When to help a cow or heifer that is calving

Source: University of Minnesota

How do you know when it’s time to help a cow or a heifer that is calving? Of course, you want to help these cows and heifers when you think there might be issues, but jumping in too early can be detrimental and delay everything further.

What happens when you interrupt a cow that is calving?

• If you interrupt a cow that is calving, she is programmed to prioritize her own life and stop calving.
• If the cow feels threatened in any way or is disrupted in the calving process, she will shut everything down in case she has to run.
• Even people the cow knows well can disrupt the calving process.

So how do we know when it’s time to help? First, you have to know what normal looks like, so it’s easier to notice when something is going wrong.

3 stages of the labor process

Labor Stage 1: Dilation of the cervix

• Cows have small contractions that are far apart.
• Dilation can take up to 24 hours in total.
• You may be able to observe this stage only for the final four to eight hours. Notice when:
  • The cow begins pacing and separating herself from the herd.
  • If the cow seems uncomfortable, standing up and lying down repeatedly.
  • If the cow’s tail is elevated.

Labor Stage 2: Delivery of calf (calves)

• Begins with the appearance of the water bag or calf and ends when all calves are completely out of the cow.
• The cow is usually on her side with strong contractions that last 30 seconds to one minute.
• On average, Stage 2 lasts for approximately 30 minutes for a mature cow.
• On average, Stage 2 lasts for approximately 60 minutes for a heifer.

Labor Stage 3: Delivery of placenta(s)

• Can occur right away or up to 12 hours later.
• If delivery of the placenta takes longer than 24 hours, the placenta is considered retained.
• Retained placentas are associated with metritis and delayed return to estrus.

Intervening in Stage 1

If you see an animal in Stage 1 for longer than 6 hours with no appearance of a water bag or calf to indicate the start of Stage 2, it’s time to consider intervening.

Bring the cow up to the chute to check and see if she is dilated. She may be having difficulty dilating or the calf may be badly positioned.

Intervening in Stage 2

Most questions are centered around Stage 2. You see parts of a calf, or the water bag is out, and you are wondering, “How long do I let that cow or that heifer go before I jump in to make sure things are okay?”

Research has looked at the average length of Stage 2, and whether it’s a cow or a heifer giving birth.

• In the average cow, Stage 2 lasts between 20 and 30 minutes from the appearance of a water bag or calf until the calf is on the ground. 
• With a mature cow, if you don’t see progression, meaning you don’t see that calf coming out more and more, and the cow has been in Stage 2 for 30 minutes, it’s time to help. There’s no reason to wait.

Don’t worry about trying to figure out when the cow started versus when you noticed her in Stage 2. If you have cameras, and you can look and see, great. Start the clock whenever you notice she’s in Stage 2.

With heifers, it takes longer

• On average, it takes between 50 and 60 minutes for a heifer to start and finish Stage 2.
• If you see the heifer is making no progression, or she’s been in Stage 2 for an hour and the calf is not most of the way out, it’s time to help.

What is progression?

Progression is the continual exposure of more calf as it is pushed out of the cow. We want to continually see more of the calf as contractions continue to happen. This can be slow, and often the calf appears to gain ground and then lose it, but we want to see slightly more of the calf with each set of contractions. If contractions stop for an extended period or we don’t see more of the calf over 30 minutes, it is time to intervene.

What about the calf’s position?

You can tell a bit about a calf’s position by looking at the calf’s feet without having to reach in. Normal positioning is for both front feet to be forward with a head right behind, nestled in between the hooves. You should see the front feet first, followed by a nose, the crown of the head, and then the rest of the calf. One of the things you can look for right away is which direction the hooves are pointing. 

• If the calf is positioned correctly and coming headfirst, the bottom of the hooves should be pointed towards the belly and udder of the cow.
• If the bottoms of the hooves are pointing towards her tail and spine, then the calf is upside down or the calf is coming backward, and they are back feet.
• If you see that front feet are coming, but see a lot of legs without a head following, the calf may be malpositioned with its head back.

What if you see nothing? No calf at all?

When the water bag appears or breaks, that starts Stage 2. But what if no calf appears? The most common reason would be a breech.

The calf is a breech when all four feet and the head of the calf are facing towards the front of the cow, towards her head. All you will feel when you reach in is a tail.

This is the most extreme example of no progress — a clear start of Stage 2 without seeing continually more of the calf (seeing no calf or maybe just a butt or tail). 

Intervening safely

When you decide it’s time to help, your safety is most important. Working in a chute or especially a chute that’s designed for calving intervention is important because it allows you to be safe. Veterinarians may work without a chute when necessary, but a chute is safest for the people involved.

Some people may argue that a chute puts the animal at risk, especially if they go down while calving, and that it is nearly impossible to work on a down cow in the chute. This can be true, but we have to prioritize human safety.

There are compromises, of course. If you get the cow to the chute, especially with a beef animal, you can then get a halter on. Then you can either attach the halter to something and let the cow out of the chute or attach the halter to the chute and back the cow up to where the cow is at less risk if they go down.