Calving, at what point would you get concerned

[Dexter]

My first cow to calf took less than 72 hours, from mucus-bagging up-calf. I was concerned but everything turned out beautifully.

Now, I have a cow with 2 previous calves showing. It has now been 4 days of mucus, 4 days of bagging up. I know there is tremendous variation.
She is still eating and drinking, more than before if anything. Greedy!
She has been loose in the back end for 48 hours- actually more now. She is skinny in my opinion, and I never would have guessed she`d be calving now- she came preg.

When she lays down there is definitely something pushing up against her back end. However she has not had one contraction that I can tell. But everytime she lays down I get the camera out. She chews cud.
Thanks.

[randiliana]

Nothing at all to worry about yet. Some cows will show like that for a couple weeks, some won't show hardly at all. Some bag up early some wait til after they calve.

Signs that she is going into labour (First Stage of labour)
- She will get restless, and probably wander around a lot
- She will get up and lay down a lot, sometimes turning in circles
- She may become vocal, that little moo that they talk to their baby with
- She will carry her tail out constantly, may even have it curled over her back.
- She may kick at her belly

Signs that she is in the second stage of labour (the delivery stage)
- You will see the water bag, or membranes hanging out of her (usually)
- You will see the hooves and pretty soon the nose
- You may see a clear fluid draining out of her, this is amniotic fluid
- She will lay down, and stretch out on her side
- She may get up and down a lot

How to know you may have problems
- If she shows signs that she is going into labour for more than 4 hours
- If she had the waterbag and you see no progress within 1/2 to 1 hour
- If you see a foot/feet but no progress within 15 to 30 min

In these cases someone should be examining the cow to see what is wrong. Sometimes nothing is wrong, but at least you know this. But usually if there is no progress happening either there is a malpresentation or the calf is too big.

[Debbie at Bount]

I usually give a cow a week with the mucus before I worry. I put up my first timers in a pen but the rest I check each day. They ususally come up to the feeders with a 2 day old on them.

[francismilker]

Call me lazy about it if you want, but after a cow gets over having her first calf, I don't pay her any attention for the next ones. She's already proven she can lay down and get one out and take care of the calf so I let her do the worrying about it.
I know statistically it's possible for one to have a breach calf or some complications, but not a very high percentage of the time. I just leave them a lone and let them do their thing. They are usually a lot more calm about it if you let them go and find their hiding spot for calving and get it done when the time comes. I did have a heifer last year that was late on the gestation calendar by two weeks and would lay down and "push" with all she had for those two weeks. After I called the vet and he checked her for me and said "she'll calve when she's ready" she had it on her own a few days later.
About the mucous, I've seen it last a month or so before calving.