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Calves born dead?
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<blockquote data-quote="Keren" data-source="post: 639065" data-attributes="member: 3195"><p>The procedure I was always taught was:</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>Also a new one I learned the other day from an old vet - if you have an animal stillborn, touch its eyes. If they are kinda squishy like the eyes of a live animal, then the baby died within the last two hours. If they are hard, the baby was dead longer than two hours. So you can hypothesize whether the baby was already dead (infection, congenital defect etc) or whether it died in the birth canal due to birthing complications (dystocia, weak umbilical, breech birth etc)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Keren, post: 639065, member: 3195"] The procedure I was always taught was: 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. Also a new one I learned the other day from an old vet - if you have an animal stillborn, touch its eyes. If they are kinda squishy like the eyes of a live animal, then the baby died within the last two hours. If they are hard, the baby was dead longer than two hours. So you can hypothesize whether the baby was already dead (infection, congenital defect etc) or whether it died in the birth canal due to birthing complications (dystocia, weak umbilical, breech birth etc) [/QUOTE]
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