Calving problem-Help

[SKF]

Yesterday we lost a beautiful heifer calf and I am trying to figure out what went wrong. Cow was in labor for serveral hours around 1:30 we saw feet she continued to push. Cow kept getting up to keep up with the herd. About an hour later we finally see a head  cow continues to pushing no progress after 30 min. We went over to check on her and she got up and started to push finally the calf's shoulders come so I thought she would deliver. Instead she walked around for about 15mins with half a calf hanging out we could see that the calf was tryng to breath, then she laid down and continued to push for maybe 10mins and then delivered the calf. Once she delivered she did nothing to help the calf. We went over started to rub the calf relized she was not breathing adn started resusation but never could get the calf to breath. The calf was very large I would say over 100lbs and she was big boned with a big hip. This was her second calf was a repeat breeding first calf was real small and came easy. Any ideas or sugestions????

 

[common sense]

First of all, sometimes it just happens and it's nobody's fault.  That calf may have had the placenta over it's nose when it was partially delivered and just suffocated.  The cow, who should have been more concerned about hav ing her calf than following the herd, should have stayed put and let that calf come out faster.  It's hard on a calf to hang halfway out of a cow as she is walking around.  It could have been injured that way or when the cow laid back down to finish calving.  The fact that the cow just walked away and left the calf does not get her any mommy of the year points either.  I personally like to make sure my younger (first and second calf) females are in a more confined place during calving so that they have less to try and focus on when the big event arrives.

I am sorry for  you and hope that you don't let it ruin your day.

 

[Rustynail]

The rule around our house is, if the calf isn't born 45 min after the water breaks I take it.  Sometimes when I pull them I think "jumped the gun here, should have gave her a little more time."  However I would rather think that while looking at a live calf then, "I wished I had pull him" while looking at a dead one.  I really can't imagine waiting for an hour after seeing the feet out to assist her.  NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK[size=10pt][/size]  Everyone's program  is different.

 

[Jenny]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your calf; it is always hard to loose a calf but more frustrating when it appeared to be alive during the delivery.
The way to turn this bad thing into a good thing is to learn from it so it does not happen again.

I don't know if you had the cow close enough to a chute where you could have assisted her.  When we calve, we keep the cows close and we are pretty quick to assist.  Assistance to the cow, especially with a large calf and a difficult delivery is so worthwhile in saving the calf and the cow stress.  The quicker the calf gets out once the feet are through the pelvis,  the cervix is wide open and the head is there will pay you back in time it takes the cow to rebreed and also in how the cow feels about the calf after she has it.  

From your description of what happened, an hour is way too long for the head to appear after the feet are out.  If a cow is actively pushing for 30 minutes with feet and head out, that is for sure too long.  But the time the cow spent with the calf hanging partially out was probably the most critical.  There is a point during the calf's delivery when the area where the umbilical cord attaches onto the calf's belly passes through the pelvis.  When the calf is large and the pelvis is very full the cord is compressed against the pelvis and so oxygen is cut off.  But if the delivery of the calf stops at this point....with the umbilical cord compressed by the pelvis and the calf does not continue to deliver to the point that it can fill its' lungs with oxygen and breath, the calf simply suffocates.  Can't get oxygen through the cord and is not far enough delivered where it can expand its' lungs to take in enough air to survive.  A calf really needs to deliver to the point that the ribs are all out to be able to breathe, as happens in a hip lock.  

I would not criticize the cow for not delivering faster; we have calved thousands of cows.  Sometimes when a calf is very large for a cow, labor does not kick into high gear very quickly; the uterus is over-expanded and so can be lethargic.  Your cow went through a very long and difficult delivery; she does feel pain.  We have found that after a particularly painful delivery, a cow will walk away from her calf, especially a heifer will tend to do this; the pain overrides the instinct to mother.  However, we find that usually given 30 minutes or so, the pain will subside enough that the cow will mother the calf.  It is best to have the cow and calf in a small area for the bonding process to take place.  

I would not criticize the cow for walking away either, especially because she did raise a calf the year before as a heifer.

That is how I see it.

 

[DL]

Sorry to hear about your calf, but I applaud you for trying to learn from a bad situation. Most of the time with cattle the humans could have done better, sometimes the cow could have done better and rarely does it just happen and is nobodies fault. People who don't ask why are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over. Good for you for taking a personal farm tragedy and trying to learn something.

This is what I do or would do differently than what you described

Close up cows are either in a big (75 x 75 foot) pen or in pasture close to barn with easy access to area where cow can be examined -

Water breaks - nothing happens - cow is examined
Feet out - nothing happens - cow is examined
Feet out - head visible - nothing happens - cow is examined
Tongue visible - swollen - cow is examined
Cow is in labor (hard labor) for an hour - nothing happens - cow is examined
One foot - nothing else - cow is examined

By nothing happens I mean no progress - you see 1 inch of foot and when she pushes you don't see more than i inch - I don't wait - I want to know what is going on so that I can intervene when necessary. You can't know what is going on unless you can get the cow into the chute - so that is a critical piece of the management puzzle.

When you examine the cow clean her up with a bucket of soap and water and use a ton (OK half a ton) of lube - and if you have them OB sleeves - make sure your fingernails are short and clean

What to look for when examining the cow-
Is the cervix dilated fully - if so there should be a wide open tunnel to the calf...if not you will run into rings of tissue (and you will need to manually dilate it)
What parts of the calf do you feel?? Two feet and one head is of course ideal  - are they going in the right direction (ie head, foot not back or twisted)
How much room is available on the sides of the calf?

At this point I would put chains on the feet and pull the calf - remembering that the widest part of the bovine pelvis is from 1 to 2 o'clock to 7 and 8 (and 4 to 5 to 10 to 11) - ie not left to right or up and down and remembering that the widest part of the calf is the shoulders and hips - so you need to be prepared to turn the calf to deliver the shoulders and hips

Calves that have been subject to prolonged delivery suffer from a host of metabolic difficulties that make them at risk for additional problems after birth. These problems during a difficult birth can also "throw them over the cliff" so to speak if delivery is prolonged.  For example they become acidotic (low blood pH) and hypoxic (low blood oxygen) and the electrolytes (sodium, potassium etc) in the blood go wacky, all of which can predispose to abnormal heart rhythms that can be lethal during delivery. Acidosis can predispose to not absorbing colostrum which can lead to decreased ability to fight infection - so basically a difficult birth, even if the calf lives, is a sticky wicket for more problems and requires more management and time.

Some of the big calves that are born dead have a variety of heart defects that are adversely affected by the prolonged labor - if you have access to someone who can necropsy the calf that is never a bad idea - you may have bovine guilt that you didn't do everything right  - if you find a heart defect or some other abnormality on necropsy it eases the bovine guilt somewhat

I  agree with rustynail and jenny -in fact I think jenny's post is very thorough and thoughtful. I do not believe that your problem was that the calf partially delivered and the placenta over its nose and it  suffocated - since the placenta is the last thing out usually this makes no biological sense to me. We can all create fiction to explain our problem - trying to examine the issues constructively is the only way we learn things to hopefully be better caretakers of our stock

In regards to the cow - she had a heck of a day and did not receive the help she needed. If I recall you are not close to a vet, but you should if possible check the cow to make sure she didn't sustain tears of the cervix, vagina, uterus - you might want to call the vet to see if antibiotics and antiinflammatory drugs would be useful. Difficult births like you describe can result in uterine abscesses, infections, cervical tears etc that sometimes can be prevented or treated with early intervention. I would be inclined to believe that the cow could use a little TLC right now - and you are in a position to provide it

Think about how hard a day the cow had and then ask yourself if you had a day like that would you want to lick a dead calf?? Cows are not stupid and I am convinced that they know when the calf is dead - I wouldn't be too hard on her, and don't beat yourself up either. Not unlike hockey or bull riding - there are always goals the goalie would like to replay and rides the cowboy would like to do again - DL

 

[SKF]

I have definatly learned something from this unfortant experience and that is all the young cows and heifers will be penned up close to the barn so I have access to a squeez chute. The majority of our herd we can walk out pet them and be with them when they calve but as luck would have it this one cow is a very spooky one. I have always assisted them after I see feet and no progress for thirty mins. but when we went out to assist her she got up and we were never able to get close to her and there was no way to get her to the chute she was out in 85 acers. I guess I just always assumed that when they were in great distress during labor they would not be worried about us but I learned I was wrong. I wish she had been penned up so we could have ran her into the chute but I know that next time she will be penned up. I also thought that once she was half out and was breathing or trying I thought she would  be okay but I have learned a lot this weekend. This is one reason I hate spooky cattle!! Thank You for all the tips!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please if anyone has any more suggestion let me know!

 

[dori36]

I have definatly learned something from this unfortant experience and that is all the young cows and heifers will be penned up close to the barn so I have access to a squeez chute. The majority of our herd we can walk out pet them and be with them when they calve but as luck would have it this one cow is a very spooky one. I have always assisted them after I see feet and no progress for thirty mins. but when we went out to assist her she got up and we were never able to get close to her and there was no way to get her to the chute she was out in 85 acers. I guess I just always assumed that when they were in great distress during labor they would not be worried about us but I learned I was wrong. I wish she had been penned up so we could have ran her into the chute but I know that next time she will be penned up. I also thought that once she was half out and was breathing or trying I thought she would  be okay but I have learned a lot this weekend. This is one reason I hate spooky cattle!! Thank You for all the tips!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please if anyone has any more suggestion let me know!

So sorry for the loss.  I "gotta say", you have a great attitude.  Anyone who thinks they know everything about cattle and all their various "issues" needs to get a new profession.  You'll do fine and be very successful in this business because you're willing to keep learning!  Best to you and the tired cow!

 

[TJ]

The rule around our house is, if the calf isn't born 45 min after the water breaks I take it.  Sometimes when I pull them I think "jumped the gun here, should have gave her a little more time."  However I would rather think that while looking at a live calf then, "I wished I had pull him" while looking at a dead one.  I really can't imagine waiting for an hour after seeing the feet out to assist her.   NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK[size=10pt][/size]   Everyone's program  is different.

FWIW, we assist at 1.5 hours after the water bag breaks & no sooner.  We have not lost a single calf when we did that.  However, sometimes we don't get to see the water bag break, that's when you just have to go by your instints.  If you have your animals penned up close & are already watching, it may be advisable to pull them quicker, just to be safe.  We calve out in a big pasture & it can be a pain to get them up, so we only pull one when we absolutely have to pull one.  Thank goodness I haven't had to pull a Lowline yet.   

Sometimes things just happen & if you raise cattle long enough, you will eventually lose one.  I am truly sorry to hear about your dead calf... I've lost a few over the years & everytime we lose one, it's always depressing!!   

 

[TJ]

I have definatly learned something from this unfortant experience and that is all the young cows and heifers will be penned up close to the barn so I have access to a squeez chute. The majority of our herd we can walk out pet them and be with them when they calve but as luck would have it this one cow is a very spooky one. I have always assisted them after I see feet and no progress for thirty mins. but when we went out to assist her she got up and we were never able to get close to her and there was no way to get her to the chute she was out in 85 acers. I guess I just always assumed that when they were in great distress during labor they would not be worried about us but I learned I was wrong. I wish she had been penned up so we could have ran her into the chute but I know that next time she will be penned up. I also thought that once she was half out and was breathing or trying I thought she would  be okay but I have learned a lot this weekend. This is one reason I hate spooky cattle!! Thank You for all the tips!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please if anyone has any more suggestion let me know!

So sorry for the loss.  I "gotta say", you have a great attitude.  Anyone who thinks they know everything about cattle and all their various "issues" needs to get a new profession.  You'll do fine and be very successful in this business because you're willing to keep learning!  Best to you and the tired cow!

Amen Dori!  Sometimes I think that we tend to think a bit a like.