Post by jerseylovinliz on Jul 4, 2010 1:47:26 GMT -5
Amber, 5 yr old Jersey, is normally a dear (to me, not so much to others). She really is a doll, normally. It's like somebody took her & left her evil twin. Sorry so long...
The last week/week & a half she has been TERRIBLE. She flings sand w/her front foot (NEVER done that before), stomps her back feet, even started kicking the bucket around. She's constantly moving around. She's intentionally knocking me off my stool & laughing at me w/her big brown eyes. She still wants to be milked. She comes up when it's time, no issue there. She doesn't act like I'm hurting her. She isn't letting down as well as normal, which is WEIRD for her. Her milk production is dropping off greatly every single day/milking. Her milk seems to be getting darker in color. NO strings, film, slim- nothing but good looking milk just a bit more off-white in color. Tastes the same, cream is the same. I am getting to the point where it's not even worth it to milk her anymore. I was getting 6.5-7 gal a day now I'm getting 1 gal a day (2x day milking).
Heat- normally she's a pill in heat but it's 2 days w/discharge & she's just more impatient than normal. I KNOW her when she's in heat & she doesn't act like this. NO discharge now & she hasn't had any since Feb. (I haven't seen a heat since Feb)
Possibly bred- We had a bull 'visit' from Jan - mid April so she's not THAT bred. Was open when I had her palpated in early Jan.
Changes- NO feed changes preceding this. I have increased her grain over the last week to maybe help bump production up. They're strictly grazing now w/grain at milking time. No changes in weight/body condition. It's actually been cooler here b/c of the hurricane the last week. No new animals arriving & no 'friends' have left. EVERYTHING'S the same.
I'm sure I'll think of 10 things to add after I post this but it's a start. What the heck could be wrong w/her? I'm really not ready to dry her up but she's doing it herself it seems. I know this doesn't sound terrible but it's ssooo not her on top of the milk production drop I'm getting concerned. Any ideas or suggestions for me/her? Thanks for listening - Liz
The last week/week & a half she has been TERRIBLE. She flings sand w/her front foot (NEVER done that before), stomps her back feet, even started kicking the bucket around. She's constantly moving around. She's intentionally knocking me off my stool & laughing at me w/her big brown eyes. She still wants to be milked. She comes up when it's time, no issue there. She doesn't act like I'm hurting her. She isn't letting down as well as normal, which is WEIRD for her. Her milk production is dropping off greatly every single day/milking. Her milk seems to be getting darker in color. NO strings, film, slim- nothing but good looking milk just a bit more off-white in color. Tastes the same, cream is the same. I am getting to the point where it's not even worth it to milk her anymore. I was getting 6.5-7 gal a day now I'm getting 1 gal a day (2x day milking).
Heat- normally she's a pill in heat but it's 2 days w/discharge & she's just more impatient than normal. I KNOW her when she's in heat & she doesn't act like this. NO discharge now & she hasn't had any since Feb. (I haven't seen a heat since Feb)
Possibly bred- We had a bull 'visit' from Jan - mid April so she's not THAT bred. Was open when I had her palpated in early Jan.
Changes- NO feed changes preceding this. I have increased her grain over the last week to maybe help bump production up. They're strictly grazing now w/grain at milking time. No changes in weight/body condition. It's actually been cooler here b/c of the hurricane the last week. No new animals arriving & no 'friends' have left. EVERYTHING'S the same.
I'm sure I'll think of 10 things to add after I post this but it's a start. What the heck could be wrong w/her? I'm really not ready to dry her up but she's doing it herself it seems. I know this doesn't sound terrible but it's ssooo not her on top of the milk production drop I'm getting concerned. Any ideas or suggestions for me/her? Thanks for listening - Liz