Post by amylou on Feb 8, 2009 1:07:02 GMT -5
Hey y'all,
Does a cow's production stay relatively the same from one lactation to the next?
Could mastitis cause a drop in milk production, even if it is a slight case of mastitis?
Could a 2 week old bull calf REALLY be drinking all my milk?
My cow calved 2 weeks ago, and I noticed that she did not engorge as much as she did last calving. This time, on the first milking she gave me almost 2 gallons of colostrum, but since then, she has dropped off in her production. Seems to me that last lactation, she was so full everytime I would go to milk that by the time I had cleaned her udder she was fairly dripping with milk. Not so this time. Last time we had a heifer, this time a bull calf, I have not separated the bull calf from her yet but will be doing that probably tomorrow to see how it goes.
I do think she has a touch of mastitis in her front left quarter as it feels hard to me and there is hardly any milk in there. I also tested her on one of those Dr. Naylor's Mastitis Indicators (or whatever it's called) and three of the quarters showed a little green, only one showed a true yellow. Only this one front left quarter had more green than the others and it is the only one that feels any hardness at all. It is not hot and it is not touchy to her. I have been using hot compresses and massaging it, with no real results. Today, I gave her 2T dolomite, 1T Vit C, Vit E, and Cod Liver Oil with her grain. My plan is to treat her with this to see if we can eradicate whatever is ailing her, but I do have the Today infusions on hand in case I need them. Am I doing this right? I am worried because when I went to milk tonight, she didn't give hardly anything from any of the quarters. (I don't know how much she gave because she did kick the bucket over.) In fact, she has barely given me 1 gallon per milking since she freshened. Am I just panicking? Last year, she would give me almost 2 gallons each milking until the calf got older (maybe 1-2 months?) and then I had to separate to get what I got!
Oh, she also had really loose manure about 3 days ago, but this is firming up now. I took her temp this morning and it was at 100.2.
Am I on the right track? I just don't want to ruin my cow or hurt her in any way.
Amy
Does a cow's production stay relatively the same from one lactation to the next?
Could mastitis cause a drop in milk production, even if it is a slight case of mastitis?
Could a 2 week old bull calf REALLY be drinking all my milk?
My cow calved 2 weeks ago, and I noticed that she did not engorge as much as she did last calving. This time, on the first milking she gave me almost 2 gallons of colostrum, but since then, she has dropped off in her production. Seems to me that last lactation, she was so full everytime I would go to milk that by the time I had cleaned her udder she was fairly dripping with milk. Not so this time. Last time we had a heifer, this time a bull calf, I have not separated the bull calf from her yet but will be doing that probably tomorrow to see how it goes.
I do think she has a touch of mastitis in her front left quarter as it feels hard to me and there is hardly any milk in there. I also tested her on one of those Dr. Naylor's Mastitis Indicators (or whatever it's called) and three of the quarters showed a little green, only one showed a true yellow. Only this one front left quarter had more green than the others and it is the only one that feels any hardness at all. It is not hot and it is not touchy to her. I have been using hot compresses and massaging it, with no real results. Today, I gave her 2T dolomite, 1T Vit C, Vit E, and Cod Liver Oil with her grain. My plan is to treat her with this to see if we can eradicate whatever is ailing her, but I do have the Today infusions on hand in case I need them. Am I doing this right? I am worried because when I went to milk tonight, she didn't give hardly anything from any of the quarters. (I don't know how much she gave because she did kick the bucket over.) In fact, she has barely given me 1 gallon per milking since she freshened. Am I just panicking? Last year, she would give me almost 2 gallons each milking until the calf got older (maybe 1-2 months?) and then I had to separate to get what I got!
Oh, she also had really loose manure about 3 days ago, but this is firming up now. I took her temp this morning and it was at 100.2.
Am I on the right track? I just don't want to ruin my cow or hurt her in any way.
Amy