Pregnancy and birthing
Care during pregnancy
In India, pregnant animals are allowed to graze with the rest of
the herd so that they get exercise and sufficient green fodder. However, towards
the end of the pregnancy, the animals are confined and stall-fed. This reduces
accidents and allows the farmer to keep a close eye on the pregnant animals. To
avoid abortion, farmers do not feed cottonseed or rape seed to pregnant animals.
If animals are in danger of aborting, Indian stock raisers dry
and powder whole plants of Leptadenia reticulata. They place about 20g of the
powder twice a day on top of the concentrate ration of the pregnant animal so
that the powder will be eaten first. They continue this treatment for 20-30
days.
In Thailand, farmers add 1 kg per day of rice to the feed of the
pregnant animal 1 or 2 weeks before it is due to give birth. They also mix 1 kg
of molasses with 10 ml of water and then sprinkle this onto the rice straw feed.
Birthing
You will know if an animal will have normal or abnormal delivery
by observing the length of time before the newborn comes out. Normally, a
newborn emerges within 6
hours after the water bag comes out. Once the water bag breaks,
the birth normally occurs within 2 hours.
# Reminder
Do not interfere with the natural birthing process unless
absolutely necessary!
Before giving any assistance to the mother, trim your
fingernails very short. Thoroughly wash your arms and hands with soap and clean
water. If possible, disinfect them with alcohol.
Inadequate uterine contractions
Symptoms
Birthing
· The water bag does not come
out even after the cow has strained for 6 hours.
Treatment
1. Keep the animal comfortable and quiet.
2. Wash and remove the skin of a fresh Aloe vera leaf Rub it
gently on the vulval lips, on the inside of the vagina and on the cervix.
3. If no change occurs within 3 to 6 hours, consult a
veterinarian or anyone in the community experienced in attending to difficulties
at birth in animals. (Sri Lanka. 1, 2, 3, 4)
Inadequate uterine contractions
Prolonged delivery
Symptoms
Six hours after the legs and head of the offspring have
appeared, if delivery has not yet been completed, try the following. This
technique is used by stockraisers throughout Asia and is similar to techniques
used by Western veterinarians.
1. Disinfect a 1 meter-long rope by washing it in laundry
detergent. Bath soap can be used, too.
2. Carefully tie each end of the rope a little above the hoof
joint of each of the front legs of the baby animal.
3. Insert a clean stick about 30 cm in length through the loop.
4. Pull on the stick only when the mother pushes.
5. Pull the baby animal only towards the udder. Never pull it
straight out or upwards.
6. Occasionally the hind legs come out first. Make sure that
both are hind legs and not one front and one hind leg. If both are hind legs,
tie the rope on in the same way as above and pull when the mother pushes.
Helping the mother's delivery
Retained placenta or "afterbirth"
If the placenta does not come out within 12 hours of birthing,
try doing the following:
· Boil ½ kg of
fresh bamboo shoots (Bambusa sp.) in 2 liters of water until the water is
reduced to about half the amount. Cool the liquid and give the entire amount as
a drench in one dose. (Sri Lanka. 1, 2, 3, 4)
If the afterbirth does not come out in the next 12 hours, get
professional help. If help is not available, do the following. This is a
technique commonly done by both traditional and modern veterinary doctors.
1. Clean your hands thoroughly and apply vegetable oil to them
as a lubricant.
2. Cup one hand into a cone-shape.
3. Insert this hand into the vagina following along the length
of the placenta and reaching as far as you can. Grasp the placenta.
4. Carefully separate the placenta from the uterus with your
fingers and then take out as much as you can. The animal will deal with the
placenta remaining inside the uterus in its natural way. It will not reduce the
chances of the mother's bearing more offspring. The farmer can do this alone or
with the help of a local livestock specialist. Make sure not to introduce any
kind of infection into the vagina.
"Afterbirth"
@ Caution
Do not hang heavy weights on the membrane coming out of the
vagina. This will be very harmful to the cow.
After removing the retained placenta, use one of the mixtures
below to control bleeding from the uterus. These treatments will also help to
contract the uterus.
Boil 200-300 g of Linum usifatissimum seeds in 1 liter of water
until only half the water remains. Drench all this amount twice a day for 7
days. (India. 1, 3, 4, 5)
20g Zingiber officinale (ginger) rhizome.
30g Peucadenum
graveolens seeds.
30g Trachyspermum ami (bishop's weed) seeds.
30g
Trigonella foenumgraecum (fenugreek) seeds.
20g Nigella sativa (black cumin)
seeds. 20g Asparagus racemosus (asparagus) roots.
20g Bamhusa sp. (bamboo)
leaves.
10g Saraca indica (ashoka) tree bark.
10g Pedalium maurex bark.
Powder these ingredients and mix in 1 liter of water. Boil the
mixture until only half the water is left. Give as a lukewarm drench 2 times a
day for 7 days.
After drenching the decoction, mix the remaining pulp with Linum
usitatissimum (linseed) seeds, molasses or brown sugar and feed it to the
animal. (India. 1, 3, 4, 5)
· Make a decoction of 1 kg of
guava (Psidium gunjava) leaves in 4 liters of water. Cool the liquid and then
using a clean cloth, wash the vagina. (Philippines, Sri Lanka.1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Vaginal bleeding
Continuous bleeding from the vagina after birth is generally due
to injury to the vagina or uterus during birthing, whether by accident or
mishandling.
Prevention
If assistance is given in deliveries, minimum force should be
applied and care taken not to injure the vagina or uterus.
Treatment
· Take 50 g of fresh Acacia
arabica bark and 50 g of dried sesame seeds. Powder separately and mix together
with 50 g of brown sugar. Make a bolus and put into the mouth of an adult animal
twice a day for 2-3 days or until the bleeding stops. Give half of the dosage to
small animals. (India. 1, 2, 3)
Prolapse of the uterus
Sometimes the entire uterus comes out of the vulva after birth.
It will look like a red, inflated inner tube of a car tire. If this happens,
seek professional help. While waiting, do the following. Stockraisers in most
Asian countries know of this technique.
1 If the animal is lying down, gently clean and wrap the uterus
with a large, clean cloth. Be sure not to injure the uterus.
Prolapsed uterus
2. If the animal is standing, wrap the uterus with a large
cloth. Raise the uterus up with another large cloth. Tie the cloth to the roof
of the shed so the uterus is parallel to the ground. Firmly tie the animal to a
post in such a way that it cannot move about.
To replace the uterus inside the abdomen, do the following:
1. Tie up the animal on a sloped surface as shown in the
picture. This sloping position will help the uterus stay in place.
2. Mix 2
tablespoons of alum powder or sugar in 2 liters of water. Apply this to the
surface of the uterus. This will make it shrink slightly.
3. Push the uterus
back in with your clean hands.
Tie up the animal on a sloped
4. When the uterus is replaced in the abdomen, press a rope in
between the hind legs and over the tail and tie it up as shown in the picture.
This will keep the vulval lips tight and supported for a few days. This will
prevent the prolapse from occurring again.
Lateral view
Posterior
view
