Signs that a Dairy Cow is about to Calve

Rosie is our registered Jersey cow who is very soon going to calve.  We've been watching her closely. According to our calculations, yesterday was the due date, but we don't know exactly when she was bred, and as you know, sometimes labor comes a little early or a little late.  She is conditioned well and hopefully we'll have no problems.

Dairy cows often look skinny/bony to those familiar only with beef cattle, but it is because they are geared toward producing milk and not meat.  As a result, you'll see their ribs.  As a cow gets close, you can't see the ribs as much as before.  Also her udder will start to develop.  Rosie has been dried off for a couple of months.  We've seen over the past few days that her bag is getting bigger, with the big milk veins on the side visible again.

Rosie - getting close to have her baby - ribs less visible, growing udder and pronounced milk vein

She is notably wider and her stomach is distended.  We started to notice her walking around with an different gait and then she gets up and eats grass, then sits down, gets up to eat, and sits down again. Tricia called to let me know that she's acting restless.  She's starting to just act a little different.  Right at her tail-head, the ligaments loosen as her body prepares for calving.

Wide load

Over the past few days, we've noticed that she's having a clear mucous discharge from her back end. You can see it all over her tail and rump.

Mucous all over her back-end

Rosie's vulva is swollen and is loose - flabby is how I'd describe it.  Her body is quickly changing in order to accommodate her labor and delivery of the baby calf that has been growing inside of her for 9 months.  The mucous discharge is a sure sign that a calf is on the way. As she was sitting down today, the chickens were pecking at the mucous and it was REALLY aggravating Rosie.

Mucous discharge from swollen vulva

Rosie is on the far left in the photo below and you can see her udder is growing in preparation for calving.  Her body will produce colostrum first, in order to provide her calf with antibodies to fight off infection.  Then she'll provide lots of good, fresh milk for her calf (and US)!  Although Rosie was with Daisy and Amy below (and they will also be calving before the end of the year), as she gets closer to delivery, she'll distance herself from them.

Rosie, Daisy, and Amy

So we're on calf watch right now.  Obviously cows can have their calves without our supervision or assistance, but we want to be there to see when the hooves are first visible.  It is important that they come out together, facing the ground.  If they are facing up, it means the calf is not positioned correctly and a veterinarian is needed. This is the presentation that you want to see, with the front hooves coming out as shown in the diagram below:

Image Credit

We'll post an update as she progresses!