help cow in labor

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hi my cow is in labor. She drank alot of water but no food. She is in labor i am sure. I would like to know if you know how long cows are in labor. hours ? days ?. Please help... I will check in all morning but most of the time i will be with her. And any advice for the new baby i will need to know right after it is born would be helpful. thanks to every one. vickie in s. In

-- vickie (vduffys@cs.com), February 24, 2002

Answers

We have gotten excited before too, but it is always best to let Mother Nature take it's course. It seems that it takes longer than we would like. We had one where the calf's foot was stickin out,she was running around and wouldn't lay down like we thought she was supposed to.....we left her alone and the next morning she had her calf walking with her no problems. It was her first calf. The mom should lick the calf dry, but if it's freezing out and she doesn't lick her dry you'll need to dry off the calf. If the calf is not dried off or licked off and it's freezing the calf could lose it's tail...by being froze off. Good Luck!

-- Carla (herbs@computer-concepts.com), February 24, 2002.

AS LONG AS SHE SEEMS TO BE DOING OK JUST LET HER BE . OUR COW HAD HER FIRST 4 WEEKS AGO. SHE WOULD GET UP WALK AROUND LAY BACK DOWN AND SHE WAS IN LABOR FOR APPROX. AN HOUR. ITS A GOOD IDEA TO BE OUT THERE IS CASE SHE NEEDS A HELPING HAND. IF YOU SEE TWO HOOFS AND A TONGUE THAT IS PERFECT BUT IF YOU OLNY SEE ONE FOOT AND NO TONGUE STAY CLOSE SHE MIGHT NEED YOUR HELP. IF YOU HAVE TO HELP REMEMBER USE DOWNARD PULLING PULLING MOTION WHEN SHE CONTRACTS. HOPE THIS WILL HELP. LARRY

-- larry dunn (sld5825@comteck.com), February 24, 2002.

Hmmmm, Vickie, this is a tricky question. It depends a lot on how well you know the strain of cattle you are raising and that does take awhile. Once you do, you will just know when it is time to get in there and help out. I would do just what you are doing. Watch her, and when you actually see her start seriously pushing and straining, and maybe see a foot(you can tell if it is a rear or front foot if you feel up the leg, and you can tell if the calf is right side up) then be guided by that. If she is at it for a full 12 hours, I'd call the Vet and follow the advice. Each cow is different, it just takes experience. Hope all is well and that you have a beautiful calf. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 24, 2002.

My cow had her calf 2 weeks ago and calm collected me went to pieces and nearly drove my husband insane. This was my pet milk cow(Lord help my children when I get grandchildren :o). Normally labor takes several hours. My cow took all morning(noticed her in labor around 8am and she had the calf at 1pm). Don't jump in and help. Let nature take it's course. If you can tell she is in trouble, and it will be very obvious even to an inexperienced person, then call the vet. I hate to pay a vet bill as badly as anyone else but in this situation I absolutely would(even after having grown up on a cattle ranch and worked with cows all my life I wouldn't jump in unless the situation was really desperate and I have yet to come across a situation that couldn't wait 20 mins for the vet to get there). The one thing you do want to look for is when you see the little hoof or hooves to make sure the little toes are pointed up for a forward presentation of the calf instead of a breech(toes would be pointing down then). Make sure the calf sucks within the first 12 hrs of it's life. That has been the only consistent problem I have had with calves(especially of a dairy breed and some brahmans). Your cow should loose the stuff 'hangin out the back' within 3-4 days(this should be just kind of stringy stuff). If it is a bulbous thing hanging out the back of her call the vet immediately because she has prolapsed(yes I have actually put it back in myself but I don't recommend it and you would need a vet for antibiotic boluses anyhow). It really is a piece of cake. If at all possible try not to hover around the cow and more than likely you will go find her in a couple of hours and she will have a new calf standing on wobbly legs lookin for his breakfast.

-- Amanda (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), February 24, 2002.

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