Obstetrical tool for animals

Claim 1

An obstetrical device for assisting cows in giving birth to their calves which comprises: a rigid generally U-shaped yoke effective to bridge the flanks of a cow and confine same against lateral movement; strap means attached to opposite ends of the yoke adapted to arch over the cow's back and support said yoke in position beneath the cow's birth canal; an inner tubular element extending rearwardly from a point of attachment intermediate the ends of the yoke, said element including a slot in the underside thereof opening onto its rear end; an outer tubular element telescoped over the inner tubular element and cooperating therewith to define a rigid post movable between a retracted and an extended position; a first pulley mounted in the rear end of the outer tubular element for rotation about a transverse axis; a second pulley mounted within the bottom of the outer tubular element for rotation within the slot in the inner tubular element about a vertical axis; a winch frame including a sleeve mounted on the outer tubular element for longitudinal slidable movement between the ends thereof, said frame including means for attaching an obstetrical chain thereto and a pair of upstanding transversely spaced supports; a crank-operated winch drum mounted between the spaced supports of the winch frame for rotational movement about a transverse axis; and, a winch cable wound upon the winch drum having one end anchored at a point forward of the outer tubular element that remains fixed with respect to the yoke and the other end anchored inside the outer tubular element adjacent the rear end thereof, the section of said cable lying between the winch drum and the anchor point within the outer tubular element being reaved rearwardly over the first pulley then forwardly inside the post around the second pulley and finally forwardly again to said outer tubular element anchor point, said winch when located at the rear end of the post with the latter in extended position being operative upon actuation in a selected direction to first retract said post and then travel to the forward end thereof, and said winch being operative when at the forward end of the post upon actuation in the opposite direction to first travel to the rear end thereof and subsequently extend same thereby drawing a calf attached to the obstetrical chain from the birth canal of the cow.