Cattle 1853 - Lewis Family Farm

CATTLE.
moment after it is ascertained that the foetus is dead. Even now,
howeyer, the cow should not be disturbed more than is absolutely
necessary ; and it cannot be too deeply impressed on the mind of
the farmer, that the frequent habit of rousing the poor animal, and
driving her about, while she is in the act of. calving, or even before
the labor begins, is an unnatural, brutal, and dangerous one.
Mr. Skellett, in his work on " the Parturition of the Cow," (a truly
valuable one as it regards the point now under consideration, the
mechanical assistance that can be rendered in difficult and protracted
labor,) observes, " As the business proceeds, and the pains increase
in strength and rapidity, she confines herself to a lying posture, and
in this posture she is delivered of the calf. When we reflect on this
conduct of the animal, left to herself, we cannot too much reprobate
the advice of those who recommend the driving . her in the act of
calving, or immediately before it takes place. The author has known
a great many instances where it has proved the 'death of the cow, by
producing inflammation and all its bad consequences. Every ra-
tional man will agree that the above practice is both cruel and in-
consistent ; for the animal herself, as soon as the hours of calving
come on, immediately leaves the rest of the flock, and retires to some
corner of the field, or under a hedge, in order to prevent the other
cows or anything else coming near, that may disturb her in bringing
forward her young."
If the head be sufficiently advanced to be grasped by the hands,
or for a hand to be introduced by the side of it so .as to urge it
forward, an assistant at the same laying hold of the" fore-legs, and
pulling with moderate force at each of the throes of the mother, the
little animal may often be brought forward without endangering its
life. If, however, it be firmly impacted in the passage, a cord with
a slip kn ot should be fastened round each leg, immediately above the
fetlock, and a third cord around the lower jaw. Greater power may
then be applied, the persons holding the cords pulling in concert,
accommodating themselves to the natural pains of the mother, and
exerting their strength, although somewhat forcibly, yet quietly and
gradually. Here again the brutal violence resorted to by some persons
is much to be reprobated ; it inevitably destroys the calf, and
endangers the life of the mother. If the foetus cannot be extracted
by moderate force, one of the shoulders should be slipped (taken off,)
which may easily be effected by means of a small knife curved like
those used for pruning, so as to be easily introduced into the passage
in the hollow of the hand, and there used without danger of
wounding the cow. An incision should be made in the fore-arm of
the foetus, and the skin elevated and turned back by means either of
the knife or the fingers. The shoulder may then be easily detached
from the body and drawn out ; and the bulk of the calf being thus
materially lessened, the remainder of it will be readily extracted.