Born dead or alive

[dun]

If you find a dead newborn you can tell if it was born dead or alive by the umbilical area. Cut next to the navel, if you see anything that looks like a blood clot the calf was born alive, if thre isn;t any sign of a clot or thickened blood it was born dead.

 

[Outrigger2]

thanks dun. i always wondered if there was a way to tell. i will remember that this upcoming calving season.

 

[cedar]

Flat lungs no air

 

[rockridgecattle]

thanks good to know.

edit, if the lungs are flat could it still not be born alive but with the sack over the face suffocating the calf...hence no air in the lungs.

 

[funky 4-Her]

Thanks Dun for the tip. You can tell if the calf ever took a breath by taking a piece of the lung, if it floats then it took a breath, if not then it didn't.

 

[dun]

Digging into the lungs is a whole lot more time consuming then the navel deal.

 

[funky 4-Her]

I never said it wasn't but if your gunna be cutting it open anyways, probably not but what ever just thought I'd throw it out there.

 

[rockridgecattle]

so dun i told my husband your tip and he said pretty interesting, would have to try that sometime. I mentioned i would prefer not and he agreed.
but incase it does we will check it out. Might not want to know the answer. might get that what could i have done better complex.

 

[dun]

This tidbit came about because of the dead calf we had this morning. I asked the vet if there was an easy way to tell if it was born dead or alive. I had figured I would have to cut it open and really dig around for some semmiobscure signs. That's when he explained the navel deal. I didn;t end up doing it because after a pretty though discussion, the manure packed into the one foot pretty well told the story.

 

[Limomike]

If you find a dead newborn you can tell if it was born dead or alive by the umbilical area. Cut next to the navel, if you see anything that looks like a blood clot the calf was born alive, if thre isn;t any sign of a clot or thickened blood it was born dead.

Ok, I may be just plain ignorant here, but what would be the difference between something that looks like a blood clot, and thickened blood??

 

[dun]

If you find a dead newborn you can tell if it was born dead or alive by the umbilical area. Cut next to the navel, if you see anything that looks like a blood clot the calf was born alive, if thre isn;t any sign of a clot or thickened blood it was born dead.

Ok, I may be just plain ignorant here, but what would be the difference between something that looks like a blood clot, and thickened blood??

Thickened but not fully clotted. I guess it depends on how long the heart actually beat after the umbilical seperated. I didn;t ask the partiulars on how to tell the difference between the two..

 

[Outrigger2]

i have heard about the lung thing , but like dun said, time consuming. i would think a blot clot would be a darker red.

 

[milkmaid]

If you find a dead newborn you can tell if it was born dead or alive by the umbilical area. Cut next to the navel, if you see anything that looks like a blood clot the calf was born alive, if thre isn;t any sign of a clot or thickened blood it was born dead.

OK, curiousity... MM wants to know the whats, whys, and wherefores of why this works. ;-) :???:

 

[msscamp]

If you find a dead newborn you can tell if it was born dead or alive by the umbilical area. Cut next to the navel, if you see anything that looks like a blood clot the calf was born alive, if thre isn;t any sign of a clot or thickened blood it was born dead.

OK, curiousity... MM wants to know the whats, whys, and wherefores of why this works. ;-) :???:

That makes 2 of us.

 

[dun]

If I remember I'll ask. Forgot to ask about the embryo flush timing when we talked about the calf. Seems I can only remmeber one thing at a time

 

[shutskytj]

My guess would there would be no blood clot if the calf were dead before birth because no blood is circulating through the calf or umbilical cord.

 

[Keren]

Thats interesting Dun, I've not heard of that method.

We have just recently been doing cause of dead and born alive and dead and were taught the following procedure.

1. Open the calf/lamb/kid/foal check lungs. If they are a dark colour similar to the liver, the animal has not breathed and was most likely born dead. If they are a light pink the animal has breathed. If in doubt cut a piece and put it in water. The second will float. The first will not.

2. If the animal has breathed, next look at feet to get an indication of whether it has gotten to its feet. If it has walked around, the hoof caps will be off, but if it has been born and died before getting to its feet, the hoof caps should still be present. Depending on the breed and your own herd, you can tell how long it lived for - my kids are usually on their feet within half an hour.

3. If the animal breathed, and walked around, next look at the stomach to tell whether the animal suckled. Look for the presence of milk in the abomasum. You might have an animal that was born alive and got to its feet but didnt get a feed - either from abandonment of otherwise.

I have found these quick few steps really helpful when trying to diagnose why a calf/kid/lamb/foal has died.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

OK, I haven't been around much lately, but since when do you, DUN, have a Sept calf?????
I like this new tidbit. I always knew about the lung, but who wants to cut one up? It's bad enough getting rid of a "whole" body, let alone an opened up one with parts & pieces :shock:

 

[dun]

OK, I haven't been around much lately, but since when do you, DUN, have a Sept calf?????
I like this new tidbit. I always knew about the lung, but who wants to cut one up? It's bad enough getting rid of a "whole" body, let alone an opened up one with parts & pieces :shock:

How is the calf slipped her calf but siunce everyone was bred I just left Pedro with the cows. Obviously Pedro knew more then I did.

 

[HEREFORD ROADHOG]

heres my question about this subject -what really makes the difference its still gonna be dead.