Often the calved cow is with her calf and you can record her number in the paddock to draft her in the shed.

But often the cow isn’t with her calf.

This could be be the calf is hiding in the long grass away from the break.

Or the cow might have milk fever or some other health issue.

Don’t assume and check each cow in the shed to confirm they have calved.

Here are some tell tail signs a cow has calved in the shed.

They will have a tight udder like this.

Not like this.

They will often be dripping milk. But so to will a cow about to calve.

If they have afterbirth hanging out they most often have calved but it pays to check all the other signs and if not sure check for a calf.

There will often be blood on the udder.

They won’t look like this and are usually flat sided.

The top of the vulva is split like this.

In a non calved cow there won’t be a split.

There will often be bruising like this.

There are a number of signs that add up to deciding a cow is calved and needs to move to the colostrum mob. Check them all and if unsure feel for a calf or ask someone more experienced.