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Pregnancy and Labor in Cows for Sale

Pregnancy and Labor in Cows for Sale

Determining pregnancy in cattle has benefits and can be an effective management tool. The ability to determine pregnancy can allow you to make timely culling decisions and sell cows at the livestock auction that are too high risk. (High-risk cows can be ones that lost their calf the year before or ones that don’t produce enough milk, etc.) This allows you to eliminate the expense of feeding a cow all winter that isn’t making you any profit. With experience, you can determine the age of the fetus, which will allow you to predict expected calving dates and plan for the necessary labor at calving time. Pregnancy determination can also help you manage feeding to better meet the high nutritional demands of gestation, calving, lactation, and rebreeding. Knowledge of expected calving dates can also be an advantage when marketing bred replacement heifers. Potential buyers often want to purchase females cows for sale whose calving dates coincide with those of their present herd.

Stages of Pregnancy

There are 3 stages of pregnancy in cows lasting 9 months with 3 trimesters.

1st stage: Nutrition is always key but is vital during this first trimester.

2nd stage: Organs are continuing to be built and grow during this trimester.

3rd stage: Rapid growth happens during this trimester- up to 75%. Stress can affect colostrum.

You don’t want to overfeed and overspend on cattle at any time, but quality and nutritious forage can make your calving season a success.

Stages of Labor

There are also three stages of labor: cervical dilation, calving, and afterbirth.

Cervical Dilation

The first step in the calving process is cervical dilation in your cow.

Calving

Stage 2 is the delivery stage and what is normally consider calving. Contractions are very strong, and the cow or heifer is usually lying on her side. There are a large number of ways a calf can present itself. With a normal presentation, both front feet emerge first. Continuous progress should be made during this stage, and it should last no longer than a half-hour to an hour in cows, less than two hours in heifers. Labor lasting longer than two to three hours or any abnormal presentation are reasons to intervene. This is the stage where problems can occur and particular care plays a large role in how events unfold.

Afterbirth

Now that the calf is out, some of our work is done but the cow needs to finish the process by expelling the rest of the material required to maintain a calf through pregnancy.

If you feel stages 1 or 2 are prolonged, and the cow or heifer needs assistance, try to get her to a working facility. This is much safer for cow and the farmer.

Lastly, if you are not completely comfortable with your ability to quickly and safely deliver a calf, call your veterinarian before you start.