# stillborn calf



## gwithrow (Feb 5, 2005)

today we had our first stillborn calf, born to a 30month old heifer..labor was not long that I am aware of, when I first saw her at 8 this morning it appeared that it would not be long til the calf was born....I waited and watched, soon there were feet...the mom laid down...I stepped down 100 feet away to close a gate and when I came back the calf was there...

at first I thought it was deformed, as the head was all the way back and twisted way around...not just back, twisted several times around...dead...

so my questions are these: does this just happen sometimes?...is it the bull's fault? as one neighbor suggested...

from the time I saw hooves, to delivery was not 20 minutes...from what I know I would not have intervened unless she seemed to not be making progress at all....a heifer takes a little longer?....

was the calf dead before labor, she looked fully formed once I straightened out her head....not a premie...I would of course like for this to not happen again...we have 7 more to calve from this round so I am hoping for better outcomes....are there any suggestions as to what I could have done differently?


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## Miss Kay (Mar 31, 2012)

I'm very sorry. Did she have yellow poop on her body. Sometimes when they are stressed during he birth process, it will cause them to poop which is not a good sign. If not, then she may have been dead before labor. Things happen some times for no reason. If you have others that abort or have still births this season you may want to get the herd tested to see if there is something else going on.


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## gwithrow (Feb 5, 2005)

no meconium staining.. this was the second calf of this season, and the other was fine,even though that mom is thin and had issues last winter...

this is a very nice Sim-angus heifer...she was with the herd last night and still with them this morning...so I didn't realize she was that close..I do know sometimes this just happens...I am now a little anxious to see the others calve safely...dead calves don't help anything..the bull has a good record and the calf was small but not tiny...I think if it had been a big calf she would have had a lot of difficulty having a calf with the head back like it was...


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## opportunity (Mar 31, 2012)

Not sure why but sometimes things happen my first 3 calves out of 17 came dead this year. We never figured out why we had two vets working with us on the problem before the rest seemed fine. We lost the last calf also came backwards and had to pull we knew it was a lost cause but saved the cow.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

I would guess it was just one of those freak birthings that happen now and then. We lost a nice little bull this year, according to the vet, there was really nothing to be done about it. We lose one every few years for no particular reason. Just the hazards of dealing with livestock. Its always sad, but we dont get to keep them all.


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## Chaty (Apr 4, 2008)

I agree, sometimes it just happens. I have had some abort early and some go full term and the calf be dead. It just happens. Especially if it is born back feet first they will drown before they are born. Its sad but they are like people and sometimes we don't know what happens either, just nature. Sorry


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