“Training employees to properly handle cows and heifers in labor is not only important, it is imperative,” says Jenn Bentley, Iowa State University dairy specialist.

Bentley says the most common error made during calving is often assisting when assistance is not actually needed.

About 70 percent of cows will deliver successfully without assistance, but only 50 percent of heifers will. “Recognizing an abnormal or difficult delivery and assisting properly is the difference between a successful delivery and one involving injury or death to the animals,” she says.

All employees should also recognize the signs and stages of the calving process (often referred to as parturition when pertaining to cattle), and have proper training to reduce stillbirths and inflammation of the uterus (metritis). Employees who are not well trained will have a negative economic impact to your farm.

Cows typically go into labor on approximately the 280th day of gestation.

Stage one labor is when the calf moves into position and the cervix begins to dilate. Signs may include restless behavior, frequently switching from standing to lying, raised tail head, vocalization, increased urination, increased defecation, full udder and mucus discharge.

Technology can be a very useful tool in the close-up pen. “Activity monitoring and rumination systems are good tools for calving observation. Cows will decrease in feed intake prior to calving, thus reducing their rumination. Activity may include more up and down movement as signs of calving or no movement as she starts to move into the labor process,” she says.

Stage one labor typically lasts two to six hours. If there has not been any progress in four hours, the cow should be examined.

In stage two labor, the cow or heifer is fully dilated and the calf is born.

In stage three labor, the placenta is expelled eight to 12 hours post-calving. If it takes more than 24 hours, it is considered a retained placenta and a veterinarian should be contacted.

"The position of the calf should be checked early in the labor process, to correct an abnormal position or recognize the need for assistance,” Bentley says. “This is done by a vaginal exam with clean hands and arms to locate the two front legs and head. The elbow and the hock are difficult to distinguish inside the uterus of the cow – however, one may count the joints to determine if they are handling a front leg or a rear leg. There are two joints prior to reaching the elbow in the front leg; with the rear leg – there is only the fetlock joint, and the next joint encountered is the hock.”

Training employees to reposition a calf is best done by working with a skilled, experienced employee or learning from a veterinarian.

Each farm should have its own standard operating protocol of how and when to assist a cow in labor, she says. Assistance may be needed if:

• The cow is straining, but no part of the calf is showing after two hours.
• The feet and/or nose are showing, but the calf is not delivered after two hours.
• Rest periods between laboring are lasting more than 20 minutes.
• The cow or calf is showing signs of stress or fatigue.

It is also very important to have proper training for employees in proper placement of chains or straps to reduce injury to the calf, says Bentley. Calf jacks and manual extraction can easily exceed 600 pounds of force and break leg bones or vertebra.

Sterile chains and straps are best, but they should at a minimum be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between uses. Farms that do not have proper equipment should contact a veterinarian for proper assistance. Improvising, such as using twine, can result in injury to the calf.

Contact your veterinarian if you cannot assess what is wrong during a delivery, you do not know how to correct something or if you have been assisting for more than 30 minutes and have not yet made any progress.

The most common problems that need intervention are delivering calves with abnormal delivery presentations, delivering calves from first-calf heifers, disproportionate size, twins and uterine torsion in the cow.

Moving cows when they are in labor can have a major impact according to recent research. “When cows were moved during late stage one labor, they had 40 minutes longer stage two labor and spent 50 percent less time lying down,” Bentley says. “This longer stage two labor was associated with increased inflammation post-calving, and in other studies, it has been associated with stillbirths and dystocia [difficulty calving].”

Moving cows early in stage one labor typically does not have an impact on calving time. Closely monitoring close-up pens is very important, as is moving cows calmly during active signs of labor.

Accurate records should be made after the birth of each calf, including:

• Cow ID and person assisting the calving should be recorded following the calving
• Date of calving
• Calving score (calving difficulty)
• Result (live heifer or bull calf, stillbirth, retained placenta)
• Any fresh cow care administered to the cow (calcium bolus, IV fluids, drench, etc.)
• Calf care (when and who administered colostrum, how much and quality, and any vaccines given)

"These can be recorded in a computer system such as PCDart, Dairy Comp 305, etc., or as simply writing it down in a notebook,” she says.

Video monitoring allows producers to be more flexible with their schedule, she notes. They can view the video at home, on their cellphone or computer, and it allows multiple people to monitor fresh cows. Video monitoring is less intrusive and disturbs the cow in labor much less. However, depending on the camera angle, it may be difficult to monitor the process as might be necessary.

Proper assistance during calving can also help prevent metritis. Bentley explains metritis is an inflammation of the uterus, caused by a bacterial infection, following calving. It most commonly occurs after difficult calvings, retained placenta, twins or stillbirths. Metritis can range from mild to severe and includes symptoms such as a fever, a foul uterine discharge, depressed attitude and decreased appetite.

“Metritis can result in lower feed consumption, decreased milk production, increase days to conception and services per conception, leading to longer calving intervals and higher breeding costs. Fertility can be affected and result in a higher culling rate. It can cost producers up to 350 dollars from these losses in milk production and cow health,” she says.

In addition to well-trained employees, prevention includes:

• Working with your veterinarian and nutritionist to properly balance the diet during the transition cow period and may include supplementation of trace minerals and vitamins
• Minimizing the time the cow spends in a negative energy balance around calving time (providing adequate feedbunk and water space), not overcrowding, reducing the number of pen moves to reduce stress and providing a clean, dry environment  PD

PHOTO: A calf is assisted at birth. Staff photo. 

Kelli Boylen is a freelance writer in Waterville, Iowa.