Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2011 12:05:33 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
I’m coming to you for input regarding our jersey’s mysterious and abrupt drop in milk production… any thoughts on what might be going on? Here’s what I know:
- Butters is about 9-10 years old and has had 8 or 9 calves total.
- She calved on March 20, and we started milking again at the end of May.
- Production was normal for her, about 1 gallon milked 1x at 530am (after 12 hours apart from the calf).
- June 2 or 3, production abruptly dropped to <1 quart, also had some loose stool for a few days.
- June 6, production up a little to ½-1 gallon, stool normal.
- June 12, drop again, <1 quart, less than before, stool normal.
- June 16, production still miserable, stool still normal. This morning her teats were floppy before I even started to milk her!
Related details:
She has poor quality pasture right now but free access to good hay, and we feed her 12% sweet feed (lots) while we milk, and when we pen her up at night. It’s been REALLY hot here, up around 100 degrees. She always has shade, water, and access to one of those red mineral blocks. She’s pretty skinny though, I must say… looking kinda worn which I assume is b/c of the calf? No signs of fever, mastitis, or anything bothering her; she is energetic and apparently normal. The calf still nurses voraciously, though he is eating hay with the grownups. We have been milking by hand since her production has dropped below ½ gallon, as it’s not worth the trouble to pull out the machine for so little (my hand-milking technique is good).
Thoughts:
- Worms? She hasn’t been wormed in more than a year; we didn’t know to do it after she calved, and now we’re trying to avoid 6 weeks without milk…
- She’s cycling? But the two episodes are too close together…
- At first we thought the calf was stealing milk through the fence (large wire holes), but we put up chicken wire and her production stayed low.
I have done my homework and cannot come up with anything else to explain this. Can anyone offer advice? THANK YOU
I’m coming to you for input regarding our jersey’s mysterious and abrupt drop in milk production… any thoughts on what might be going on? Here’s what I know:
- Butters is about 9-10 years old and has had 8 or 9 calves total.
- She calved on March 20, and we started milking again at the end of May.
- Production was normal for her, about 1 gallon milked 1x at 530am (after 12 hours apart from the calf).
- June 2 or 3, production abruptly dropped to <1 quart, also had some loose stool for a few days.
- June 6, production up a little to ½-1 gallon, stool normal.
- June 12, drop again, <1 quart, less than before, stool normal.
- June 16, production still miserable, stool still normal. This morning her teats were floppy before I even started to milk her!
Related details:
She has poor quality pasture right now but free access to good hay, and we feed her 12% sweet feed (lots) while we milk, and when we pen her up at night. It’s been REALLY hot here, up around 100 degrees. She always has shade, water, and access to one of those red mineral blocks. She’s pretty skinny though, I must say… looking kinda worn which I assume is b/c of the calf? No signs of fever, mastitis, or anything bothering her; she is energetic and apparently normal. The calf still nurses voraciously, though he is eating hay with the grownups. We have been milking by hand since her production has dropped below ½ gallon, as it’s not worth the trouble to pull out the machine for so little (my hand-milking technique is good).
Thoughts:
- Worms? She hasn’t been wormed in more than a year; we didn’t know to do it after she calved, and now we’re trying to avoid 6 weeks without milk…
- She’s cycling? But the two episodes are too close together…
- At first we thought the calf was stealing milk through the fence (large wire holes), but we put up chicken wire and her production stayed low.
I have done my homework and cannot come up with anything else to explain this. Can anyone offer advice? THANK YOU