Before the first heifer begins the calving process this spring, it would be wise to review what takes place in a normal delivery. Understanding “normal” will help us better recognize problems when they occur and therefore provide assistance when necessary.

Stage 1

The first stage of parturition is dilation of the cervix. The normal cervix is tightly closed right up until the cervical plug is completely dissolved. In stage 1, cervical dilation begins some 4 to 24 hours before the completion of parturition. During this time the “progesterone block” is no longer present and the uterine muscles are becoming more sensitive to all factors that increase the rate and strength of contractions. At the beginning, the contractile forces primarily influence the relaxation of the cervix but uterine muscular activity is still rather quiet. Stage 1 is likely to go completely unnoticed, but there may be some behavioral differences such as isolation or discomfort. At the end of stage one, there may be come behavioral changes such as elevation of the tail, switching of the tail and increased mucous discharge. Before “pulling” a calf in stage 2, it is imperative that stage 1 (cervical dilation) is complete.

Stage 2

The second stage of parturition is defined as the delivery of the newborn. It begins with the entrance of the membranes and fetus into the pelvic canal and ends with the completed birth of the calf. So the second stage is the one in which we really are interested. This is where all the action is. Clinically, and from a practical aspect we would define it as the appearance of membranes or water bag at the vulva. The traditional texts, fact sheets, magazines, and other publications that we read state that stage 2 in cattle lasts from 2 to 4 hours. Data from Oklahoma State University and the USDA experiment station at Miles City, Montana, would indicate that stage two is much shorter being approximately 60 minutes for heifers and 30 minutes for cows. In these studies, assistance was given if stage two progressed more than two hours after the appearance of water bag at the vulva. The interesting thing about the data was that heifers calving unassisted did so in an hour after the initiation of stage two and cows did so within 30 minutes of the initiation of stage two. Those that took longer needed assistance. These and other data would indicate that normal stage two of parturition would be redefined as approximately 60 minutes for heifers and 30 minutes for adult cows. In heifers, not only is the pelvic opening smaller, but also the soft tissue has never been expanded. Older cows have had deliveries before and birth should go quite rapidly unless there is some abnormality such as a very large calf, backwards calf, leg back or twins.

Stage 3

The third stage of parturition is the shedding of the placenta or fetal membranes. In cattle this normally occurs in less than 8-12 hours. The membranes are considered retained if after 12 hours they have not been shed. Years ago it was considered necessary to remove the membranes by manually “unbuttoning” the attachments. Research has shown that manual removal is detrimental to uterine health and future conception rates. Administration of antibiotics usually will guard against infection and the placenta will slough out in 4-7 days. Contact your veterinarian for the proper management of retained placenta.

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PRUNING FRUIT TREES

Fruit trees are pruned to train trees for production of greatest yield and highest quality fruit. Among the fruit trees requiring pruning are peaches, apricots, apples, pears and quince. Of these, pears and quince require the least pruning, while peaches require the most.

Pruning is not training. Training fruit trees to a strong framework is done by establishing scaffold branches, the primary limbs radiating from the trunk of a tree. Today we’re discussing two very different training systems, that of peach and pear.

The first is the “open vase” or “open center” approach that is recommended for peaches, as the center is open, allowing the sun to penetrate the interior of the tree. This system involves techniques that develop two to four — preferably three — scaffold branches that arise near each other on the trunk, about equal in size.

Branches with narrow crotches have forks that often split when bearing a heavy fruit load; therefore, leave scaffolds that have wide angles of 60 to 90 degrees spaced equally around the trunk, arising at as low as 24 inches from the ground. Small and secondary limbs with growth directed to the inside of the canopy should be removed from the center, thus creating an open vase.

Four Steps to Prune a Mature Peach Tree:

1. Remove all hanger shoots, rootstock suckers, and water sprouts in the lower three feet of the tree. This removal of lower growth clears a path for herbicide applications and allows for air circulation.

2. Remove all shoots above seven feet in height other than red 18 – 24-inch fruiting shoots. Cuts need to be at selected points where the scaffold and sub-scaffold limbs extend up-ward at a 45 – 50-degree angle. Cuts which leave limbs sideways at a 90-degree angle should be avoided.

3. Remove all water sprouts (excessively vigor-ous growth) which grow toward the inside of the tree.

4. Remove all old gray wood in the three to seven-foot production zone.

Late-spring frost is the single greatest factor in Texas peach production and pruning early in the year removes much of the flower bud crop that constitutes “insurance” against crop loss. The peach tree will bloom soon after pruning when chilling is satisfied, and warm weather follows. Growers with only a few trees can wait until “pink bud” to prune while larger growers traditionally prune as late in the spring as they can while still allowing for enough time to complete the task. Mature peach trees often take 20 to 30 minutes to prune properly.

The second training system is for pears, which require very light pruning. Even light pruning may induce water sprouts and fast-growing terminal growth. Such growth will be vegetative and will not bear fruit but more critically, is susceptible to fire blight infection. For pears, restrict pruning cuts to branches that rub each other and to water sprouts as they appear.

To train pear trees, spread scaffolds of young trees by bending upright-growing branches to a wide angle and holding them there with properly cut lengths of wood, such as dowels or wood pieces used as spreader-sticks. In each end of the spreader-stick, drive a small nail in to half its length. Cut the head of the nail off at an angle, leaving a sharp point. The pointed nail in each end is used to hold the spreader in place. After several seasons, the limbs will no longer need the spreader-sticks to maintain a wide angle. Spreading branches is an essential practice with most pear, sweet cherry and apple trees.