Calving and Care of the Newborn Calf - Animal Health Ireland

More documents

Recommendations

Info

44Intervene if calving is not progressing normallyInterveneonly whennecessaryAfter six hours (unless there is anobvious reason for earlierintervention) of being ‘sick tocalve’ without the waterbag orfeet appearing, examine the birthpassage with a lubricated, glovedhand. (Dispose carefully of thegloves after calving).Depending on what you find:1. give more time to calve (calf normally presented andcow straining intermittently)2. intervene if possible (e.g. calf with head or legs down)3. ring your vet now (e.g. oversized calf, calf comingbackwards, dead or deformed calf, intertwined twins,twisted womb, smelly or bloody discharge).Attach ropes above the fetlocksIf in doubt, give the vet a call for advice, as rushing in toassist when the cervix and vulva are not fully open canbe as detrimental as waiting too long to intervene.If the calf hasn't been born two hours (three hours forheifers) after the waterbag or foetal hooves haveappeared, examine the birth passage and the calf witha lubricated gloved hand. (Dispose carefully of thegloves after calving).Set up calving jackIf the emergence of the waterbag or fetal hooves wasnot observed, as long as the cow is straining and makingprogress over half an hour, intervention is not required.Intervention is required where the calving is not likely toprogress further at a normal rate without assistance orwhere the calf appears distressed (swollen tongue orhead, bluish gums, poor reflexes). Assistance may be inthe form of:o lubricationo manual pulling of the calfo pulling of the calf with the help of the calving jack.Only pull when the cow is forcingA decision must be made as to when the degree ofcalving difficulty exceeds the skill of the operator andwhen to seek veterinary assistance.
55Improve your calving skills• The ability to deliver a live calf and healthy cow, atan assisted calving, can vary due to inadequateskills and lack of practice, as only a minority ofcows require assistance and few of these aredifficult calvings.• You can improve your calving skills by observinghow your local vet deals with a problem calvingand discussing with him or her how to improveyour techniques.• Having good calving equipment (e.g. non-slipcalving jack, disinfected coloured calving ropes,lubricant, arm-length gloves) in the calving unitwill facilitate good calving technique. Colouredropes will ensure you don't lose the ropes in thestraw bedding.Rotate the calf after the chest emergesTIPS:• ensure the cow is standing before attemptingto correct a wrongly presented calf• put ropes on above the fetlock, ensuring thatthe knots are not on the sides of the legs• only pull when the cow forces and relax theropes when she relaxes• pull on alternate legs until the head emergesand rotate the calf after the chest emerges toprevent a hiplock.Check the calf for breathing and alertnessGood technique is particularly importantwhere a calving jack is used as it can causesevere injuries to both the cow and the calf ifused incorrectly.Clean jack and ropes directly after each calving to minimisedisease spread
Page 3: 3How can you MANAGE CALVINGS to red

Calving and Care of the Newborn Calf - Animal Health Ireland

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?