Preg checkin' a cow - question

[Shelly]

If a person was to do this, and has never done before, what should he or she be feeling when they do? Say, the cow was at least a month to two months from calving or not. Only reason I ask is because best friend and I were hauling culls to the yards today, and some of them may or may not have been in calf. I said this would've been an easier decision to make on some if we knew how to preg check.

 

[George]

If they are that close you should be able to "bump " the calf from the outside - - - -I have never preg checked the other way but you should be able to feel a calf 6 or 7 months along.

 

[kolanuraven]

That far along the calf may be so deep within that it would be hard to ' feel' it.


Bumping is a good idea...and a LOT easier :wink:

 

[jkvikefan]

at 7 months of gestation you should easily feel a calf when you palpate the uterus. At 6 months it will be hard to feel a calf as it will be heavy enough for the fetus to be out of reach for a normal person to reach.

 

[Cal]

Might be easier for you to just grab the cervix and feel if it has weight on it.

http://ansci.colostate.edu/files/Youth%20Livestock%20Ext/resources/Beef/Beef7_pregnancy_detection.pdf

 

[Circle M]

How do you Bump a calf ? :???:

 

[per]

They have a "Glow" in their eyes. :shock:

 

[Kato]

What it feels like depends on how far along she is. If she's well along, anyone could tell, because you'd reach in and feel a foot, or the top of the head. If she was only mid-term, you'd just feel the cervix is being pulled down. You find that by sweeping your hand along the bottom of the pelvis, just like you'd do to A.I. when you're looking for it. If she's not far into it, you will feel the uterus and a small calf. That's a late cow, because the calf isn't heavy enough to sink down into the body cavity.

It takes some practice, but it's not hard to learn. And it's a handy thing to know. Even if you just find the obvious ones, and let the vet do the questionables, you can save some money.

And it's a real kick if you spot twins, and you're right.

 

[Grassfarmer]

How do you Bump a calf ? Say what?

On the cows right side push your fist sharply up into her side just behind her rib cage. Your fist will hit the calf if it's there - you will feel the obstruction quite clear if it's 7 months or so pregnant. We had an old timer that used to work for us who diagnosed a mummified calf that way once - the vet didn't believe him but in time the old boy was proven right.

 

[Shelly]

OK, so say the cow's not in calf? What would you feel? How far would you be able to put your arm in? Would you feel the back wall of the uterus and that'd be as far as you could go? I'm sorry if these sound like stupid questions, but I'd really like to know.

 

[Mike]

OK, so say the cow's not in calf? What would you feel? How far would you be able to put your arm in? Would you feel the back wall of the uterus and that'd be as far as you could go? I'm sorry if these sound like stupid questions, but I'd really like to know.

If the cow is not pregnant, you should be able to find the two uterine horns that are just forward of the cervix normal and the same size comparatively.

If she is pregnant short term, one of the horns will be enlarged compared to the other and will contain the embryo and added fluids. Do not pinch hard when palpating the embryo.

As the pregancy progresses, the weight of the calf will cause the calf to be lower in the belly and sometimes not be felt at all. (Especially for short arms.)

In this case, you can feel the cotyledons (lumps) in the higher portion of the uterus to judge length of term. When they are about the size of a tennis ball, she is close.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

You should talk to a vet, Get one to preg check or take a AI course and learn how. That way you could feel much more confident in what your doing.

 

[burnt]

You should talk to a vet, Get one to preg check or take a AI course and learn how. That way you could feel much more confident in what your doing.

And maybe avoid aborting a short term breeding??

 

[Ben H]

Take a tube of blood and do a BioPryn test. I think it costs about $2.75