This article will describe proper methods to pull a calf either by hand or with a calf jack.
Pulling is less needed than it was years ago, due to increased ease of calving, but it can still make the difference between a live calf and a dead or stressed calf, or a cow that breeds back on time versus one that retains its placenta, has vaginal tears and never rebreeds.
Producers must decide the proper time to intervene and vaginally check a cow and initiate help. A rule of thumb is one hour in cows and 1 hours in heifers that are going through strong uterine contractions with no progress.
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Exceptions are when cows or heifers are uneasy, bawling or nesting for an extraordinary periods of time. This is how some malpresentations, torsions and breech births present themselves.
If you have a maternity pen, run them in and check them out.
With a higher percentage of twins born in today’s modern herds, malpresentations are more common. All farmers should have a commercially made maternity pen calving chute or home-made device that accomplishes the same thing.
The cow must be able to lie down while also in head restraints so you can clean and check it. There must also be enough room to manipulate the puller.
Cleanliness is important. Before examining the vagina, wash the area with warm water and surgical soap. Ordinary soaps can irritate and lead to infections that can affect rebreeding.
Keep clean by wearing a calving suit or at least use obstetrical gloves. Hold them up on your arms by a towel clamp or wide elastics. Take a few minutes to do these procedures. It calms the cow and you are then prepared when pulling ensues.
Examine the positioning of the calf to ensure it is properly presented. You want three things in the pelvis: two front legs and a head for a forward presentation or two back legs and a tail in a backward presentation.
Attaching the chains properly can avert damage to the calf’s legs and feet. Take time and double loop above and below the fetlock. Make sure the links are laying flat and the pull of each wrap should be lined up.
I prefer the pull to come off the bottom of the leg. I like one long chain, which can be double looped on both feet. The only time I single loop is with a small malpresented calf or with twins where I know it will be a light hand pull.
Cows cannot deliver as big a calf backward as they can forward. Backward calves should be assisted immediately.
Take a few seconds to quickly wash, especially the breech, which goes around the cow’s back end, and hang it back to dry. The breech straps should keep the puller just nicely below the bottom of the vagina when pulling.
Keep the calving area and maternity pen clean and periodically disinfect with Virkon disinfectant to keep bacterial and viral contamination low.
When pulling, only advance with the cow’s contractions. You have time here so don’t get in a rush.
The cow’s contractions will greatly reduce the force you need to use. Apply lots of sterile lubricant. When applied over the calf’s head in a tight pull, it minimizes friction in the vagina, which is where tears result.
Apply lots of lubricant over the o.b. sleeves as well to minimize friction. This keeps your arms from tiring when doing manipulations or applying the chains.
Pull in a slightly downward motion following the natural curvature of the calf. This is easier if the cow is down because in a standing cow, you can only get about a 45-degree angle on the puller.
Always keep an eye on the tension of the chains. It is easy in the heat of the moment to overpull, or pull too fast and injure the calf or cow.
Remember calf pullers can exert 2,000 pounds of pulling power, which can cause great damage in the wrong hands.
Two good-sized people should be able to pull a calf by hand. Otherwise it is too big and a caesarean section may be needed.
However, producers are often by themselves and the use of a puller reduces fatigue .
Backward calves are pulled straight back. Make sure the tail is down between the legs and pull slowly until the tail and hips are presented out the back end.
It is about at this time the calf’s umbilical cord breaks and the calf must be extracted quickly.
