly needs those antibodies that are present in the colostrum. To permit their rapid passage into its bloodstream, the calf’s gut is permeable. If it gets bacteria in its mouth well in advance of colostrum, these have a royal road right into the bloodstream. Colostrum coats the gut and protects it; closure occurs quickly after the antibodies have crossed the gut wall. After this, colostrum continues to be valuable for its high vitamin, fat, and protein content, but further antibodies pass more slowly. If colostrum is not obtained, the gut wall remains open, waiting for it, for some days, during which time the calf remains highly susceptible to infection. Virtually no calves survive without colostrum. If you should have the misfortune to lose your cow at calving, milk out some colostrum while you can. Normally the cow has ten times what the calf needs and I always keep some frozen just in case. It can also be used to save orphans of other species.
The final stage of labor is pushing out the afterbirth, or the placenta. This often occurs while the sucking is getting started. The placenta appears slimy and stringy. It is worth taking the trouble to know for certain that it has been ejected. A cow will usually eat the placenta, or a large portion of it, unless it becomes contaminated by dung. Some cow owners whisk away the placenta on the theory that the cow might choke on it. However, there is considerable evidence that the cow benefits from the hormones and nutrients in the placenta, which assist in contracting the uterus. I always allow my cows to eat it, but I remove whatever is left as soon as interest is lost.
Often strings of placenta remain dangling from the cow. Resist the impulse to pull on them, as this may damage the uterus. Also resist the impulse to cut them off. The dangling weight helps the placenta to separate, and if you cut it off some of it may slither back into the uterus, introducing infection.
If you don’t find the placenta, the cow probably ate it, but keep checking. If it is retained it can cause severe illness. If you don’t see any sign of it after twenty-four hours following calving, you may wish to inform your veterinarian, who can then plan to do something about it. Some veterinarians give a hormone injection to encourage further contractions to expel the afterbirth. Others may wait a few days and then remove it by reaching into the uterus with a gloved hand to find whatever is there; they may implant an antibiotic pellet to control any infection that may have been introduced.
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When to Help
If you decide to call a vet to come help with the birth, and you are not well acquainted, explain to him or her that this is a precious family cow. Many have grown blasé from working with big dairies. In the meantime, prepare the site for an emergency C-section, should it be necessary. A couple of bales of hay will do, spread out, preferably where the light is good. A good place for a C-section is a livestock trailer or a horse trailer with the divider removed. If you have not already done so, offer your cow an energy drink of a cup of molasses in a bucket of warm water. It may be useful to walk her around, if you can do so without having her escape to a distant spot. If there are strangers or a dog, ask them to withdraw for the present. Factors that might otherwise not disturb your cow may be making her nervous now.
The most difficult thing about calving a cow is keeping out of it and letting the cow do it on her own while at the same time knowing when it is time to help. Your cow may appear to be struggling so much in pushing the calf’s head and feet through a small opening that you feel you must assist. But it is imperative that no pulling from the outside be done until the head has cleared the cervix (the opening of the uterus). The cervix dilates as the water bag and head push against it, and the process must take its time and work little by little, not by brute force. After the head is clear of the cervix, it will have another tight squeeze at the vulva (the vaginal opening). If the cow appears exhausted at this point and the calf appears to be large, it can be helpful to pull on the calf’s feet to assist the head in clearing the vulva while the shoulders are coming through the cervix, as described above. What is surprising is just how much pulling is required to do any good. The cow is already pushing with great power, and a little human pull doesn’t add much.
If you must pull, it may be necessary to fasten ropes around the calf’s ankles and then wrap the ropes around your wrists or have them tied on sticks to make T handles. There are ropes and chains made for this purpose. Good calving rope is of soft material, three-eighths of an inch in diameter and six feet long, with a loop made at each end, and washed clean, and it is a good thing to have it on hand. The pull must be downward, toward the cow’s udder or back feet at something like a forty-five-degree angle—do not pull straight out. Pulling downward moves the calf through the vulva without tearing. Pull when the cow strains, hold what has been gained when she relaxes, and then pull again when the next contraction starts.
If the cow stops having contractions due to milk fever, it will be necessary to pull the calf out without the mutual effort of the contractions. Great strength is required. Now you have to see the calf’s nose. The nose should lie between the calf’s feet, proving that the head is not doubled back. Since the umbilical cord could become tangled or crushed and cease to provide life support, it is important that the calf be able to breathe without delay. Just because the nose is out, don’t think the calf can breathe. It must have its lungs out in the open in order to expand and take in air. Pulling at this point isn’t dangerous, since the largest part of the calf is already through the cervix. But the pull must be at the downward angle to protect the vaginal tissues.
A simple rule for deciding whether to assist is that if the cow is making any progress at all, however slow, no pulling is necessary or advisable. But your own judgment must prevail.
The umbilical cord will break when the calf emerges. If not then, it will break when the cow gets up. There is no hurry about this. The pumping through of oxygenated blood may have value. The cord can be cut, dipped in iodine, and tied with a string. While it’s not absolutely necessary, it is advisable to do this when there are numerous animals and wet, muddy conditions. Navel ill is a terrible thing, so better safe than sorry.
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Abnormal Presentations
I hope you will never need to use the information in this section. It is far better to have a veterinarian or experienced farmer handle an abnormal presentation of the calf. In isolated districts, sometimes that is not possible. Sometimes the only vet is a small animal doctor; in this case he or she may value your suggestions.
The calf should present its front feet first, followed immediately by the nose. In any other presentation, help may be needed to shift the calf inside the uterus so that it can be born. If you are without help and must examine the cow yourself, there are precautions to be taken. The cow will probably view your help with apprehension. You need to have her securely tied so she doesn’t move all over the stall while you are reaching inside. It is important that she does not slip and fall. If your stall has a concrete floor, remove the bedding from under her and cover the floor with sand or grit. If the stall has a dirt floor, a bed of hay, straw, or sawdust will give her a good footing.
Scrub your arms thoroughly with soap, not detergent. Wash the vulva with lots of soap and warm water. Then use soapsuds as a lubricant for your hand and arm as you reach in. Reach into the vulva, on through the vagina, and into the cervix to determine the position of the calf. Take your time and make sense of everything you feel as you go. If the calf’s nose and feet are there at the mouth of the uterus, the presentation is normal and no action should be required. If the nose isn’t right there lying on the hooves, try to determine just how the calf is positioned.
In the breech presentation, the calf’s tail would come first if it could, but with the back legs folded under the body the mass is too great for the birth canal. This is corrected by pushing the calf away from the cervix and then pulling the legs, one at a time, upward into position to be born back feet first. While this is a fairly simple procedure, great care must be taken to avoid tearing the uterine wall with the edges of the hoofs. You will need to pass a rope with a noose on the end under the calf, between its legs. Loop the noose over the first hoof you find and pull the noose tight on the pastern (just above the hoof). Use one hand inside the cow to guide the hoof and protect the uterine wall, and the other to pull on the rope to bring the hoof up to the cervix. Helpers who can calm and steady the cow and help manage the rope are valuable here. Use a second rope to repeat the process with the other hoof and leg, and the birth should then proceed normally. If the cow is exhausted from a long laboring effort to deliver the undeliverable, you can help her with the ropes attached to the feet.
A calf with its hind legs coming first can be born without assistance provided the front legs aren’t also coming at the same time. These may need to be pushed back until the rump is in the birth canal and the calf is uncurled and straightened out.
If the calf is presenting in the forward position but its head is turned back, it will be impossible for the calf to fit through the birth canal, and you’ll have to pull the nose around to the forward position. Reach into the uterus and push the calf back, away from the cervix. You will need to do this between labor strains that obviously will be exerting the opposite force. Then stand with your back to the cow, reach your arm back into the uterus, and work the head of the calf into the forward position. You will need to stand backward because the human arm will not otherwise bend in the direction required to accomplish this maneuver in the space available. It takes considerable strength.
If the calf’s nose is forward but its front legs are back, it is again necessary to push the calf back between contractions and then bring the leg or legs up, cupping your hand over each hoof to avoid tearing the vaginal wall. This is difficult because of the great pressure forward.
In the rare case of twin calves, one can jam against the other. When it is necessary to explore the birth canal with a lubricated hand, it is useful to bear this contingency in mind. The “lead” twin can be released by pushing the other back, and then delivery can proceed sequentially (and normally).
Any presentation that requires twisting or moving the calf presents a danger of pinching or breaking the umbilical cord. Once interference has begun, it is vital for the calf that the birth be accomplished quickly. If you decide you must take on a birthing problem yourself, be prepared to see it through. You should get an antiseptic bolus (pellet) to place in the uterus after calving to combat any infection you may have introduced. If possible, however, get a veterinarian, and then learn all you can by watching and assisting.
The calf must come out or you will lose both cow and calf. But be assured, these problems are rare. Most common is that you go out to check your cow and she and the calf are standing there looking happy.
Photograph courtesy of Max Luick