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Cows Calving - passing Cervix Plug to calving

  • 04-12-2019 5:06pm
    #1
    patsy_mccabe
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,119 ✭✭✭✭


    I've been wondering about this for a while. Had a cow calve this morning. She passed the Cervix Plug on Friday, 5 days ago. I've noticed on 3 or 4 cows now that it's 5 days in all cases.
    Anyone else notice this? A handy way of knowing when they'll calve, if it's the case.


Comments

  • #2
    Lime Tree Farm
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,883 ✭✭✭Lime Tree Farm


    “A Department Veterinary surgeon gave us a couple of hourly lessons in animal ailments.”
    “Another hint he gave us that is useful to know, is that when the slime coming from a heifer or a cow is strawish colour, that animal is within two hours of calving”
    Would they were with us again – Ultan Brady 1992, pg 204


    I dug out the book this morning, as that comment had remained with me.
    While thumbing through it to get to the quote (no headings on chapters, or index), I came across this gem. (Wonder what Greysides would think?).

    “Patrick Hilliard was married to my Aunt, and had a real old method for curing milk fever”. “With the rear end of the cow raised on a bundlle of straw, he pumped air into the cow’s paps with a bicycle pump. It worked and from what I heard it never failed him to get a positive result."
    Would they were with us again – Ultan Brady 1992, pg 206

    Ultan was definitely correct regarding the Mucous changing colour prior to calving.


  • #3
    The man in red and black
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 668 ✭✭✭The man in red and black


    Lime Tree Farm wrote: »
    “A Department Veterinary surgeon gave us a couple of hourly lessons in animal ailments.”
    “Another hint he gave us that is useful to know, is that when the slime coming from a heifer or a cow is strawish colour, that animal is within two hours of calving”
    Would they were with us again – Ultan Brady 1992, pg 204


    I dug out the book this morning, as that comment had remained with me.
    While thumbing through it to get to the quote (no headings on chapters, or index), I came across this gem. (Wonder what Greysides would think?).

    “Patrick Hilliard was married to my Aunt, and had a real old method for curing milk fever”. “With the rear end of the cow raised on a bundlle of straw, he pumped air into the cow’s paps with a bicycle pump. It worked and from what I heard it never failed him to get a positive result."
    Would they were with us again – Ultan Brady 1992, pg 206

    Ultan was definitely correct regarding the Mucous changing colour prior to calving.

    The bicycle pump technique was widely practiced up to James Herriots time as it was to try and reduce the cows milk let down and so reduce the demand on calcium I believe. They just developed Calcium solutions for intravenous use at that time(so around the 50's/60's?) which made the bicycle pump redundant.

    As for the mucous plug it seems very variable to me but to be honest it's long gone by the time I see most cows and I'm not home enough to spot a pattern on my families cows!


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