verb

• 1no object (of cows and certain other large animals) give birth to a calf.

  ‘Galloway cows have wide pelvises and calve easily’

  More example sentences

  • ‘calving takes place in the spring’
  • ‘We are not aware of similar data reported for cows calving during different seasons of the year.’
  • ‘Cows calved from February 15 to March 20 at the Eastern Colorado Research Center.’
  • ‘Unlike on most dairy farms, all the cows calve at the same time of year, and the cows are not milked in wintertime.’
  • ‘Sara said she probably wouldn't get back to Bolton to see her dad, Leonard, who has a farm in Little Lever, because his cows were calving but she hoped her mum, Jackie, would come and see her at the events.’
  • ‘The cottage was to be built on the Kilkenny Road, but Miss Lennon complained that Mickey's father would be too far away from his work if anything happened, like a cow calving in the middle of the night.’
  • ‘It feels like a fresh start now that we have got cows calving again.’
  • ‘As well as the deaths, it also led to other problems including cows calving on board.’
  • ‘But Mrs Appleby said she was not fazed by the work, including the first time she had to help a cow calve.’
  • ‘If the legs move at each strain it is likely that the cow will calve without too much trouble.’
  • ‘It will be important to leave enough quota for the spring time when cows start calving again.’
  • ‘Not all cows calve by day, so cows have to be monitored for up to 200 nights per year.’
  • ‘This will allow farmers to shift animals from rented grazing land to pasture nearer home to supervise lambing or calving or turn out animals onto summer pasture from overcrowded steadings.’
  • ‘Also, heifers that conceive earlier in their first breeding season calve earlier and wean heavier calves.’
  • ‘Cows were removed from the hay paddock as they calved and were placed on their respective cool-season grass pastures.’
  • ‘Cow and calf producers typically choose to commence calving and breeding at times of the year when weather is least stressful and forage conditions are optimal.’
  • ‘The single dose format also reduces risks associated with excessive handling of animals close to calving.’
  • ‘Cows that calve in hot summer months may experience a longer period from parturition to subsequent pregnancy.’
  • ‘Summer calving in southern and southeastern herds is questionable because of the potential for reduced calf performance.’
  • ‘Before calving, they return to Tuttle and the cycle begins again.’
  • ‘They're very easily kept, you don't need a shed for them and they calve easily.’

  1. 1.1with object (of a person) help (a cow) give birth to a calf.
     ‘people often used to come for him to help calve their cows’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Cows and newly calved heifers are immune to gutworms and very rarely show any signs of infection.’
     • ‘And he claims to have lost 37 calves during the winter, when he could not be present during complicated deliveries, because he was calving elsewhere.’
     • ‘Very often those calved heifers fail to go back in calf easily and become late calvers the following season.’
     • ‘If possible, heifers should be trained to lie in cubicles before entering the main herd, as first calved heifers are a very vulnerable group for lameness.’
     • ‘Two stories and a side shed provide space for calving heifers, storing wagons, and fixing equipment.’
     • ‘She calved her second in the 120-cow herd in June.’
     • ‘I would give those that were calved in the latter end of April and May a little milk all through the winter.’
     • ‘A greater percentage of first-calf heifers required assistance at calving and were calved in a smaller lot, thus increasing the opportunity for additional stress and scours on their calves.’
     • ‘However, the single goal of matching the female's periods of high nutrient demand to optimal forage conditions may not always provide enough information to make informed decisions about when females should be calved.’

• 2with object (of an iceberg or glacier) split and shed (a smaller mass of ice)

  ‘glaciers were calving icebergs directly into the sea’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Out past a cruising leopard seal, the distant Marr Glacier calves another berg, the boom echoing across the water.’
  • ‘The glacier frequently calves huge chunks of ice into the Copper River.’
  • ‘It has shelves that calve big icebergs all the time, and we've tracked a lot of bergs from there.’
  • ‘Another penguin species, the Adelies, were cut off from their breeding grounds by unusually large icebergs, calved from the continental ice shelf.’
  • ‘Ominously, the calving of monstrous Antarctic icebergs is becoming a regular occurrence.’

  1. 2.1no object (of a mass of ice) split off from an iceberg or glacier.
     ‘ice calved off a glacier with a loud explosive crumble’
     More example sentences

     • ‘They have calved off the Grey Glacier and been blown along the lake by the wind.’
     • ‘Every now and then a massive block of ice calved off into the water.’
     • ‘They were bruised and bloodied, but at least they had prevented a huge piece of the ice-shelf from being calved off into the ocean.’
     • ‘Kayak as near as you dare to gigantic cathedrals of ice calving from Alaskan glaciers.’
     • ‘At night, you'll listen to the crack of icebergs calving, reminding you that, while Antarctica might not be far away, everything else is.’
     • ‘In the Northern Hemisphere, because of the thickness of glacial ice and the way it calves, most icebergs are of the more dramatically shaped kinds.’
     • ‘Arctic icebergs tend to calve from fast-moving glaciers and, therefore, tend to look like small mountains bobbing in the sea.’
     • ‘Some 40,000 icebergs are thought to calve annually.’
     • ‘The event was unusual, because it was the second-largest iceberg to calve in the region in 26 months.’
     • ‘I saw and heard the piercing crack of an iceberg calving and the resounding silence on the top of Ellesmere Island.’
     • ‘‘Large icebergs calve off on a fairly regular basis from the larger ice shelves in Antarctica’ he says.’
     • ‘They do drift this far south after calving off the Arctic ice sheets further north.’
     • ‘Vast ice shelves in the Ross and Weddell Seas calve off huge tabular icebergs of hundreds and even thousands of square kilometres, that float away from Antarctica and into the Southern Ocean and drift north.’
     • ‘Glaciers can move and calving can occur, causing huge icebergs to break away and wreak havoc.’
     • ‘Using stable sea kayaks, we'll explore a remote corner of this region, search for wildlife in sheltered coves, and watch glaciers calve into ice-choked bays.’
     • ‘Estimates are that as many as 200 such icebergs have calved during the past 10,000 years.’