On the average, producers check heifers 2.9 times per 24-hour period during the calving season. This means that heifers having trouble calving may be undetected for up to 12 to 24 hours. Further, on the average, producers allow heifers to labor for 2.9 hours prior to giving them assistance. Over 42 percent of producers allow cows to labor 3 or more hours. For some producers, that ability to observe calving animals is dictated by facilities.
Few producers use calving lots, calving pens, or covered sheds or barns for calving.
These management strategies make it difficult to practice early intervention in a difficult calving and make it more likely that dystocia will result in an unfavorable outcome for the calf and have detrimental, longer-term impacts on the reproductive capacity of the dam.