Calf Watch: Down on the Farm

At the farm, we have baby calves born throughout the year. We do have a few “calving spells” in the spring and fall, but we typically will have a few calves born every month. August, September, and October tend to be the prime time for a calving spell within our heifer and cow herd. We will, usually, calve out around 22 first calf heifers during this time. Along with the young girls having babies, we also calve out around ten to fifteen older cows. These cows and heifers are constantly monitored and watched very closely during and after the calf is born.

An attitude change is usually one of the first signs that a cow is getting ready to have a baby. She will have her tail up in the air and will try to fight with the others to give herself room to have the calf. She will then lie down and start the whole process. We will look in on her and make sure things are going smoothly. We tend to only intervene if it is an emergency. Most cows have no problems with having their babies, but others require time, elbow grease, and hope.

During the “calving spells”, we are assigned calf watch every now and then to ensure that the mothers can have their babies without any issues. During the day light hours, if a cow or heifer goes into labor, we will all take turns checking in on the new soon-to-be mother to make sure she is fine. At night, my father and I are typically the ones on calf watch. Night calf watch requires checking in periodically throughout the night and keeping track of how long the cow or heifer has been in labor. Calf watch, in general, involves quietly walking up to the barn and peaking in on the new mother and making sure she is not having any problems calving and that she is progressing in at a healthy rate. Everyone on the farm has been trained to notice signs of obvious distress. When the cow or heifer has stopped pushing or appears to have given up or if the calf is not coming along as quickly as it should, we immediately call for help and start working on helping the new mother with her baby.

Earlier this month, I was on night calf watch. The old cow, number 1, had gone into labor early in the evening and I was told to check on her whenever I could. After 6 hours of labor, I decided to figure out why she wasn’t progressing in labor. Turned out, she was trying to have twins and they wanted out at the same time. After a quick call to my father, he and I went to work helping old number 1 out. With our assistance, the old cow gave birth to beautiful twin heifer calves. Today, the twins are growing like weeds and their mother is doing great all thanks to a night of calf watch.

–Story and photo by Courtney Henderson, special to The Botetourt Bee