Post by uturn on Jul 31, 2008 17:53:35 GMT -5
I'm so frustrated right now I'm nearly ready to sell my cow, though with her track record, I can't imagine what I could get for her!!
Can you please help me figure out what is wrong here?
Background:
I have a Jersey, first-time mom, which I got in May the day after her bull calf was born. We've left them together. At first, I was able to get anywhere from a half to full gallon milking her in the morning, without even separating them. Her udders were usually still quite firm before milking. My take of production then went progressively downhill, though, until I was getting virtually nothing. Literal drops in the bucket.
So, a week and a half ago, we decided enough was enough and it was time to separate them at night. It took a bit of working with the calf, but he is now trained to go into the barn in the evening. We put him up at around 8 or 9pm while we are out putting all the other animals up for the night. We could do him earlier, but want to give him those cooler evening hours outside for grazing.
On a good day, I get 2 cups when I milk her after about 9 hours of separation. It's crazy. It is hardly worth milking and certainly not worth the price we paid for her!
She is grass-fed, though I give her a few pounds of sweet feed and a little alfalfa hay while I milk her to keep her occupied. I'm not sure of all the grass I've got out there, but it's heaviest on brome.
The calf is now nearing 3 months old. When I finish milking, I let her back in to the pasture and she takes off running to the barn and bellowing for me to let out the calf. He comes out and guzzles for probably 30 minutes! Obviously, she's got milk.
The head-scratcher for me is why does she not seem to be firm in the morning? I'm very green at this, obviously, but before, she was firm before milking and I can't help but think that she should be firm after the separation.
So, my milking procedure: I put her in the stanchion and give her the feed. I wash her udder with warm water/ACV and then dry with a clean washcloth. I try to massage a little as I'm doing that. Then, I wash my own hands. Then I squirt out the first one or 2 squirts onto the ground and then start milking. It comes out fairly strong for a minute and then just dribbles out. If I leave the teat and come back to it, I can get more, but it quickly goes to dribbles again. I feel like my milking motions must be okay because I was, at one point, able to get that .5-1 gallon.
I will say that the guy I bought her from breeds for lower, but richer production. He told us not to expect more than 3 gallons a day. At 2 cups, I'm a bit shy of that!
Ok. I think that is all the background info. What is wrong? What can I do? Is it me? Her? What? If her milk production is down, is it possible to increase it? If she's holding back, how do I get her to stop doing that and how long should I expect it to take? Help!!!
Thanks in advance for your time and advice!
Can you please help me figure out what is wrong here?
Background:
I have a Jersey, first-time mom, which I got in May the day after her bull calf was born. We've left them together. At first, I was able to get anywhere from a half to full gallon milking her in the morning, without even separating them. Her udders were usually still quite firm before milking. My take of production then went progressively downhill, though, until I was getting virtually nothing. Literal drops in the bucket.
So, a week and a half ago, we decided enough was enough and it was time to separate them at night. It took a bit of working with the calf, but he is now trained to go into the barn in the evening. We put him up at around 8 or 9pm while we are out putting all the other animals up for the night. We could do him earlier, but want to give him those cooler evening hours outside for grazing.
On a good day, I get 2 cups when I milk her after about 9 hours of separation. It's crazy. It is hardly worth milking and certainly not worth the price we paid for her!
She is grass-fed, though I give her a few pounds of sweet feed and a little alfalfa hay while I milk her to keep her occupied. I'm not sure of all the grass I've got out there, but it's heaviest on brome.
The calf is now nearing 3 months old. When I finish milking, I let her back in to the pasture and she takes off running to the barn and bellowing for me to let out the calf. He comes out and guzzles for probably 30 minutes! Obviously, she's got milk.
The head-scratcher for me is why does she not seem to be firm in the morning? I'm very green at this, obviously, but before, she was firm before milking and I can't help but think that she should be firm after the separation.
So, my milking procedure: I put her in the stanchion and give her the feed. I wash her udder with warm water/ACV and then dry with a clean washcloth. I try to massage a little as I'm doing that. Then, I wash my own hands. Then I squirt out the first one or 2 squirts onto the ground and then start milking. It comes out fairly strong for a minute and then just dribbles out. If I leave the teat and come back to it, I can get more, but it quickly goes to dribbles again. I feel like my milking motions must be okay because I was, at one point, able to get that .5-1 gallon.
I will say that the guy I bought her from breeds for lower, but richer production. He told us not to expect more than 3 gallons a day. At 2 cups, I'm a bit shy of that!
Ok. I think that is all the background info. What is wrong? What can I do? Is it me? Her? What? If her milk production is down, is it possible to increase it? If she's holding back, how do I get her to stop doing that and how long should I expect it to take? Help!!!
Thanks in advance for your time and advice!