Calving Difficulty due to Presentation ?

[Stocker Steve]

Is there a correlation between calf size and breech or leg back presentations?

 

[dun]

Not really that I have found any thing about. Twins throw a turd in the punch nowl, but unless a calf is huge and the cow is really small they usually manage ot get rotated properly

 

[Nesikep]

I haven't paid much attention to it, but it hasn't struck me at all.

 

[Stocker Steve]

What percentage of calf presentations do you see with one or both legs back?

 

[Aaron]

What percentage of calf presentations do you see with one or both legs back?

Less than 1%.

 

[Nesikep]

In 500 calves, I've never had ONE leg the wrong way, I've had may be 4 that were breech birth with both hinds facing forward, 2 of those were twins.

Normal backwards presentations, I've probably had a dozen or two.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Seeing 2% with legs back, with another 3% that are husky and hard pulls. All but one from a sire. Might be my turn, but he is running about 12% problems. Normally I don't touch a calf.

 

[wbvs58]

I think if there is plenty of room a presentation with a leg back often gets passed by itself and we are none the wiser, If it is a big calf there is no room for error.

Ken

 

[Bigfoot]

I'm very seldom eye witness to a calf being born, so I can't say what happens when I'm not there. My instinct has always been that several bad presentations just go ahead and are born on there on.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

We have had one with just one back leg presenting. I worked on the cow for about 30 minutes, but could not get the other leg so called a vet. A shot of lidocaine in the tailhead and 5 minutes later and the calf was out. A little 62 pound heifer.
That 12% problems is how many total calves? Sounds high, but the cow is part of the equation too.

 

[Lazy M]

Helped my nephew pull a calf last night. It was backwards and upside down. Bent the rod on my puller and ended up using a heavy duty wench to get it out. Calf was dead and it was a monster. Prob around 130 lbs. Cow got up shortly after the pull, and seems alright. Gave her a shot of nuflur just in case. Got in after midnight.. I really need to turn my phone off after I go to bed..

 

[ez14.]

for getting them repositioned if you can get the front of the cow down hill (so everything moves forwards inside her) you should gain some room to work (i plan on making a chute with a jack on the back some day so i can just tilt them right forward)

 

[TCRanch]

We lost one yesterday and I can only assume it was due to presentation or it's possible she stepped on his head. This was a pretty small calf and she's a huge 10 year old cow. Looks like an extreme case of dyscotia, his eyes were so swollen shut I couldn't even open them, tongue was protruding out the other side of his mouth and was swollen but not as much as I expected. Contrary to how it appears in the pic, he was very much alive & bawling but flopped around like a rag doll. He was also cryptorchid. Thoughts?

 

[Stocker Steve]

That 12% problems is how many total calves? Sounds high, but the cow is part of the equation too.

Five so far... I think the fair thing to say is this hybrid vigor bull does not fit my system.

I don't think we know about many of the improper presentations. May just find a "stillborn" calf.

 

[kerley]

We lost one yesterday and I can only assume it was due to presentation or it's possible she stepped on his head. This was a pretty small calf and she's a huge 10 year old cow. Looks like an extreme case of dyscotia, his eyes were so swollen shut I couldn't even open them, tongue was protruding out the other side of his mouth and was swollen but not as much as I expected. Contrary to how it appears in the pic, he was very much alive & bawling but flopped around like a rag doll. He was also cryptorchid. Thoughts?

Nice Calve, sorry you lost him.