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DOS AND DONT OF DELIVERING CALVES

• Bill Croushore, DVM
• White Oak Veterinary Clinic
• Berlin, PA

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DOS AND DONT OF DELIVERING CALVES

• Deciding when to assist
• Assess the situation
• Fixing the problem
• Pulling the calf
• Handling the calf
• Check and treat the cow

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DECIDING WHEN TO ASSIST OR WAIT

• Timing
• Heifers should be given 4 hours to progress
• Cows should be given 2 hours to progress
• Dam can be in labor for 12 hours or more before
  the calf dies

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Youve decided to assist

• Restraint of the cow
• ALWAYS ASSUME SHE WILL LAY DOWN
• Methods of restraint
• Headlock/ chute
• Advantage- limited range of motion
• Disadvantage- If cow goes down, hard to get out
• Rope halter tied loose to a post with a slip knot
• Advantage- if cow goes down, easy to untie
• Disadvantage- Cow can move back and forth
• Tied with a halter, cow behind a gate
• My favorite

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Youve decided to assist

• Evaluation of the dam
• Wear disposable rectal sleeve
• Reduces risk of disease transmission to you and
  cow
• Important wash her up
• Wash with soap and rinse with water
• Cleanliness is crucial
• How clean should she be?

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Youve decided to assist
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Youve decided to assist

• Lubrication
• Always have on hand
• What kind to use?
• Nolvalube
• J Lube
• Needs to be mixed with water or used as dry
  powder
• What not to use
• Soaps
• Will wash out cows natural lubrication

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Assessing the situation

• Is the cervix dilated?
• Where is the calf?
• What do you feel?
• Head and 2 feet
• Head, no feet?
• 2 feet, no head?
• Upside-down?
• 2 feet and tail?
• Pelvis and tail?
• 2, 3 or 4 feet?

• Too tight to deliver now?
• Head back?
• Uterine torsion?
• Guts?
• Amorphus globosus?

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Abnormal Presentations
Leg back
2 legs back
Leg over head
Poll first
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Abnormal Presentations
Head back
4 feet at once
Calf upside down Beware twisted uterus
True Breech
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Abnormal Presentations
True Breech
4 feet at once Beware of twins
rare
rare
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Assessing the situation

• When to call the Vet
• Failure to dilate
• Head back
• Unless you have experience correcting these
• True breech
• Pelvis and tail, no feet
• Uterine torsion
• Calf too big for vaginal delivery
• Feel guts or unrecognizable calf
• Any other situation you feel you need help

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Assessing the situation

• Head and 2 feet in normal presentation
• Normal
• Make sure she is dilated enough to deliver the
  calf
• No drug exists to make her dilate
• Manual dilation with forearms

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Manual dilation with forearms
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Assessing the situation

• 2 feet, no head
• Bottom of feet up or down?
• Front feet or back feet?
• Front foot AND a back foot?
• Possibilities
• Backwards, head back, uterine torsion, twins
• How do you tell?
• Hocks vs. knees

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Assessing the situation
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Assessing the situation

• Twisted uterus (Uterine Torsion)
• Most are twisted counterclockwise
• Vaginal exam
• Can feel twisted folds of vagina
• May feel like she isnt dilated
• May or may not feel feet, usually front feet
• Rectal exam
• Feel broad ligament of the uterus wrapped over
  cervix
• Best way to figure out which way the uterus is
  twisted

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Twisted Uterus
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FIXING COMMON PROBLEMS Now that youve figured
out whats wrong

• Rule of thumb
• If you dont make progress in 20-30 minutes, try
  something else
• This goes for manipulations, pulling, trying to
  get chains on, etc.

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FIXING COMMON PROBLEMS

• Head back
• Need tongs or chain and head snare
• Difficult to get a live calf
• Calf usually dead or weak, doesnt participate in
  delivery process
• Manipulation to correct position sometimes kills
  the calf if its still alive

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FIXING COMMON PROBLEMS
Calf with head back
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HEAD BACK

• DO NOT PULL UNLESS THE HEAD IS THROUHGH THE
  CERVIX
• Complications
• Torn uterus
• Torn cervix
• Paralyzed cow
• Dead calf
• Need to hook tongs or chain to calfs lower jaw
  and pull to straighten out
• Once head is straight, place head snare and pull
  head along with feet or the head will twist back
  again

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FIXING COMMON PROBLEMS

• Head, one leg or no legs
• Push head back in as far as possible and feel for
  legs
• Grasp leg and correct
• Cup hoof with palm of hand to prevent torn uterus
• Sometimes need epidural for cow to prevent
  straining
• NEVER PULL WITHOUT FEET

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FIXING COMMON PROBLEMS

• Rear feet first, upside-down
• Be careful, initially front feet and head back
  feel the same way
• Pull and rotate calf at same time
• Rear feet first, normal position
• Make sure she is dilated
• Once pulling started, get calf out quickly so
  calf doesnt suffocate- umbilical cord gets
  pinched during delivery
• Often need pulling aids (rope)

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FIXING COMMON PROBLEMS

• True breech
• Tail first and no feet
• Can be difficult to correct
• Push calf away and grab foot
• Must cup foot with palm of hand and rotate toward
  middle of calf while pulling leg back
• complication- torn uterus

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True breech presentation
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FIXING COMMON PROBLEMS

• Uterine torsion (Twisted Uterus)
• 4 ways to fix
• Manually untwist
• Detorsion rod
• Attach chains to calfs feet and rotate uterus
• Easy to break calfs leg
• Roll the cow
• Cast the cow and roll her in the same direction
  as the uterus is twisted
• Helpful to have a somebody kneel on a plank
  positioned on her flank to hold the uterus in
  place
• C-section

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PULLING THE CALF

• After abnormal positions have been corrected and
  cervix is dilated
• Tools for pulling the calf
• Chains
• Handles
• Rope (30 ft. length with lariat attached)
• Head snare
• Tongs
• Calf Jack

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Rope
Handles
Tongs
chains
Head snare
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PULLING THE CALF

• Some words of caution about the calf jack
• Valuable tool in the right situation
• Can be dangerous to the operator, cow and calf
• If cow goes down, calf jack becomes a weapon
• Almost impossible to use when the cow is down

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What does this have to do with delivering a calf?
Absolutely nothing
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PULLING THE CALF

• Tools for pulling the calf
• Things not to use unless you want a dead cow and
  calf
• Tractors
• Skid loaders
• Pick-up trucks
• Other forms of motorized machinery
• Use extreme caution with come-along

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PULLING THE CALF

• Lubrication
• Always have on hand
• A little lube can drastically reduce the amount
  of force needed to pull a calf and make
  manipulations easier

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PULLING THE CALF

• Using the rope
• Run lariat through both handles and attach back
  to rope
• Run rope directly behind cow around sturdy post
  or pipe
• Run free end of rope back through the handles
  attached to calf
• Pull on the free end to increase tension and push
  down on the whole rope to extract calf

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PULLING THE CALF

• Using the rope
• Run lariat through both handles and attach back
  to rope

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PULLING THE CALF

• Run rope directly behind cow around sturdy post
  or pipe

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PULLING THE CALF

• Run free end of rope back through the handles
  attached to calf

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PULLING THE CALF

• Pull on the free end to increase tension and
  push down on the whole rope to extract calf

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PULLING THE CALF

• Advantages to using the rope
• If cow goes down, rope wont hurt you, cow or
  calf
• If cow goes down, rope method is still effective
• Able to provide enough force to extract even
  large calves
• If cow moves forward, tension can be reduced so
  tearing doesnt occur
• Disadvantages
• Need sturdy post to attach rope

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PULLING THE CALF

• Chain or strap BOTH feet, use double half hitch
• Use lots of lube

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Double half-hitch
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PULLING THE CALF

• Work head trough vulva gradually to aid in
  dilation
• Apply steady pressure
• When calfs chest is started through the vulva,
  rotate calf to prevent hip lock

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PULLING THE CALF
Rotating calf to prevent hip lock
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Hip lock

• If hip lock occurs, STOP PULLING and rotate calf
• Hip lock occurs when the calfs hips are
  horizontal to the dams pelvis
• Calfs hips are widest at this point
• Dams pelvis is most narrow at this point
• Calf should be twisted 45 degrees
• If hip lock occurs and you continue to pull, you
  will literally wedge the calf into the cows
  pelvis

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Hip lock
Maternal Pelvis
X-section of calf hips
Hip Lock
Prevent Hip lock
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Handling the live calf

• Once calf is delivered, sit calf up on its
  breastbone and position rear legs behind it like
  a frog

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Handling the live calf

• Stimulate breathing by sticking rigid piece of
  straw in nostril
• This stimulates breathing reflex
• If no straw available, a finger works as well

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Handling the live calf

• Never hang calf upside down or centrifuge
• Misconception about fluid in lungs
• Fluid is expelled from lungs through compression
  of chest during delivery
• Fluid expelled while hanging comes from stomach
• Upside down calf has difficulty expanding lungs
• If calf has excessive fluid, use coupage

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Check the cow

• ALWAYS perform a vaginal exam on the cow to check
  for twins and tears
• If tearing occurred, or bruising is excessive,
  give aspirin or Flunixin
• If snow is available, can pack rectal sleeve with
  snow and place in vagina to prevent swelling
• Consider antibiotics for cow.

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7 THINGS TO REMEMBER

• NEVER use a tractor, skid loader, pickup or
  similar equipment to pull a calf
• Use caution when using a come-along
• NEVER pull if you dont know where the calfs
  head is
• If the hips lock, QUIT PULLING
• NEVER hang the calf upside down or centrifuge
• ALWAYS check the cow for twins or triplets
• ALWAYS use lots of lubrication

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Acknowledgements

• Dr. Robert LaDue, Cooperstown, NY
• Dr. Jenks Britt, Western Kentucky Univ.
• Dr.Grant Dewell, Colorado State Univ.
• Dr. Marteen Drost, Univ. of Florida
• www.drostproject.vetmed.ufl.edu/bovine/

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• QUESTIONS?