How to Perform Rectal Palpation in Cows and Heifers

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Co-authored by Karin Lindquist
Last Updated: March 26, 2020 Approved

Rectal palpation is a very common and highly popular method among all cattle
producers in primarily performing pregnancy checks on cows and heifers, and also for
checking the reproductive organs of a bull during a bull breeding soundness exam. For
the purpose of this article, though, the focus is primarily on cows and heifers. "Preg-
checking" or pregnancy checking female cattle often yields successful results especially
if performed by an experience technician. Rectal palpation is undoubtedly the messiest,
yet cheapest and often quickest form of preg-checking that can be easily learned by all
those who have a breeding herd of cattle.

Steps
1. 1

Confine the
cow. Put the
female
bovine to a
squeeze
chute or
head-gate
with gates on
either side
that prevents
her from
moving side-
to-side.

2. 2

Dress up. An OB (obstetrical) suit or coveralls are best for this job. However, if
you have old clothes that you don't mind getting dirty, then those will work fine as
well.

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3. 3

Glove up.
Put on
fingered latex
shoulder-
length gloves
on the one
arm
(preferably
your
strongest
arm) you will
use to do
rectal
palpation
with.

4. 4

Lube up.
Apply a
handful of
OB lubricant
to your hand,
and rub it so
that it gets
above your
hand as well
as the
inside.[1]

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5. 5

Go in. Grab
the tail with
one hand
(the one not
gloved up),
hold up
above your
head (see
photo above)
and with the
gloved one,
form a kind
of closed-
puppet
mouth
configuration
with your
hand (thumb
tip
connecting
with all four
tips of your
fingers), and
with the
point of the
top of your
fingers
forming a 45
to 60 degree
angle, push
into the
rectum of the
cow.
You will have to push hard because the cow will be straining against you to
push you out. Keep your wrist rigid and in-line with the rest of your arm,
and keep your elbow flexed slightly so you have enough strength to push into
the cow's rectum.

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6. 6

Expel
unwanted
feces that
are taking
up too
much
room. If the
rectum is full
of feces, then
carefully
scoop the
loose fecal
matter with
your hand
and retract
your hand
enough so that you can expel the feces for the cow. Expel enough of the feces that
you have room enough to work, so you can reach and find the cervix.

7. 7

Locate the
cervix. It
will be below
your hand, as
will the rest
of the female
bovine's
reproductive
tract. You
should be
able to feel a
hard
cylindrical
shape part of
the way in. If
you are up to
your shoulder in the cow and still can't find the cervix, you're too far in. Move back
until you can feel the cylindrical object below your fingers.

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8. 8

Move
further into
the cow. If
you have
short arms,
you may
either need a
stool to stand
on, or have to
go in right up
to your
shoulder to
feel for
anything in
the fallopian
tubes or
uterus of the cow.

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9. 9

Feel for the

fetus and
uterine
tract. If you
feel anything
that feels like
the uterus is
distended,
with a small
oval ball of
liquid
floating
inside it or
something
that feels like
a fetus, then
you have found that the cow is bred. If you don't feel anything of the sort, just a
uterus, then she may be open (not bred).[2]
It takes a lot of practice to know what you're feeling for. Often it's best to
preg-check 2 to 5 months into the cow's gestation period, so that you know
you are feeling for something larger than a golf-ball sized ovary. The sizes
you should be feeling are according to how far along the cow is:[3]
2 months - size of a mouse
3 months - size of a rat
4 months - size of a small cat
5 months - size of a large cat
6 months - size of a small dog
7 months - size of a Beagle
These size comparisons are useful if you have a dead premature
calf that may have been aborted.
A vet or bovine practitioner who has had more experience and has preg-
checked more cows will be more accurate than one who has done only a few
cows. Thus saying, the more practice you get or the more chances you get to
preg-check cows, the more accurate you'll become.

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 10. 10

Pull out
and release
the cow.
Once you've
determined if
the cow or
heifer is
pregnant and
how far
along, pull
your arm out
of the cow,
and release
her back into
the herd, and
repeat with
another cow or heifer.

11. 11

Discard
glove into
the trash
after you
are done.

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Community Q&A
Search

Add New Question

7/19
Question

Whenever I perform rectal palpation, I can never get my hands on uterine horns,
but ovaries are palpated well by indirect approach. How can I find the uterine
horns?

Karin

Top Answerer

This isn't going to be very helpful, but you won't be able to find them. The uterine
horns are going to be very difficult to find, because they are as soft tissue as the
rectal wall. What you're really going to be feeling for is the more harder, denser
tissues like the ovaries, the cervix, and the small embryo-turned-fetus. You're
doing everything right if you can feel the ovaries and, if you went more shallow,
the cervix. The fetus can be felt in the uterine horns, so that's what you're really
going to be feeling for, not the uterine horns themselves.

Question

What is the treatment if a cow does not come into full heat rather than it used to
be in false heat?

Karin

Top Answerer

There is no treatment available. You just have to wait it out and hope she doesn't
abort and ends up keeping her calf to full term. A pregnant cow will have a false
heat, but it doesn't necessarily equate to her aborting the calf.

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Question

Do I have to go through the rectum to pregnancy check a heifer?

Cora Provencher

Community Answer

You most likely should. If it is a new mom, her vulva won't be as loose as a mom
who has had a few calves. To cause the cow less pain, you should preform a rectal
examination.

Question

What would be the risk of doing rectal examination? I am thinking that abortion
and infection may be possible.

Karin

Top Answerer

If you're very rough with palpating the cow, not using a clean shoulder-length
glove, or even puncture the rectal wall, you could most definitely introduce
infection or cause an abortion. Going in too early--such as 60 days post-breeding
vs. 90 or 120 days post breeding, the risk of abortion is greater. Basically, the thing
is just be gentle, wear a clean shoulder-length glove, and don't go in so early, and
the risk of abortion and/or infection to the cow will be very low.

Question

Can a pregnant heifer come into heat again when three months pregnant?

Community Answer

This could be a false heat, so yes. Heifers tend to have their hormones out of
whack and don't have the level of progesterone that older cows do, and can have
enough estrogen level to go into a standing heat. So she could have a false heat
now, but still be pregnant.

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Question

Is the rumen close to the uterus?

Community Answer

Yes. The rumen is more towards the front of the animal and sits on the left side.
The uterus is closer to the rear, below the rectum.

Question

How would I know I am feeling the rumen rather than the uterus?

Community Answer

If your arms can extend that far into a cow's rectum and you feel the contractions
of an organ beneath your hand, then you would be feeling the rumen. Otherwise, if
you don't go in as far and feel first for the cervix, then for an ovary (which will sort
of feel like a ball through the rectal wall), then you are in the right place. The key is
to not go too deep.

Question

How far into the rectum do I go before I start heading down towards the uterus?

Karin

Top Answerer

For most cows, you only need to go in about two feet (18 to 24 inches) before you
start feeling for the fetus in the uterus; a little further to feel for the ovaries.

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 Question

How can I tell if a heifer has started cycling from a rectal palpation?

Karin

Top Answerer

If you feel for the ovaries and feel for a larger lump, typically that is the corpus
luteum, or the rupture of part of the ovary releasing the ovum to the Fallopian
tubes. The CL should have a rough surface felt by the fingertips. It also feels
harder to the touch than the follicles of the ovary.

Unanswered Questions

If a bred cow has a false heat, will she stand for a bull? If so would mating damage
the embryo?

Answer

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Tips
Some producers, vets, and your AI instructor will prefer to change gloves in
between cows to prevent the spread of reproductive diseases like Trichomoniasis.
Often this is a good hygienic practice to adopt to prevent any spread of disease
from one cow to another.

Thanks!
Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0

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The best times to preg-check cattle is 45 to 90 days after breeding. Limits may be
reached by the time the cow is in her last trimester (often 7 to 9 months gestation),
because for some cattle the fetus may put pressure on the rectum making it more
difficult to reach in for a feel.

Thanks!
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1
The anus of a cow is located above the vulva, which is a slit below the anus. You
need to go into the anus of the cow, not the vulva, to do proper preg-checking.

Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
If you do not have the experience or cannot find the time to learn how to preg-
check cows yourself, get a local large-animal veterinarian to do it for you. Make
sure he/she's one that has done a lot of work on large animals like cattle and
horses, so you will get less chance of mistakes than from one that only does this
kind of job on occasion.

Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Practice makes perfect. Don't expect to get it right off the bat, as you may have to
be in the cow for a few minutes before you actually find anything.

Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
You may wish to take a course in Artificial Insemination provided by a company
that sells bull semen to cattle producers (like Genex, Semex, Select Sires, etc.) to
get a better understanding and get better instruction (and practice) of how to
preg-check cows. Since AI'ing involves the same "invasive" procedures as
described above, you will most likely learn how to preg-check along with how to
AI cattle.
Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
The best determination of a cow's due date is from keeping good breeding records.
If you know when a cow has been bred and if she did become pregnant, then you
have a very good idea of when she will give birth.

Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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 There are many other indications that a cow is pregnant besides feeling for a fetus
and/or an enlarged uterus.
The position of the ovaries may change as pregnancy progresses, pulling
them deeper into the abdominal cavity.
Between 5.5 and 7.5 months it may be more difficult to feel the fetus because
it may have descended deeper into the abdominal cavity. If you can reach far
enough, you may be able to feel the head or flexed limbs of the fetus.
From 7.5 months to the end of gestation, it may be a bit easier to feel for the
fetus because you would be able to feel the head and possibly feet as well,
depending on how the fetus is positioned in the uterus. However, some cows
may be quite deep-bodied from having several other previous calves that it
still may be difficult to feel for a fetus. Feeling for the cotyledons on the
placenta is one way of determining pregnancy; feeling for the uterine veins is
another method, as they will be larger and have a strong vibrating pulse
when palpated.
Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Observation is another method of determining pregnancy in cows. Things like
increase in belly-size during late gestation, changes in the udder, or a swelling
along the belly just before the udder may develop.
If you have been observing and recording the regular heat cycles of your
cows, and find that they have missed one or two or more heat cycles, then
this is yet another indication of pregnancy.
Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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Warnings

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 Spreading your fingers in the rectum may cause damage to the rectal wall which is
deadly for the cow in most cases.

Thanks!
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1
Some cows may be a bit less tolerant you sticking your arm up their rear than
others. You may get kicked, or the cow may suddenly decide she wants to move
around or go down with you still inside her. Try to move with her as best as you
can, but there will be risk for pulling a muscle in your arm or even breaking your
arm if things really get out of hand.

Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
If you get easily grossed out from things like fresh stinky cow poop or having to
rectal palpate your cows, or just even the thought of having to do it, then don't do
it. Get a large-animal vet to do it for you.

Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Don't pull out too fast, otherwise you will end up with a pile of cow manure all
over you. Pull out slow and easy, allowing the anus to naturally close on its own as
you pull out.

Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Make sure you're going in the right "hole." If you go in the vulva, you could
potentially cause an abortion since you may have taken away the cervical plug, or
palpated the fetus a little too much.
Too vigorous a palpation through the rectal wall may cause abortions or the
death of a fetus. You could sever the connection between the placenta and
uterine wall, cutting off the fetus's life-giving connection between it and the
dam. Be firm yet gentle, and do not be too aggressive with your actions.
Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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Things You'll Need

Shoulder length latex fingered gloves (have a pack of over 100 if necessary)
Coveralls or OB suit (especially if you don't want to get your clothes dirty)
OB lube
Head-gate with squeeze chute
Cows/heifers that need preg-checking

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References

About This Article

KL

Co-authored by:

Karin Lindquist

Animal Scientist

This article was co-authored by Karin Lindquist, a trusted member of wikiHow's

community. Karin Lindquist earned a BSc in Agriculture as an Animal Science major
from the University of Alberta, Canada. She has over 20 years of experience working
with cattle and crops. She's worked for a mixed-practice veterinarian, as a sales
representative in a farm supply store, and as a research assistant doing rangeland, soil,
and crop research. She currently works as a forage and beef agriculture extension
specialist, advising farmers on a variety of issues relating to their cattle and the forages
they grow and harvest. This article has been viewed 259,180 times.

548 votes - 93%

Co-authors: 15

Updated: March 26, 2020

Views: 259,180

Categories: Cattle Reproduction

In other languages
Русский:определить беременность у коров и телок при помощи ректальной
пальпации
Português:Identificar a Gestação Através da Palpação Retal em Vacas e Novilhas
Italiano:Rilevare la Gravidanza in Mucche e Giovenche Mediante la Palpazione Rettale
Español:detectar si una vaca o vaquilla está preñada mediante la palpación rectal

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Reader Success Stories

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Nov 7, 2017

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