Post by lew92 on Aug 24, 2017 9:57:15 GMT -5
Buttercup's udder has been more slack almost every time I look at her. Betty Boop nurses on all four quarters, but BC has been in milk for almost 16 months and is six months bred, a natural time for her to start dropping production.
So, as of yesterday, she is officially dried off. I doubt her udder will get anywhere near to full enough to cause her any discomfort, but I will continue to check her daily.
Betty Boop is now getting a bottle of milk replacer and since she is taking it so eagerly, I am going to buy a nipple pail to feed her from rather than holding a bottle. I'll buy MR (22/20 all-milk) for her until I have a cow in milk again at which time she will be switched back to real milk. I intend to keep her on milk until she is at least 6 months old. I won't increase the amount of MR beyond a gallon a day but will give her 16% calf feed to supplement the rest of her needs. Once she is on real milk, I will increase how much I feed her.
And...I don't think that Suzie is pregnant anymore. She built up udder early in June all of a sudden, as described in this thread, then deflated almost completely by the end of the month. If it had been due to alfalfa, I would have expected it to balloon up again when DH did second cutting, but it did not. She is due in 2 months, so I would expect her to be building up udder by now.
She has not shown any signs of heat, which is puzzling, but I know that can happen if a cow is cystic or from other conditions.
I had a heck of a time getting her into the barn then the stanchion and then drawing blood on her. I tried under the tail but could only get a drop and managed to wreck the vacuum tube. So I decided to try the jugular as I remembered wyomama's thread and video. I got her head tied off to the side using a soft lead line, then couldn't get into the vein.
So, silly me, I tried the milk vein and nearly got my head knocked off. I saw it coming quickly enough to get my head out of the way, but she clipped me on the front edge of my shoulder cap and I have a three inch bruise to show for it. So I went to the other side of the stanchion, which has some bars on it that I thought would protect me. They did, but her foot was flying so hot and fast that there was no way I was going to get into the vein and get blood.
So the hobbles went on. After trying one kick, she stood fairly still with only a foot shuffle now and again. I finally got about 3 cc's of blood out of her, then spent some time with the curry comb and telling her what a good girl she is. She's a giant, though! Much taller than she was just 2 1/2 months ago.
I'll drop the blood off this morning and will likely know by tomorrow afternoon. We already have plans if the test comes back negative, but I don't like to think of it too much.
So, as of yesterday, she is officially dried off. I doubt her udder will get anywhere near to full enough to cause her any discomfort, but I will continue to check her daily.
Betty Boop is now getting a bottle of milk replacer and since she is taking it so eagerly, I am going to buy a nipple pail to feed her from rather than holding a bottle. I'll buy MR (22/20 all-milk) for her until I have a cow in milk again at which time she will be switched back to real milk. I intend to keep her on milk until she is at least 6 months old. I won't increase the amount of MR beyond a gallon a day but will give her 16% calf feed to supplement the rest of her needs. Once she is on real milk, I will increase how much I feed her.
And...I don't think that Suzie is pregnant anymore. She built up udder early in June all of a sudden, as described in this thread, then deflated almost completely by the end of the month. If it had been due to alfalfa, I would have expected it to balloon up again when DH did second cutting, but it did not. She is due in 2 months, so I would expect her to be building up udder by now.
She has not shown any signs of heat, which is puzzling, but I know that can happen if a cow is cystic or from other conditions.
I had a heck of a time getting her into the barn then the stanchion and then drawing blood on her. I tried under the tail but could only get a drop and managed to wreck the vacuum tube. So I decided to try the jugular as I remembered wyomama's thread and video. I got her head tied off to the side using a soft lead line, then couldn't get into the vein.
So, silly me, I tried the milk vein and nearly got my head knocked off. I saw it coming quickly enough to get my head out of the way, but she clipped me on the front edge of my shoulder cap and I have a three inch bruise to show for it. So I went to the other side of the stanchion, which has some bars on it that I thought would protect me. They did, but her foot was flying so hot and fast that there was no way I was going to get into the vein and get blood.
So the hobbles went on. After trying one kick, she stood fairly still with only a foot shuffle now and again. I finally got about 3 cc's of blood out of her, then spent some time with the curry comb and telling her what a good girl she is. She's a giant, though! Much taller than she was just 2 1/2 months ago.
I'll drop the blood off this morning and will likely know by tomorrow afternoon. We already have plans if the test comes back negative, but I don't like to think of it too much.