Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2011 15:53:38 GMT -5
Trueheart is my Jersey cow. Her calf was born May 10th and is doing great (after a rough start). Her calf, Bessie, has been on her 24/7 since then. I milk twice a day -- 7am and 7pm. The issue:
* I was getting 6-7 quarts a day for a long time, then recently the growing calf starting taking more and more. At first one teat milked out, then two. Then a few days ago at evening milk 3 teats already milked out! That day I got 5.5 quarts, my lowest ever. I decided to try separating them overnight.
* That night I put Bessie in a separate part of the stall so she could see mama but not nurse. That happened around 7:30pm.
* Next morning, 6:30am, I go in. Baby resting OK but mama distressed, bellowing a bit. Took her a little bit to settle into milking. I noticed her udder was really full and hard -- got 6 quarts in one session, the most ever. So I figured that was the first time she hadn't had the calf taking SOME so it was distressing to her to get so full. All OK but -- very little cream. Maybe 1/2 inch on a gallon whereas I'm used to getting 2-3". So I'm thinking, I prefer less volume and more cream. Experiment failed.
* After milking I let the calf out -- noticed she had diarrhea. The only thing she had in her stall that she might have gotten into was well water and straw. I thought maybe she had tried some of that and upset her stomach -- hoped she'd be fine by evening.
* Evening comes. Calf has been with mama all day. I expect to have several teats milked out. No, one teat is milked out some but 3 are full and the front udder on the milking side is huge and hard and the nipple hard -- difficult to milk out. I got another 5.5 quarts!
* At this point I'm worried the calf was sick and not feeding that day. I leave them together overnight.
* Next morning (today) -- calf poop now solid but not chocolate brown like normal, more of a tan/gray. But that's an improvement. Unfortunately, mama not so good. 7am milking -- another 5.5 quarts! Now the 'hard' quarter yesterday is mostly nursed out but the opposite front teat is overfull, hard and milks forever. The milk seems a little watery to me and it is definitely very little cream. Again: is mama producing more milk or is calf not nursing?
* Today 4pm, I checked on them. Calf and mama together all day. Calf *seems* OK -- I feel her tummy, it is very full. But mama is distressed. It is *hot* (95) so maybe that's her problem, but she is panting and her nose is dripping. Her udder is super full and both front quarters seem really hard. She's walking 'around' her overfull udder like when she was pregnant. This shouldn't be the case since it's still a few hours from milk time and the calf has been on her all day.
Where is all this milk coming from!? I haven't noticed any signs of clumping, cheesiness or anything. Quite the opposite - more watery. She had edema while pregnant. Did moving the calf off her for one night cause some kind of milk crisis?
This is my first cow/mama so I would appreciate any clue as to what might be going on.
Regards,
Jane in Lancaster County PA
* I was getting 6-7 quarts a day for a long time, then recently the growing calf starting taking more and more. At first one teat milked out, then two. Then a few days ago at evening milk 3 teats already milked out! That day I got 5.5 quarts, my lowest ever. I decided to try separating them overnight.
* That night I put Bessie in a separate part of the stall so she could see mama but not nurse. That happened around 7:30pm.
* Next morning, 6:30am, I go in. Baby resting OK but mama distressed, bellowing a bit. Took her a little bit to settle into milking. I noticed her udder was really full and hard -- got 6 quarts in one session, the most ever. So I figured that was the first time she hadn't had the calf taking SOME so it was distressing to her to get so full. All OK but -- very little cream. Maybe 1/2 inch on a gallon whereas I'm used to getting 2-3". So I'm thinking, I prefer less volume and more cream. Experiment failed.
* After milking I let the calf out -- noticed she had diarrhea. The only thing she had in her stall that she might have gotten into was well water and straw. I thought maybe she had tried some of that and upset her stomach -- hoped she'd be fine by evening.
* Evening comes. Calf has been with mama all day. I expect to have several teats milked out. No, one teat is milked out some but 3 are full and the front udder on the milking side is huge and hard and the nipple hard -- difficult to milk out. I got another 5.5 quarts!
* At this point I'm worried the calf was sick and not feeding that day. I leave them together overnight.
* Next morning (today) -- calf poop now solid but not chocolate brown like normal, more of a tan/gray. But that's an improvement. Unfortunately, mama not so good. 7am milking -- another 5.5 quarts! Now the 'hard' quarter yesterday is mostly nursed out but the opposite front teat is overfull, hard and milks forever. The milk seems a little watery to me and it is definitely very little cream. Again: is mama producing more milk or is calf not nursing?
* Today 4pm, I checked on them. Calf and mama together all day. Calf *seems* OK -- I feel her tummy, it is very full. But mama is distressed. It is *hot* (95) so maybe that's her problem, but she is panting and her nose is dripping. Her udder is super full and both front quarters seem really hard. She's walking 'around' her overfull udder like when she was pregnant. This shouldn't be the case since it's still a few hours from milk time and the calf has been on her all day.
Where is all this milk coming from!? I haven't noticed any signs of clumping, cheesiness or anything. Quite the opposite - more watery. She had edema while pregnant. Did moving the calf off her for one night cause some kind of milk crisis?
This is my first cow/mama so I would appreciate any clue as to what might be going on.
Regards,
Jane in Lancaster County PA