Early preparation prevents last-minute stress during calving season. From equipment checklists to mastering observation, veterinary collaboration and proactive intervention, calving season success starts before the first calf hits the ground.
AJ Tarpoff, Kansas State extension veterinarian, encourages producers to prepare for potential calving challenges through inventory assessment, tool and supply readiness, facility checks and mindful observation.
From years of hands-on experience, cattle producer and extension educator Shad Marston from Canton, Kan., says the key to a successful calving season is: “Just being prepared so you don’t have those unexpected problems.”
Marston highlights the importance of preparing earlier than expected.
“We have to prepare, not just the time that the breeding book predicts they’re going to calve, but maybe a week or two ahead of that,” he says.
Review breeding notes and pregnancy forms in advance to identify which cows are due first. He says shorter gestations (especially with calving-ease bulls) can result in females calving a week or two early. To prepare, he separates heifers into a dedicated pen for better monitoring and exercise as calving approaches.
Marston adds another step in preparation is having contact information handy for your veterinarian and neighbors to call during emergencies.
To help mitigate the potential of calving problems, Tarpoff suggests producers make educated genetic matings.
“Use proper selection tools such as calving-ease sires on heifers,” he stresses. “We have better tools than ever — use them.”
Tarpoff and Marston share these nine tips to ensure calving season is a success:
1. Build a Reliable Calving Kit for Every Scenario.
Ensure all tools, equipment and supplies like chains, straps, gloves, lubricant and colostrum replacer are cleaned, organized and ready before calving begins. Store crucial items in a portable, easy-to-access tote.
Check out Tarpoff’s Calving Checklist:
Your Calving Prep Starts Here: The Essential Checklist
2. Prioritize Facility and Equipment Maintenance.
Inspect calving facilities and restraint tools ahead of time to make sure everything is in good repair — fix or replace anything left undone from last season before calving starts.
Tarpoff reminds producers to determine how they will restrain animals in the pasture setting.
“Whether it’s a rope, whether it’s a portable corral or whatever that might look like, is everything in good working order?”
Marston encourages producers to walk their facilities: “Are your lights working? Do your gates latch? Bedding down?”
He says cameras are also excellent if your barn connectivity allows.
“Whatever the cost, saving just one calf … would pay for a camera system,” he says.
Learn more about calving camera systems:
Is a Calving Camera System Your Next Essential Ranch Investment?
3. Cleanliness and Biosecurity Matter.
Maintain clean, segregated feeding equipment like esophageal feeders to prevent disease transmission among calves.
Tarpoff encourages producers to have two esophageal feeders — one for colostrum and one for sick calves.
4. Collaborate with Your Vet.
Have proactive conversations with your local veterinarian about regional risks, health products and intervention protocols well before calving season begins.
5. Observe Females Closely.
Watch for subtle physical and behavioral cues such as herd separation, changes in appetite, vulva swelling or locomotion changes that signal impending calving. Tarpoff suggests producers train their eyes to watch for subtle changes.
6. Understand Intervention Timing and Have a Plan for Emergencies.
Knowing the stages of parturition is crucial for timely intervention. It is also important to have a plan so you can safely restrain and assist cows. Don’t hesitate to seek veterinary help when needed for complicated or high-risk situations.
Offering assistance is a matter of judgment and good judgment is the result of experience.
Know the “rule of an hour”: Intervene if a mature cow hasn’t made progress within one hour of the water bag breaking. For heifers, the process can take a bit longer.
“It can normally take a heifer two hours to go through the normal birthing process,” Tarpoff adds.
If you don’t know when Stage 2 began and process seems to be slow, it might warrant a vaginal exam.
He says it is important to understand when to call for extra help or veterinary support. Visual red flags to intervene immediately include: head-only presentation, head with only one leg, backward calf with hocks visible but not progressing.
When intervention becomes necessary, safety and assessment come first.
“Proper restraint is very, very important,” he says. “When it’s time to intervene, take your time and get a diagnosis of what’s missing.”
Tarpoff instructs producers to diagnose quickly and protect mom.
Marstons adds, if possible, have the cow up on her feet, restrained in a well-lit area that is safe for both you and the cow. It is much easier when both you and the cow are standing.
Start by cleaning the cow’s vulva, rectum and surrounding area, as well as your hands and arms with soap and water. Cleanliness is important.
Wear protective sleeves. Gentleness and lubrication are important.
“Hair causes an enormous amount of friction,” Tarpoff explains. “I regularly use large amounts of lubricant to reduce inflammation and swelling.”
Feel for the cervix. If not dilated it will feel as if your hand passes through or along a firm, tubular or circular structure. Once fully dilated, you should no longer feel the cervical ridge.
Can you feel the calf? A normal anterior presentation will permit you to feel the calf’s feet and nose with the spine of the calf resting just under the cow’s spine. If the presentation is normal and the water bag is still intact around the calf, you can allow up to an hour to permit the cow to calve unassisted. If the water bag has broken and the cervix is fully dilated, the calf needs to be delivered sooner.
If you detect an abnormal presentation, encounter something that doesn’t feel right or a situation you can’t manage, you will need to contact a veterinarian for assistance.
Tarpoff tells producers if they are not making progress correcting the scenario in a half hour, it is time to call for help.
“The earlier, the better outcome for the cow, the better outcome for the calf,” he says.
Tarpoff reminds producers if a calf is not breathing not to hang it by the legs; instead, place it upright, clear mucus from nose/mouth and stimulate.
“It’s the physical stimulation that tells the brain it’s time to start breathing,” he says.
Tarpoff also suggests using the Madigan squeeze for non-thrifty or “dummy” calves. He says the procedure is an option within 48 hours of birth that can “pop” some calves into normal vigor.
7. Minimize Environmental Stress.
Be proactive about shelter, windbreaks and bedding to protect calves from wind, moisture and cold. Remember that wet, windy conditions can be just as dangerous as extreme cold.
“During the winter, our No. 1 thing that robs heat is wind and moisture,” Tarpoff says, “so if we have a nice wind protection or a windbreak, calves can stay comfortable.”
Body temperature matters more than outdoor temperatures.
“Once you get below 100°F internal body temperature, that begins the stages of hypothermia,” he explains. “Once we get into the mid 90s, we see blood shunting from the extremities, leading to frost bit ears or tails.”
He says outside temperature can be a poor indicator.
“Forty to 50°F and rain can cause hypothermia quicker than 17°F and dry,” he says.
Warming options range from calf warmers/hot boxes to safe heat-lamp setups (non-sparking units) to improvised pickup-floor “heat box” arrangements. Warm-water immersion can work but must be done carefully.
Tarpoff instructs to start with lukewarm water then gradually increase toward 101°F to 102°F. It is important to disinfect bathrooms thoroughly after use to protect families from pathogens.
8. Prioritize Nutrition.
Ensure cows are in proper body condition, not too thin or obese, to promote easier calving and healthy, vigorous calves.
Marston says feeding strategy can help shift calving to daylight. Feeding late at night can concentrate births in early morning.
“I feed in the evenings … open the gate later … they want to eat,” he says. “Then, once they get full, they lay down and have a calf … a lot of the time, it’s six, seven o’clock in the morning.”
Read more about the importance of nutrition prior to and post calving:
3 Nutritional Questions to Consider Prior to Calving
Does Supplementing Bred Heifers Increase Calving Difficulty?
Feeding at Dusk: How Does This Affect Calving Times?
From Calving to Conception: Nutrition Strategies to Keep Cows on Track
9. Don’t Forget the Colostrum.
Following calving is key to get colostrum in the calf within the first two to four hours. By nine hours after birth the calf will have less than 50% of absorption.
Tarpoff encourages producers to keep quality commercial replacer on hand. If a producer freezes on-farm colostrum, this should be used the same season and thawed under warm running water, not microwaved.
If a calf is cold and has not nursed, Tarpoff says it is important to “warm first, then colostrum.”
Gut absorption improves after warming.
Read more about colostrum:
How Important is Colostrum?
Tarpoff suggests producers assess calf vigor especially after a pull or C-section: “Use the suckle reflex — good suction and jaw tone suggests the calf will get up and nurse.”
Marston adds: “If I have that cow down or standing in the chute, I’ll milk her out right then and tube the calf. Then I know it’s got colostrum in its belly.”
He stresses this is especially important if you must leave and can’t monitor nursing.
Marston shares this simple mantra as calving season approaches: Get mentally prepared, be ready and be observant.
“Be prepared because it’s not going to happen when you’re home all day, it’s going to happen when you’re busy,” he says.
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