Aug. 29, 2006 - We watched a callf be born tonight!
Usually, this happens in the pasture in the middle of the night, so it's unusual to actually get to see the event (unless the cow's in trouble and we are helping to pull the calf). But this evening, the cow we had in the barn lot so we could watch her in case she had trouble, went into labor.
She was bred to a bull that has had a history this year of siring 2 humongous calves (that died during the birth, nearly crippling the heifers trying to have them). This is not a large cow, so we were concerned should she also have a big one.
Dh came up around 3:30 saying she was in labor. He was busy and couldn't go back down to check her, so I went around 4:30 to see how she was doing . It was chore time, so the dc did their chores and then came too. Since she was a little further along (part of the amniotic sac was out), we decided to stay and watch a while. Now, these things can take a LONG time, so I wasn't confident we'd actually get to see the birth. But, we made ourselves comfortable on a haybale, and waited.
It wasn't 15 minutes later she started pushing pretty strongly, and we suddenly saw a hoof! I knew right away this was a MUCH smaller, finer boned calf than the ones that caused trouble earlier, so breathed a sigh of relief. But, still only saw one hoof, so wasn't sure yet I wouldn't need dh. As she continued to push, and made a bit more progress, I sent oldest ds around her other side to get a better look, and he said he could, indeed, see 2 feet--one was slightly under and back of the first (like the calf was diving out, LOL). Whew!
She really got down to business, and soon we could see the nose. The sac was still intact over the head. Then we saw the eyes, and could see the baby blinking. The head was out to the ears, and then before we knew it, the front shoulders were out. I was concerned about the sac not rupturing--if the cord was severed before the calf's head was clear, it could suffocate. But I didn't want to approach the cow to soon and have her get up before the calf was fully delivered either. Fortunately, with one more push, the rest of the calf slipped out. I was then able to go to the calf, and rupture the membrane with a finger, removing it from the nose and face. Took a quick peek and saw we had a little heifer (girl). Then used some pieces of hay to tickle the calf's nose and mouth to stimulate breathing and sneezing. The mama knew JUST what to do, and started licking her baby dry immediately. It was a good thing we were there though, since mama started cleaning on the back end, and by the time she would have gotten to the nose to clean off the sac, the baby might have been dead.
We hung around awhile to see if she'd get up and find her first meal, but she seemed pretty content to just lay there and receive her bath. After about 20 minutes, I decided to try to see if I could help her up. Sometimes, they just need a little nudge. Well, she wanted no part of that! I tried to lift her hind end, but she wouldn't put any weight at all on her legs. Being 6 months pg, I didn't think it wise to try too hard to accomplish this. I did stick my finger in her mouth to check her suck reflex, and it was good and strong.
I decided to just leave them be for a bit, and went back to the house to fix supper.
Dh was done with his business, so he went down while I was cooking. I was worried he might need help, so when everything was in the oven, I gave the dc instructions for watching the timer, and went back to the barn. Dh was just getting ready to leave and said, "Nothing to be done here." Apparantly, the baby was up when he got there, he pointed it in the direction of the mama, and instict took over. She got on no problem and went to town!
It was a good birth, and a great experience for the dc to witness up close. Homeschool science at its best! It also provided wonderful opportunities to discuss the similarities for when OUR baby will be born. Of course, my dd made the understatement of the year when she asked, "Aren't you glad you don't have to lick us dry, Mom?"
Comments
Aug. 30, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by qfbrenda
How cool! I got to help a calf be born when I was around 10 and I've never forgotten it. It was amazing!
I had to giggle at your daughter's comment. My boys said similar things to me after seeing our mother cat take care of her kittens! LOL
