Facilities Needed

Pre-delivery area -

This area should allow for easy monitoring of the close-up cows/heifers and provide some protection from the elements. Providing shade during the dry period not only improves milk yield, but will also decrease fetal stress. It has been found that increased heat stress in the cow will increase stress in the fetus and may lead to early calving. It is also important to protect her from severe weather and wind.

Delivery area -

The design of the facilities should:

• Allow easy entry of the animals and minimize the stress of handling and restraint during assistance.
  
  
• Separate areas for delivery and post-delivery care are recommended. This allows you to remove the calf and the dam from the calving area quickly in order to minimize exposure to disease producing organisms as well as prepare the area for another dam in need of assistance.
  
  
• For the calf, dam, and the people assisting the delivery, protection from the elements is desired. Being dry and warm goes a long way in encouraging the use of proper techniques in calving management. It has also been shown that calves that experience calving difficulty recover faster if they are in a warm, dry environment.
  
  
• The delivery area should have a straight-sided head catch that will allow the dam to lie down and still breathe comfortably. The head catch should be in an area of the calving pen that leaves sufficient room for the dam to lie down and for the assistants to move freely around her or to get a fetal extractor in position. If you do not have a calving pen set up already you can attach hinged gates on either side of the straight-sided head catch in a pen or at the end of an alley. Handling dystocias in a squeeze chute should be avoided since the dam cannot lie down and there may not be sufficient room for assistance.

• The delivery area should be easy to disinfect. (See disinfectants) You may want to consider having cement flooring in the delivery area for easy cleaning, however, keep in mind that this may lead to cow injuries if she has to lie on the hard surface for long periods of time. The flooring should be rough enough to provide good footing for the cows to help prevent trauma from the cows attempting to get up. This area should also have water available, preferably both hot and cold.

Post-delivery area -

The post-delivery area should protected to keep the calf warm and dry. Removal of the calf from the dam as soon as possible will decrease the calf's exposure to disease causing organisms from the dam.
This area also needs to be easy to clean. If you have dirt floors in this area you can use lyme as a disinfectant.