03/22/2024
The 30-30-30 rule is a great guideline to educate people and to direct their attention to their pregnant animals and know when to start thinking about intervening. Especially for those that are less experienced livestock owners and may not know the normal stages of labor.
I like to recommend starting the 1st 30-minute clock, when one sees fluid, placenta or fetal parts at the open v***a. For the vast majority of births, a fetus (lamb/kid) should be out on the ground within 30 minutes. If mom isn't making progress, this is a good time to reach out to your veterinarian and determine if someone needs to go in to check that mom and if there's a problem that needs to be corrected.
Once the first fetus is out, the 2nd 30-minute clock starts....mom has 30 minutes to start getting that next fetus out. I like to teach clients how to ballotte the uterus for a second or even third fetus. If mom is done, then she should be up cleaning off the neonate(s), and if she still has palpable fetuses in the uterus, the clock is ticking. Some younger moms "forget they are in labor after the first kid and don't be back to business. The point is to monitor, ballotte if she "looks" done and aid if necessary.
The 3rd 30-minute clock starts once the last neonate is out and on the ground. Mom should start passing the placenta. This process can sometimes take a few hours before the placenta is completely expelled but it should be out within 6 hours, if not I like to have my clients reach out to me sooner rather than later because it's always easier to treat a retained placenta if it's diagnosed early.
Keep in mind, these are just guidelines to help people decide whether there is a problem, and if there is a problem, I like to encourage my clients to act and not wait too long.
