Calving Day

Today was a very exciting day on our farm. We had 5 calves born today. This was the result of a group of heifers we synchronized. We actually synched 6 total at this one time, but the other 1 hasn't calved yet but is getting close. Normally when we do this, they calve over the course of a week or so, since cattle gestation can very a few days, just like humans. This time however, five of this group decided today was the day. I noticed the first 2 this morning were really close. They both calved on their own with no assistance from us needed. Our cows calve in a pen bedded with straw. We let the mother lick her calf off then shortly after make sure the baby gets its first milk called colostrum.

About noon I checked on the other mothers to be. One was starting to calve. I watched her from a distance, and soon she too had her baby by herself. I moved her and the calf to a pen by themselves because the other heifers in the pen thought they should try and claim the calf too. While doing this, I noticed another of the heifers keeping to herself in the corner of the pen. She was also starting to "drip" milk from her udder, both tell-tale signs that labor is close. I had to make a run to town for a minute, but called my sister to come keep an eye on her.  On my way back to the farm, my sister called and said the heifer's labor wasn't progressing. So, I told her I was almost there. When I got there, she was washing up the heifer's backside and getting ready to check her and see what the hold up was.  The heifers cervix was fully dilated, the calf was in the right direction, but one of its legs was bent under it. With the calf in this position, it was unable to come out. She was able to reposition it and with a little help the calf was out in no time. We had another healthy heifer calf. Every time a calf is born healthy I say a little than you. So many things can go wrong, and we are very thankful when things turn out well.  So, we helped the new momma clean up her baby, then milked her and fed the calf.

Well, that was 4, and like I said earlier, we still had one to go today to make 5. After milking tonight, I did my barn walk through to check on everyone. The new babies were doing great, and were up and jumping around already. When I walked by the maternity pens, I noticed another heifer was acting strange. She was laying down and pushing, would stand up then lay down again. I was a little suspicious of this, and decided  I'd better check her and make sure the calf was positioned right. I know some people say you shouldn't intervene too early, but I like to check them and at least make sure the calf is positioned right early on. That way, if there is a problem you have some time to figure things out. I went and put on a breeding glove, lubed my hand and went in to check her out. Everything was in the right position, but the calf was pretty big and she was having trouble pushing it out. I put the straps on the calf's front legs and helped the heifer out by pulling while she pushed.  After trying this for a while I decided I needed a little more help, so I attached the calf puller. I also put lube in my gloved hand and put some inside the heifer to make the calf slide easier before I started using the puller. As the heifer pushed, I would jack the puller a little more. Soon the head popped out and the calf was out. I brought the calf up to the heifer and she started licking it right away. Kinda as a last step to the process, I always do a quick check for a twin in the cow. We seem to have a higher percentage of twins on our farm than a normal average. Thus, my dad has always told me to check, even though a heifer with this big of calf is unlikely to have a second calf in there, anything is possible. So, this heifer got one last "exam", but as expected I found no twin.

So, we had a busy day, but as I mentioned earlier, as long as everything turns out OK, we are thankful and don't mind the extra work at all.