Cows should preferably calve in a clean dry environment, but in a pasture situation, this is not always under our control!

An area which has more than 2 pats of manure per square metre is not clean enough to calve cows.

This applies not only to the calving area as a whole, but also to areas within the calving area.

For example, cows will often camp around hay rings, under trees, etc and these areas can become very highly contaminated and thus are also a very high risk for mastitis in calving cows.

Fencing off these areas with a "hot wire" will dramatically reduce the risk of environmental contamination and infection.

Try and choose a reasonably well drained area - if there is pugging or mud, or if you can see water lying in boot prints, then it is probably too wet for calving cows.