Post by tabitha on Sept 22, 2008 21:29:29 GMT -5
hey all
Nimue calved Sunday morning.
this is the first time i have had a machine to milk with when Nimue came fresh. you may recall that her last 2 times, she got mastitis almost immediately. i recall that at most, over a 3-4 day period of handmilking, i got about 3 gallons of colostrum out of her total. that is 6 milkings worth in the past. this time, i have tried to be slow with her, but it seems like her udder might burst! so i have tried to take pressure off. i have gotten no less than 4 gallons/ day of colostrum, not even emptying her out! (Phoenix is still by her side, until tomorrow evening, which will be the 3rd day)
is this normal? it seems so very excessive. i worry that by taking it i will cause milk fever.
today it felt like she was holding back for the first time in her two front quarters- they were firm and i couldnt get a ton from them (dont worry, no heat, normal milk, etc.). so i focused on getting the rear quarters empty. i got 3 gallons tonight. i am just really surprised.
then, and i hope i didnt make a mistake, i took her down to Jocelyn (Rori's week old calf which is being fed mamas milk by bottle now) and let her try the fullest of the front quarters. Nimue let her. she tried to kick a couple of times when Jocelyn gave her udder a good butting. i only allowed this for a few minutes then i separated them- i dont want Jocelyn to get sick from too much milk. please let me know if you think this was an error or if it would be ok to do this for short periods after each milking for Nimue until she settles in. I will still take Phoenix and use them both in this way at the same time. eventually i will have to stop because Nimue is a champion at holding back for a calf. but for now i would like to keep her healthy even if it means less milk for me.
so, to list my questions:
Nimue calved Sunday morning.
this is the first time i have had a machine to milk with when Nimue came fresh. you may recall that her last 2 times, she got mastitis almost immediately. i recall that at most, over a 3-4 day period of handmilking, i got about 3 gallons of colostrum out of her total. that is 6 milkings worth in the past. this time, i have tried to be slow with her, but it seems like her udder might burst! so i have tried to take pressure off. i have gotten no less than 4 gallons/ day of colostrum, not even emptying her out! (Phoenix is still by her side, until tomorrow evening, which will be the 3rd day)
is this normal? it seems so very excessive. i worry that by taking it i will cause milk fever.
today it felt like she was holding back for the first time in her two front quarters- they were firm and i couldnt get a ton from them (dont worry, no heat, normal milk, etc.). so i focused on getting the rear quarters empty. i got 3 gallons tonight. i am just really surprised.
then, and i hope i didnt make a mistake, i took her down to Jocelyn (Rori's week old calf which is being fed mamas milk by bottle now) and let her try the fullest of the front quarters. Nimue let her. she tried to kick a couple of times when Jocelyn gave her udder a good butting. i only allowed this for a few minutes then i separated them- i dont want Jocelyn to get sick from too much milk. please let me know if you think this was an error or if it would be ok to do this for short periods after each milking for Nimue until she settles in. I will still take Phoenix and use them both in this way at the same time. eventually i will have to stop because Nimue is a champion at holding back for a calf. but for now i would like to keep her healthy even if it means less milk for me.
so, to list my questions:
- is 4 gallons + /day normal? how is it even possible that this tiny cow is giving so much colostrum?
- will emptying her out cause milk fever? she *has* been on a low calcium diet for months.
- did i make a mistake with Jocelyn or can i keep it up in moderation?
- what would you do? would you try to use the calves to get her front quarters empty or would you bottle feed them full time and get through the rough days of not letting down right now? i know i am only postponing those days, we will have to get through them eventually.