Bovine OB

I had to assist a heifer in delivering her calf today. The clinical definition for calving difficulty is dystocia. In today's case the dystocia was caused by an abnormal presentation of the calf (so it probably had nothing to do with her). You want to see two front feet and a nose, in this situation I saw a nose and one foot. Indicating that the calf had a leg back.

I will usually decide to assist a cow for two reasons. The first is that for some reason she has not made any progress in delivery within two hours of her water breaking. The second is I see signs of an obvious abnormal presentation. These signs include,seeing hind feet, seeing a nose and no feet, a nose and one foot (like today), or just a tail, when these signs are present its time to go to work. The decision to call a vet should be made as well. This is a decision based on your experience. However, experience has taught me it's best to error on the side of caution in these situations.

I'm going to cover the process of delivering the calf next, then at the end I'll share more about the causes of dystocia.

Here I have brought the heifer into the barn. You can see the single hoof which can be a sign of dystocia.

The next step is to confine her in a calving pen. The calving pen is a wonderful invention designed to secure the cow and protect the cowboy from injury during delivery. As a secondary precaution I always place a halter on the cow so if she does lie down while trying to deliver she is not at risk of choking. Pink seemed like an appropriate halter color for bovine maternity

After successfully pulling the leg that was back into place it's time to attach the OB chains. The chains should be placed above the hoof but below the pastern (this is the first joint above the hoof, like your ankle). Improper placement of the chains can result in a broken leg.



Next attach the calf jack. Common sense is required with this tool. Just because you can apply tremendous torque does not mean you have to. As dramatic as this whole process seems it is important to not hurry the process and stay as calm as possible for the sake of all involved, cow, calf, and human. You may notice that the calf's tongue is out and swollen. This is a sign of dystocia, but its not as bad as it looks.

 Delivery is almost complete. Once again work steady, not fast so the cow can help with the process and the calf does not receive any internal injury.

 Minutes later Mom is up claiming her calf.

Here they are about an hour after delivery.

There are many factors that affect calving ease. The calf's sire has a lot to do with it (always the mans fault). The bull has the primary genetic influence on both birth weight of the calf and phenotype. Big headed, broad shouldered, heavy calves have a tougher time coming into this world. I shoot for a 70# to 80# birth weight on my calves. It has been my experience that anything over 90# will start to cause problems.

On the cow side factors that can cause dystocia include the size of her pelvis, her adrenal function, and her disposition. If any of these traits are out of whack she may cause problems.

From the management side, improper nutrition, lack of exercise, an unpleasant environment, and exposure to extreme elements without adequate shelter can cause problems with calving.

Calving season is one of my favorite times of the year. However, constant planning and management are essential to it staying that way.