Can I thank my lucky stars?

[Alan]

While looking out my front window into my calving pasture this morning, with coffee and Ginger snaps, I saw a cow I have been keeping an eye on was sniffing around looking for a place to calve. At 10 am she finally laid down, she showed her first sign of calving sack at 10:30 am, she had a lot of the herd around her so I decided to feed some hay, she of course got up and came to feed. At that time I saw there was one hoof from her calf sticking out, but it was presenting upside down. About an hour later she was presenting two hooves, both upside down, to me it was clear the calf was coming backward. I decided to leave her alone for another hour or two and hope for the best before I got involved. Rather than pace around like an idiot, I ran a couple of errands knowing I would be back in an hour at the most. I returned home right at 12 noon,she had delivered the bull calf and was cleaning it up, I would guess it was delved in the last fee minutes, plenty of sack on him still. At this point, 5 pm he has nursed and is doing well.

I just wonder how many breached deliverers need no assistance? Am I just lucky on this one? I have missed plenty of calves being born between my last check of the night and the first of the early morning. BTW, he's one of my normal sized calves, not a small calf at all.

Any thoughts?
Alan

 

[randiliana]

I think there are more backwards calves born than what most people believe. If you're not there how would you know. DH saw a backwards one born a few years ago. It was lucky he was there though as she didn't get up right away and the calf's head was still inside her.

 

[WORANCH]

While looking out my front window into my calving pasture this morning, with coffee and Ginger snaps, I saw a cow I have been keeping an eye on was sniffing around looking for a place to calve. At 10 am she finally laid down, she showed her first sign of calving sack at 10:30 am, she had a lot of the herd around her so I decided to feed some hay, she of course got up and came to feed. At that time I saw there was one hoof from her calf sticking out, but it was presenting upside down. About an hour later she was presenting two hooves, both upside down, to me it was clear the calf was coming backward. I decided to leave her alone for another hour or two and hope for the best before I got involved. Rather than pace around like an idiot, I ran a couple of errands knowing I would be back in an hour at the most. I returned home right at 12 noon,she had delivered the bull calf and was cleaning it up, I would guess it was delved in the last fee minutes, plenty of sack on him still. At this point, 5 pm he has nursed and is doing well.

I just wonder how many breached deliverers need no assistance? Am I just lucky on this one? I have missed plenty of calves being born between my last check of the night and the first of the early morning. BTW, he's one of my normal sized calves, not a small calf at all.

Any thoughts?
Alan

I think a true breech is butt first and you have to assist. I had one this year , I hate it when you reach in and all you feel is a tail..

 

[3waycross]

Had one like that last year. Turns out it was not back feet first as we thought. We saw the feet out and sticking up as if it were a backwards presentation. Finished feeding (10 min) then ran to the barn for the chains. When we returned the feet were now pointing sideways. as the labor progressed the calf rotated to the correct position and was born normally.
You might at least conisder the possibility that this happened. Not saying it can't happen but it shouldn't happen feet first and present a live calf.

 

[Alan]

Had one like that last year. Turns out it was not back feet first as we thought. We saw the feet out and sticking up as if it were a backwards presentation. Finished feeding (10 min) then ran to the barn for the chains. When we returned the feet were now pointing sideways. as the labor progressed the calf rotated to the correct position and was born normally.
You might at least conisder the possibility that this happened. Not saying it can't happen but it shouldn't happen feet first and present a live calf.

That's a good point, I don't know that the calf was truly backwards. I decided to leave the cow alone rather than get myself worked up and cause more problems than anything else. The calfs hooves were 100% upside down, every time I got within 50 to 75 yards away from the cow she would get up and move, best thing I figured was get in my truck, go run my errands and leave her the he!! alone. So it could easily be the calf rotated. He is plenty strong, I gave him shots and an ear tag around 6:30 pm he had plenty of energy and when I got off him he went straight to nursing. Still curious how many calves are born backwards without us seeing the problem. This guy is in good enough shape he could have come in the right position.

Until tomorrow morning and coffee and ginger snaps.
Alan

 

[dun]

Last week We had a cow in labor, didn;t see the feet from a distance. There was nothing then there was a calf on the gournd. I happened to be looking at the instant it popped out and saw that it was backwards, i.e. rear feet first. She stood up and it's head bounced on the ground. Less then 5 minutes and it was up and looking for groceries. But she happens to be one of those cows that could pass a buick sideways so no harm no foul

 

[Lucky_P]

I'm sure some get here just fine, coming backwards, but I also suspect that a large percentage of them that folks find that are full-term, and look normal - just dead - with no sign of head/tongue swelling, etc., were probably posterior presentations(backwards), and the cow just didn't manage to get them out quickly enough. Once the umbilical cord gets compressed passing into the birth canal, there's not a whole lot of time to play around getting the calf out - whether you're pulling it or the cow is delivering on her own.

Woranch is right - a breech presentation is 'tail first'. It'd have to be a tiny little thing coming out of a great big ol' cow to be delivered without repositioning. I never encountered a breech calf that the cow or heifer would have been able to push out, without me first shoving it back in there and getting the rear legs pulled around so that you could pull it backwards.