Post by Lannie on Dec 16, 2009 13:32:51 GMT -5
I guess it could be several things, but this is puzzling.
Bandit was giving 6 gallons of milk a day up until I took her to visit the bull a couple weeks ago. I know this because I milked one side only, morning and evening for a couple of days and got 3 gallons each day (assuming the other side also had 3 gallons, that makes 6).
While Bandit and Seven were visiting the bull, the bad cold snap hit. Today is the first day it's gone above freezing since November 30th. Most days the highs have been only in the single digits or low teens, with lows well below zero. The other day, our high was only minus 5. So it's been cold.
Because of the cold, my milking has been rather intermittent. I just plain don't want to milk if it's below 10 below zero, and on those mornings, I just let Seven milk for me.
Now the last several days, I've been milking in the afternoons, and normally I get less in the afternoons, because the gap between milkings is shorter between morning and afternoon, but it's getting ridiculous. Last night I got MAYBE half a gallon. Before, I would get a little over a gallon in the afternoons, and just shy of (or slightly more than) 2 gallons in the morning. So I decided to go back to mornings, cold or no cold. This morning I got about a gallon and 3 quarts, which is much better than half a gallon, but she was very full to the point of dripping this morning, and I was expecting 2 gallons or more.
So could it just be the cold weather? The fact that she's bred now? My sloppy milking schedule? I'm pretty sure Seven's been keeping her empty on those days I don't milk - I do check her udder and it's not firm at all, so although there might be a little milk left, I wouldn't think it would be that much.
Today I decided to buckle down and milk twice a day, only letting Seven on to get letdowns started, and letting him have about half the milk on "his" side. He's three months old now, and he's eating hay, so that should be OK, shouldn't it? So for instance, this morning, I milked all four quarters for the first letdown, then I brought Seven out and let him get the second letdown started, then put him back in his stall and milked out my side. Then I brought him out again and let him nurse his side until he started switching rapidly back and forth between the teats. I figured he'd about emptied her on that side by then, so I pulled him off and put him out in the pen with a tub of water and a pile of hay. He's not happy.
Anyway, I then finished milking out my side and stripped what I could out of Seven's side, which wasn't much, and then put salve on Bandit's teats. That's the main reason for doing this - because Seven is being rough on the teats and they're covered with little cuts and scabs. It's not that bad, but I know it's starting to bother her because when I first start milking, even if my hands AREN'T cold, she'll lift her foot on whichever side I start on. Not like she's going to kick me, more like, "OUCH, could you be a bit more careful there?" So I think the time of leaving Seven with her all day is at an end. I'm not prepared to wean him completely yet because there might be days when I need a substitute milker, and this is the best plan I could think of.
So do you think her milk production will come back up a bit if the weather moderates? Which it's supposed to do for a week or so, at least. And maybe by milking twice a day, rather than only once and letting Seven take care of the rest? I'm still going to let him have his fair share, just not at will. He'll only get milk twice a day, during milking. Is that OK for a three month old?
~Lannie
Bandit was giving 6 gallons of milk a day up until I took her to visit the bull a couple weeks ago. I know this because I milked one side only, morning and evening for a couple of days and got 3 gallons each day (assuming the other side also had 3 gallons, that makes 6).
While Bandit and Seven were visiting the bull, the bad cold snap hit. Today is the first day it's gone above freezing since November 30th. Most days the highs have been only in the single digits or low teens, with lows well below zero. The other day, our high was only minus 5. So it's been cold.
Because of the cold, my milking has been rather intermittent. I just plain don't want to milk if it's below 10 below zero, and on those mornings, I just let Seven milk for me.
Now the last several days, I've been milking in the afternoons, and normally I get less in the afternoons, because the gap between milkings is shorter between morning and afternoon, but it's getting ridiculous. Last night I got MAYBE half a gallon. Before, I would get a little over a gallon in the afternoons, and just shy of (or slightly more than) 2 gallons in the morning. So I decided to go back to mornings, cold or no cold. This morning I got about a gallon and 3 quarts, which is much better than half a gallon, but she was very full to the point of dripping this morning, and I was expecting 2 gallons or more.
So could it just be the cold weather? The fact that she's bred now? My sloppy milking schedule? I'm pretty sure Seven's been keeping her empty on those days I don't milk - I do check her udder and it's not firm at all, so although there might be a little milk left, I wouldn't think it would be that much.
Today I decided to buckle down and milk twice a day, only letting Seven on to get letdowns started, and letting him have about half the milk on "his" side. He's three months old now, and he's eating hay, so that should be OK, shouldn't it? So for instance, this morning, I milked all four quarters for the first letdown, then I brought Seven out and let him get the second letdown started, then put him back in his stall and milked out my side. Then I brought him out again and let him nurse his side until he started switching rapidly back and forth between the teats. I figured he'd about emptied her on that side by then, so I pulled him off and put him out in the pen with a tub of water and a pile of hay. He's not happy.
Anyway, I then finished milking out my side and stripped what I could out of Seven's side, which wasn't much, and then put salve on Bandit's teats. That's the main reason for doing this - because Seven is being rough on the teats and they're covered with little cuts and scabs. It's not that bad, but I know it's starting to bother her because when I first start milking, even if my hands AREN'T cold, she'll lift her foot on whichever side I start on. Not like she's going to kick me, more like, "OUCH, could you be a bit more careful there?" So I think the time of leaving Seven with her all day is at an end. I'm not prepared to wean him completely yet because there might be days when I need a substitute milker, and this is the best plan I could think of.
So do you think her milk production will come back up a bit if the weather moderates? Which it's supposed to do for a week or so, at least. And maybe by milking twice a day, rather than only once and letting Seven take care of the rest? I'm still going to let him have his fair share, just not at will. He'll only get milk twice a day, during milking. Is that OK for a three month old?
~Lannie