dystocia prevention

Question 1

dystocia and calving ease score of 1

Answer 1

no assistance needed

Question 2

dystocia and calving ease score of 2

Answer 2

slight assistance

traction with bear hands

Question 3

dystocia and calving ease score of 3

Answer 3

assistance needed
traction with chains
correction of abnormal PPP

Question 4

dystocia and calvig ease score of 4

Answer 4

considerable assistance needed
traction with chains
significant forse or calf jack
corretion of severe abnormality of PPP

Question 5

dystocia and calving ease score of 5

Answer 5

extremel difficult

fetotomy or C-section

Question 6

impact of dystocia on dam

Answer 6

trauma to dam (animal welfare)-don’t use NSAIDs before/during calving
18% of culls are associated wtih dsytocia and stillbirth
dam is more likely to experience retained placenta, metritis, lower fertility and milk production

Question 7

impact of dystocia on calf

Answer 7

leading cause of perinatal mortality
likelihood of calf’s death increases with severity of dystocia
death during dystocia is often due to anoxia and trauma
perinatal mortality-most died after birth within an hour

Question 8

ultimate causes of dystocia

Answer 8

fetal sex
fetal abnormalities
breed
parity/age
hx of dystocia
season
nutrition
exercise
disease
herd size
region
their interactions

Question 9

intermediate causes of dystocia

Answer 9

gestation length
fetal oversize
birth canal undersize
hypocalcemia/magnesemia
parturient stress
hormonal imbalances
previous dystocia
twins

Question 10

proximal causes of dystocia

Answer 10

feto-pelvic dysproportion
abnormal fetal disposition
uterine inertia
vulval or cervical stenosis
uterine torsion

Question 11

calf’s birth weight

Answer 11

fetus gains 50% of their birth weight after 230 days of pregnancy
final stage of pregnancy-0.3 kg/day
bull calves-1 to 3 day longer pregnancy duration than heifer calves; weight more at birth: fetopelvic dysproportion

Question 12

parity of dam

Answer 12

primiparous heifers are 3x as likely to experience dystocia than pluriparous cows

Question 13

leading causes for dystocia in primiparous heifers

Answer 13

feto-pelvic dysproportion
abnormal fetal disposition
incomplete dilatation of vulva and cervix

Question 14

leading causes of dystocia in pluripara cows

Answer 14

abnormal fetal disposition
Feto-pelvic dysporoprtion
twins
uterine inertia
uterine torsion
incomplete dilatation of vulva and cervix

Question 15

guide line number for dystocia

Answer 15

<9%

Question 16

guidelie number for perinatal mortality

Answer 16

2-5%

Question 17

management strategies to reduce incidence of dystocia in heifers

Answer 17

heifers should gain avg 0.8 to 0.9 kg/d of body weight from birth to 1st calving
start breeding heifers are 60% of mature body weight and observe wither height recommendation for each breed
use bulls with low “calving ease”
use sexed semen-want heifers
target weight at 1st calving-85% of mature body weight
avoid over conditioning

Question 18

manage strategies to reduce incidence of dystocia in cows

Answer 18

feed rations that will minimize the risk of milk fever
screen cows at the start of the dry off period for possible problems
avoid over conditioning
use bulls wtih low “calving ease” for small cows

Question 19

management strategies to reduce incidence of dystocia in cows and heifers

Answer 19

close up cow and maternity pens should be monitored closely (>24 hours)
proper/balanced nutrition
enure heat abatement is provided
minimize unnecessary changes in diet
minimize unnecessary changes in pen

Question 20

at calving

Answer 20

timing of movement of dams in parturition is crucial
clean calving environment
observation
timing of assistance