STUDENTS: Halley Adams, Meaghan Nawrot and Lynn Thiessen
FACULTY MENTORS: Drs. Claire Windeyer and Jennifer Pearson

Following an assisted calving, neonatal calves may present with complications including hypoxia and acidemia. There are intervention options that may be used to improve calf health and viability, and research is currently being done to advance the knowledge base on neonatal calf resuscitation. There are also common interventions that are contraindicated or are not evidence based, which may make decision making for new practitioners more difficult. While there have been several novel treatments that have recently attracted attention, not all of them have proven clinically effective. We gathered relevant literature to create a simplified decision tree to be used following a bovine assisted calving to mitigate complications. Included are specific milestones with normal parameters that calves should achieve, and a systematic approach to interventions when these milestones are not met. These milestones include spontaneous ventilation within the first 30 seconds and remaining in sternal recumbency within the first 2-3 minutes. In the decision tree, we included interventions, and attached optional interventions that are anecdotally based or are currently under investigation. This decision tree will be a useful tool for veterinary practitioners and producers to refer to while preparing for calving, as well as for training clients and staff members.

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