Pulling a Calf: When to Help and When to Call the Vet

Calving season tests every cow-calf man. Most cows deliver without a bit of help, and the best thing you can do is stay out of the way and watch from a distance. But once in a while a cow gets into trouble, and what you do in the next hour decides whether you end up with a live calf and a healthy cow or a bad loss. The skill is knowing when to wait, when to help and when to pick up the phone.

This guide gives the basics for recognizing a problem and the general steps for assisting a normal delivery. It is not a replacement for your veterinarian, who should be your first call for anything beyond a simple pull and who can walk you through your own herd's protocol before the season starts. If you want to find calving schools and vet clinics near you, agriculture.directory can help you find agriculture events in your area.

Know What Normal Looks Like

Calving happens in stages. In the first stage, the cow gets restless, may separate from the herd, switches her tail and may show a swollen vulva and discharge. In the second stage, she begins to strain, the water bag and then the calf's feet appear, and the calf is delivered. In the third stage, she passes the afterbirth. Normal calving should show front feet, soles pointing down, followed by the nose resting on them, which is the normal position.

University extension programs, including University of Minnesota Extension and Nebraska Beef, publish calving guides with timelines and pictures. Read one before calving starts so you are not learning in the dark.

When to Wait and Watch

Many people intervene too early. A cow that has just started second-stage labor needs time. Watch from a distance, and avoid disturbing her, since stress can slow labor. Check the time when you first see strong straining or the water bag, and make a note. You do not want to guess later how long she has been working.

Signs She Needs Help

General guidance from extension sources suggests stepping in when:

• A cow has been straining hard for an hour or so with no progress. Heifers often need a bit more patience, but check with your vet on your own timeline.
• You see only one foot, or you see a tail or hind feet, which signals a possible backward birth or a leg back.
• The feet appear with the soles pointing up, which suggests a backward calf.
• The calf's head is not visible alongside the feet.
• The water bag appeared a long time ago with no further progress.
• The cow is exhausted, down or in distress.

If you see signs of an abnormal presentation, call your vet before you reach in. Wrong moves can make it worse.

Get Ready Before You Pull

Have the supplies at the barn before calving starts: obstetric chains or straps with handles, a calf puller or jack that you have been shown how to use, plenty of clean warm water, mild soap, disposable gloves, obstetrical lubricant, a clean towel, a flashlight, iodine for navels and your vet's phone number. Clean your tools and use clean gloves to reduce infection risk. Get the cow into a clean pen or a place where you can safely restrain her, such as a calving pen or a chute. A chute that works well for this is the kind that lets you open the side or let the cow lie down.

Basic Steps for Assisting a Normal Presentation

If the calf is coming correctly, with two front feet and the nose, and the cow needs help, extension guides generally describe these steps:

1. Wash the cow's rear and your hands and arms with soap and warm water. Put on clean gloves.
2. Check the calf's position by feel to confirm two front feet and the head. Feel for the hocks versus knees to tell front from back legs.
3. Attach chains or straps to each leg, with one loop above the fetlock and a half-hitch below it, to reduce the risk of fractures.
4. Pull only when the cow is pushing, working with her contractions, and rest when she rests.
5. Pull in a downward arc toward her hocks once the calf's head is out, following the natural curve of the birth canal.
6. Pull one leg a bit ahead of the other to get the shoulders through the pelvis, then continue steadily.

Use gentle, steady traction. A mechanical calf puller is easy to overuse, and extension sources caution against excessive force, which can injure the calf and cow. If a calf does not come with reasonable effort, stop and call your veterinarian.

Stop and Call the Vet If

• You cannot identify what you are feeling.
• The calf is backward, has a leg or head turned back or is oversized.
• Twins are tangled.
• The calf does not advance with moderate pulling.
• The cow is a heifer in trouble with a tight pelvis.
• You are unsure at all.

A vet may be able to correct a bad position or perform a C-section, and calling early gives the best chance of saving both animals. The American Association of Bovine Practitioners at aabp.org can help you find resources for finding a bovine vet.

What to Do Once the Calf Is Out

• Clear the nose and mouth of mucus.
• Stimulate breathing by tickling a nostril with a clean piece of straw and rubbing the calf with a towel.
• Make sure the cow gets up and licks the calf.
• Dip the navel in iodine according to your vet's advice.
• Make sure the calf nurses and gets colostrum within the first hours of life.

Colostrum is the cow's first milk, loaded with antibodies, and a calf that does not get enough early in life is at higher risk of illness. If the calf is weak or the cow will not let it nurse, talk to your vet about what to do.

Reduce the Need to Pull

The best calving help is prevention. Choose bulls with calving ease numbers appropriate for your heifers, feed cows so they enter calving in proper body condition, and breed heifers to calve before the cows when you can watch them more closely. Many ranchers also keep records on every difficult birth so that problem genetics get culled. Farm.fm's page on improving reproductive success in Angus herds covers general breeding practices, though your vet knows your local conditions best.

Take Care of Yourself, Too

Calving happens at night, in bad weather, with a lot on the line. Be careful around protective mothers, never get in between a cow and her calf, and have a way to get out of the pen. If you are working alone, tell someone where you are. A sleepy, panicked rancher makes more mistakes than a rested one, so plan shifts if you have help.