Meet our Jersey cow Betsy.
My grandma named her Betsy and it fits her perfectly! She is also the center of our family farm. She has been with us for a little over 2 months and we’ve been looking for labor signs basically since she arrived. When Betsy arrived to our farm, she was 7 months pregnant and her udder was already beginning to fill. A week later, her teats began to fill. Somehow I was convinced that she wasn’t going to make it to the first week of February let alone the first week of March, her actual due date. On the 3rd week that she was at our farm, her mood started to change. She had been extremely friendly and curious but all of a sudden, she was moodier than normal and definitely starting to look uncomfortable. I know from my own personal experience, pregnancy is hard, especially those last two months. But your body isn’t ready yet.
So, what did I do? Of course, I got excited! I started checking Betsy regularly, even during the night. I would check her every 2-3 hours. I was warned by my husband, mom and grandpa not to wear myself out by checking too often or else I would be exhausted by the time she actually calved. I did a couple of nights of the every 2-3 hours and then decided they were probably right. So I cut back my night checks to 1x per night except when we got some extremely cold temperatures.
Fast forward to the time I am writing this blog. Guess what? She FINALLY had her calf, on her due date, March 8th. We are so excited the calf is finally here and she was so worth the wait! Betsy’s udder continued to get bigger, her teats continued to fill with milk, her vulva was still swelling and her pins were still loosening up until she went into labor. However, there were a couple other signs she had that told me ‘today is the day’.
I hope that by writing this and sharing my experience, you will learn about what not to do and what to look for. Of course, every cow will be unique but there are some general guidelines to follow. I will also share some pictures so you have something to reference while you are on your own journey. And if this is your first time having a baby calf, it is okay to get excited and be antsy. But you don’t want to wear yourself out because otherwise you will be exhausted when the time comes! I have bonded even more with Betsy through this past month plus of regularly checking her. In fact, she didn’t even get up when I’d roll the barn door open in the middle of the night.
12 Signs Labor is Near
While the signs will be the same, all of these signs can vary on the degree of how much they show or how long they are present before she actually goes into labor. This also all depends on the heifer or cow as well as breed, age, # of calves she’s had prior, etc. There are no black and white signs to compare to but these guidelines will help us know that labor is nearing. Every day is one day closer to having a new calf on the farmstead!
- Her udder is filling up. The udder will continue getting bigger and more firm. As labor nears, the teats will also fill with milk. Eventually the teats will be so full that they will point away from each other – towards mama’s legs. When birth is extremely close, there will be a rapid swelling of her udder and there could be milk leaking from her teats.
- Her vulva will enlarge and look very ‘loose’ or swollen. It almost has a bounce to it when she walks.
- There will be discharge coming out of her vulva. There may even be poop and straw or hay that gets stuck to it. This discharge will increase right before birth and will be extremely thick. The discharge could even have a bloody tinge to it when labor is near.
- Her ligaments around her pelvis will relax more. You can see this when you look at her from behind. The space between the base of her tail and the pin bones will increase. You should be able to put your full hand, pinky side down into the space. The depth will most likely be your whole hand deep and wide. This was hard to tell on Betsy. Two weeks before she gave birth, her ligaments looked more relaxed than just hours before she gave birth.
- She may eat less, pick around her food or possibly not eat at all. This was one of the sure signs that it was time. Betsy is not one to turn down food. She did eat some grain but almost no hay which was very unusual.
- She may become restless and unable to get comfortable. She could lie down and then get right back up.
- She will isolate herself from others.
- She could lick her stomach more, even kick at it or swish her tail.
- Her tail could be slightly lifted and it won’t go down. As labor begins to intensify, the tail will be lifted more and will look cockeyed.
- She could be more irritated and moody. Be very careful. Even the tamest cow can turn on an instance. They may seem like our pets but they are still an animal.
- When you look at her from behind, she will have a very round belly but once the baby moves into the birth canal, she will actually look at lot skinnier. This happened just hours before Betsy gave birth.
- Once there is a water bag (fluid filled bag) coming out of her vulva, you know for sure that labor has started.
Some of these signs will show up sooner than others and some will continue until literally labor has started. The best thing you can do is spend time observing your cow each day. You will get to know her personality and how she acts on a regular basis. Then you will notice when things are off. Also, some of these signs will be present even when she is just having contractions. Again, these are not black and white definite signs but all things to take into account to help you know when she is very close to calving. The correct birthing position for the calf should be the two front feet with the calf’s nose resting on top. If calves are not in this position, you could have more issues and may need to call a vet.
What do you need on hand for calving?
These items should be the bare minimum that you have on hand for a calving to be able to assist if necessary.
- Calf Nursing Bottle – 2 QT
- Pulling Chain (2 -30” chains or 1 – 60” chain) & handles
- Triodine-7 (for umbilical cord)
- Chlorhexidine disinfectant solution (to disinfect pulling chain prior to use & after)
How to Keep Mama Cow Comfortable?
- Bedding – soft & clean
- Dry place – not drafty or wet
- Water – readily available
- Hay – if she wants it
- Quietness – give her space and keep it quiet
In Summary
The anticipation of having a new baby on the farm made it so hard to be patient! Generally, a cow is somewhere between 2 weeks earlier than her due date to 2 weeks after her due date. I will preach this to myself again as well as encourage you to do the same, don’t wear yourself out waiting. Continue being observant because that will help you catch differences and signs early on. I was really observant and just kept thinking it was time but now having been through the whole process, I understand there were still a few signs that were missing until the very end. She had a flawless delivery, in fact I missed it! I am so bummed I missed it yet happy at the same time because that meant she didn’t need my assistance. I hope this helps you on your calving journey!
