How long can I leave self-sucking cow in stanchion

[obsismom]

Well, she did it again, slobber all over her udder and legs this morning before I could get out to milk and almost no milk left.  We're going to try the least complicated method first to try to break her of this - the plastic weaner ring and weaning halter as seen on this forum - but until they arrive, can we leave her in the stanchion?  How long can she be in the stanchion? Do I need to be constantly feeding her while there?  If not, how often do I need to feed her (she is used to grazing all day with grain and alfalfa at milking time)?  Doesn't she need to lie down sometime?  What about water in the stanchion?  I'd like to prevent her from self-sucking until we get the devices on her which might be a couple days.   Sorry for so many questions - we've never had a cow and are trying to figure everything out.  We have figured out, but am clueless about having a stanchion cow, even for the short term. 

We're going to try to break her of this.

[missevelyn]

if she can lie down in the stanchion then she can stay in it 24 hours a day. The commercial dairies used to do this in the 1940's. you keep her grass hay in front of her and keep her back end clean and she can do this. they used to keep the cows in all winter in the stanchions. So a few days is not going to hurt her any.

if nothing else you can halter and tie her to a stout post.

Regina

[3cows]

Personally, I would never leave one tied in a stanchion, or anywhere else for extended periods of time. For one, you would need to ensure her constant access to hay or grass to keep her rumen full and frequent access to water and supplements during that time. For another, she needs to lay down to rest, relax and cud. If you are getting the ring and halter in two days, why not just wait until you get the items to start the training. In the meantime, you can attempt to beat her to the punch by going out a couple hours earlier than the usual milk time or even by milking three fairly evenly spaced times each day to keep her from getting too full and doing what she does.

[AnnB (NE)]

Feb 17, 2015 9:09:10 GMT -5 missevelyn said:

if she can lie down in the stanchion then she can stay in it 24 hours a day. The commercial dairies used to do this in the 1940's. you keep her grass hay in front of her and keep her back end clean and she can do this. they used to keep the cows in all winter in the stanchions. So a few days is not going to hurt her any.

if nothing else you can halter and tie her to a stout post.

Regina

^^^
In previous times ALL cows were kept in a stanchion for their whole lactation.

The longest I've kept cows stanchioned was a week, due to vicious cold/blizzard.

Keep a bed under her, hay in front of her, manure cleaned up from behind her, offer water frequently, and she'll be just fine.

Ann B

[aaabrooks]

My girls are currently in stanchion, and will be for a few more days. Vet just left, and when I said I was going to let them out for the day, he said no, still below zero, leave them in. They are comfortable, have unlimited hay and water, and I clean out at least once a day, try for 2-3.
They've been in since Sunday night, and vet said are fine until this cold breaks, which could be August! LOL! So far 10 day forecast isn't looking good...

[archangelcpj]

It has been below zero outside here for 2 weeks in the teens for a month that plus my jersey has been in the stantion for 8 weeks deep straw bedding and all hay she can eat and grain and clean water. .. she will be fine clean area twice a day... for me time in the station with her calf right there beats her freezing outside... if it gets to 35 out she goes in at night. . If it were my cow self sucking she would be in that station. 10 days to 2 weeks to get her out of the habit. ..

[goatlady]

Feb 17, 2015 10:38:30 GMT -5 AnnB (NE) said:

Feb 17, 2015 9:09:10 GMT -5 missevelyn said:

if she can lie down in the stanchion then she can stay in it 24 hours a day. The commercial dairies used to do this in the 1940's. you keep her grass hay in front of her and keep her back end clean and she can do this. they used to keep the cows in all winter in the stanchions. So a few days is not going to hurt her any.

if nothing else you can halter and tie her to a stout post.

Regina

^^^
In previous times ALL cows were kept in a stanchion for their whole lactation.

The longest I've kept cows stanchioned was a week, due to vicious cold/blizzard.

Keep a bed under her, hay in front of her, manure cleaned up from behind her, offer water frequently, and she'll be just fine.

Ann B

My grandfather and father in law both kept their cows in stanchions all winter long. Matter of fact almost every old timer I know in the north has done this. I agree. She's not going to die left standing in her stanchion for a few days or even weeks. Just keep her bedded and keep her clean. It sounds to me like she could use a "time out" anyway. I don't have much patience for a self sucker. It seems to be a hard habit to break. Good luck my dear. I hope you are able to get her to stop that nasty behavior.

[suzorse]

my stanchion is designed to where a cow can not be left in full time , to narrow and if they go down they would strangle ,so not for leaving a cow in full time I would have to build a tie stanchion or use my old milking area and install a tie ring ,
Suzanne

[3cows]

Just to clarify, I picture a stanchion as a narrow milking stall with some form of head catch or tie in which the cow is closely confined. Unlike a tie stall where they are tied, but have room to lie down, have their needs met and can be kept clean and bedded. I don't use either option, but, IMO, a tie stall would surely be more humane than an actual stanchion.

[Claire]

If you don't have a stanchion she can lie down in, I'd tie her close to a flat wall like they way they keep cows in barns during fairs. Enough room to stand and lay down, move a bit, etc. but she won't be able to get anywhere near her udder.

[nodakjersey]

Keeping her tied in barn will not hurt her...IMHO I would offer water only 2-3x a day ..otherwise you will h ave her dumping water all over her dry bedding...big mess ...give her enough rope to lay ...but not too long or she could get leg stuck and could still suck her self.

[archangelcpj]

Had a old dairy farmer give me two good pieces of advice for tieing cows first ditch the rope use a chain like a number 1 straight loop and a spring hasp like on dog leashes not likely to get tangled... hook to halter... number two make it just long enough that her head can reach ground when standing that way she can eat and drink and lie down but not too long to get into trouble. ..

[Tamara]

Seems like it depends on the stanchion. Mine for instance is a free standing wooden stanchion with a floor, headcatch and bench on the front for food. I would never leave a cow standing in it.

Could you instead leave her tied up somewhere so she can lie down? I used to tether my cow and she was fine. I never left her overnight but with the correct setup, she would be fine.

[clux]

I was not sure what this thread was about at first , self sucker, this was new to me. Sounds so weird I don't know why because milk is so delicious I love it but for a animal to drink its own milk seems so peculiar . How common is this? Is there something that triggers his behavior? Good luck on trying trying to correct your cows behavior I am going to watch this thread

[burntbisquit]

Feb 17, 2015 23:23:00 GMT -5 archangelcpj said:

Had a old dairy farmer give me two good pieces of advice for tieing cows first ditch the rope use a chain like a number 1 straight loop and a spring hasp like on dog leashes not likely to get tangled... hook to halter... number two make it just long enough that her head can reach ground when standing that way she can eat and drink and lie down but not too long to get into trouble. ..

Would it be a good idea to attach the chain to the wall ring with a panic snap used for horses? Just in case of emergencies.

[Shawn]

You all just solved the mystery of why there are chains draped across the front of my wooden stanchions! Duh. I have the kind where a cow could not lay down, they would strangle. So now I know what the chains are for. Hmmm..

[archangelcpj]

A quick release is a great idea I went to harbor freight and bought a little pair of bolt cutters for 25 bucks hang on wall but in all reality the chain will only be 36 inches long or so not much to get tangled in...

[AnnB (NE)]

It may be hard to see, but these stanchions were meant for cows to live in. Visible is one stanchion out of a row of 16. There is a concrete manger, but for the grain ration I used a rubber tub.

If the cow were in there full-time, she would have a bed under her.



Ann B

Here's another view with 4 cows in for feeding:



And just for fun, Pvt. Pyle at about a year old:

[zephyrhillsusan]

obsismom, when you are ready to put the weaning devices on, you might try using my food coloring test to see if they are working.  You *might* find slobber on the teats if she has been self-sucking, or you might not if she has been on bedding where the slobber might have rubbed off.  It's explained in detail on my blog (links I gave you earlier), but to explain quickly, get some gel type food coloring, not liquid.  Dab a dot of red (for example) on one side on both teats, just around the orifice.  Then use green on the other side. That will help show if she has self-sucked because she will smear the food color up the teat and maybe even to the opposite side.  If the test is questionable, you can do it again with one color on the front two and a different color on the rear two.  Just be sure to clean the teats good of one color before using a different one.

Of course, if she's really greedy, she may give herself away by taking so much it's obvious!  My cow's quarter that she sucked was very low producing (which came first? Who knows?) so it was hard to tell without the food color test.

[obsismom]

Thanks so much for the info about the food coloring - I was wanting to do that. We've had issues with her milk supply, one time I actually caught her self-sucking and two times there was milk on her mouth and legs, but I really don't know how consistently she's doing it. The food color test is easy enough. Why the two colors?