Terrible day to calve here today - wind and freezing rain. Got momma cow up in the barn with "granny" a couple days before calving and put her in the barn when her water broke - then she wouldn't let go. Hate that about the barn - they seem to stop labor somehow to the point where she wasn't even contracting any more. After about 5 hours of nothing happening, I got sleeved up and found her heifer calf - in proper position - waaaaaaay down below the pelvis - snug as a bug in a . . . uterus. Tied a rope to her and pulled her out. Calf and momma doing great. Happens frequently when I try to calve in the barn though. They seem to have a terrible time settling down to just lay down and calve. :bang:
Went fishing again . . .
- Thread starter angus9259
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Suzie Q
Well-known member
We don't have that problem. Due to not having snow and sleet we do not have barns. The cows will separate away from the herd and find their own place to calve.
randiliana
Well-known member
Some are bad for that, some don't seem to mind the barn. Usually, if there is another quiet cow in the barn with them they will settle down. On the other hand, I don't know how many cows I've kicked out of the barn in the morning only to have them walk down to the bedding pack and drop their calf there an hour or so later..... But short of moving calving back to late Apr, I don't see another option....
randiliana
Well-known member
Up til this year, our barn was 20x30 feet. They had approx a 10x10 stall when they were in there.
randiliana
Well-known member
Some cattle just don't like being in there. We've had normally quiet, calm cattle go nuts in the barn, even with a friend. Could also have been some other problem, even though it didn't seem like it. Rarely we will have a cow that just won't settle down and push. No other apparent problems. Doesn't matter whether they are inside or not in this case.
Yeah, I expected to reach in there and find some type of malpresentation since she'd clearly been moving toward contractions with bag breaking and everything. But when I reached down past her pelvis I found to front hooves and a nose. Tied onto it and she came out just like she was supposed to.
alisonb
Well-known member
I can't tell you how many times I have tried to 'help' a cow when it is thundering and she's just about to calve by putting her under shelter. Apart from totally upsetting her, she starts twisting and turning and almost always ends up bashing the calves legs against the wall or lies right against the wall allowing no space for the birth. I now leave them outside to their own devices and only intervene if necessary but then we've got no snow ;-) .
randiliana
Well-known member
Most of our cows are used to being handled, and most don't have a problem being inside. It isn't the snow, so much as the cold that they need to be brought in for. If it is below -10 C it is much better to have the calves born in the barn than outdoors. Less chance of frozen ears, frozen calf, and a lot less difficult for me if the COW carries the calf into the barn, than if I have to drag it up there after it is born ;~>
