Well, the vet came out and said she looked pretty big, but not big enough to cause him alarm. So you all were right! LOLOL! He said I could trailer her to the clinic and they'd put her in their chute and he'd examine her (internal palpation) to find out if it's one BIG calf or not. OR just wait until she starts calving and if she has any problems, call them and they'd come get her for calving assistance or a c-section. Waiting is what he recommended as he said the palpation usually wouldn't tell us much about whether she'll need help calving or not ~ even if he could tell the size of the calf, we wouldn't know how much her hips will open up once it's delivery time, so wouldn't really know if she'd have trouble or not ahead of time. Does what he said sound right to you all? Doesn't hurt to get a second (and third and fourth) opinion. ;) And does anybody know how much a bovine c-section costs? I need to factor it in the budget just in case ~ didn't realize they could really do that on just any old cow!
Also, can anyone help refresh my memory on how long calving takes? Last time I actually paid a lot of attention to one I was nine. I know she'll make a bag, then vulva swells, then fluid/mucous/bloody show, the front hooves followed by the nose, then head delivers with front legs, then shoulders and the rest. Just don't trust my memory about the time frame and I want to know when to panic and call the vet.
Thanks, y'all. Talking to y'all about it sure makes it a lot easier to wait it out.
