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First calves - advice needed
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<blockquote data-quote="Travlr" data-source="post: 1849140" data-attributes="member: 42463"><p>It all starts with choosing the right animals. If you have animals that are bred to be capable, stand back and watch, and don't interfere unless you have a malpresenting calf. Cows have been doing this successfully for a million years, give or take.</p><p></p><p>You can look at what's going on and learn how to identify problems early. The calf should present with the front two feet first, the toes up toward the tail of the cow... followed by the nose. With some experience you will learn if the calf is going to be huge or small by the size of the feet. Toes pointed down will be a breech birth and you want that to go fast because once the umbilical hits the air the calf starts to breath. Any kind of odd presentation of the feet will mean you have to help. </p><p></p><p>A lot of people advise giving the cow a half hour and if no progress pull the calf. Personally I think that's pretty quick. And humans hovering close to the cow will make her nervous and often delay birth. Binoculars are better than intruding on a cow doing her job. But it's really nice to have a good catch facility with a good chute and headgate just in case.</p><p></p><p>I've had very few problems with calving issues and don't expect trouble. From my own observations people hovering produce their own expectations.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Travlr, post: 1849140, member: 42463"] It all starts with choosing the right animals. If you have animals that are bred to be capable, stand back and watch, and don't interfere unless you have a malpresenting calf. Cows have been doing this successfully for a million years, give or take. You can look at what's going on and learn how to identify problems early. The calf should present with the front two feet first, the toes up toward the tail of the cow... followed by the nose. With some experience you will learn if the calf is going to be huge or small by the size of the feet. Toes pointed down will be a breech birth and you want that to go fast because once the umbilical hits the air the calf starts to breath. Any kind of odd presentation of the feet will mean you have to help. A lot of people advise giving the cow a half hour and if no progress pull the calf. Personally I think that's pretty quick. And humans hovering close to the cow will make her nervous and often delay birth. Binoculars are better than intruding on a cow doing her job. But it's really nice to have a good catch facility with a good chute and headgate just in case. I've had very few problems with calving issues and don't expect trouble. From my own observations people hovering produce their own expectations. [/QUOTE]
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First calves - advice needed
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