Post by peppermintwindfarm on Sept 10, 2017 1:15:35 GMT -5
I feel like I'm only here when I have a problem! Truly I try to browse in my free time but don't generally have free time so don't spend a lot of time on computers . . . or even in houses!
Fellow cow lovers, I am at my wit's end.
I have a lovely Jersey cow, Lucy, who was my first milk cow. I've had her for five years and she taught me that milking cows is exactly what I should be doing! She's made everything cow related a pleasure. For five years I've milked her by hand and oftentimes could pull up a stool and get my bucket full without even tying her.
That was then . . . this is now.
Lucy has turned into the cow from hell. I'm convinced she's got dementia and has become that cranky, at times nasty, old lady in the nursing home that everyone tip toes around so as not to be noticed.
Here's the bare facts.
Lucy is 14
For four years she was an only cow and all was well.
18 months ago I bought a second cow. New cow calved and I milked both cows by hand. All was well.
I dried Lucy up last winter and continued milking other cow and all was well.
Lucy calved late May and I left her to nurse her calf for the time being since plenty of milk coming in and all was well.
Newer cow started to drop off in production so I decided to begin calf sharing with Lucy and the sh*t hit the fan.
Lucy absolutely refused to be milked. She did everything one can imagine a cranky cow might do. I tried for 3-4 days and had enough and figured I'd leave them be a bit longer. She was producing plenty of milk so I put another calf on her to keep her production up for the time when i'd calf share and/or wean and go to twice a day milking. Now My other cow has significantly reduced milk output so I had to either drop customers or revisit calf sharing with Lucy.
I'm on week 3 now and it's been a freakin nightmare. I'm beginning to hate that cow as much as I once loved her!
After a couple days of being kicked, crapped on, crap everywhere, I decided to step back with an attitude of starting over- I "reintroduced" her to the process of milking. went slow, made it a pleasant experience and milked a little longer each time and stopping before anything awful could happen to ruin the session. That worked for maybe 3 days. On the fourth day I got a bucket of milk and the very next day I got sh*t on, 3-4 times while she danced around like she had ants in her pants.
Now after 2 weeks of this inconsistent behavior I'm going to have to find some resolution. I just cannot do this. I have started dreading milking her, to the point I'm searching through the cupboard for my antacids I haven't used for months.
I just don't understand why she's changed. She's had several calves for me, I've always calf shared, it's always gone fine. Of course I've dealt with the expected issues . . . holding milk for the calf, getting antsy, blah blah, dealt with it and moved on. We are just not making headway with this and I cannot continue.
Has anyone had a similar experience with a radical change in behavior? Do old cows get witchy? Do cows behave differently with different calves?
I cannot afford to feed and house a cow that is not providing . . . If I can't milk Lucy the alternative is the final trip to the meat locker.
I decided tonight to just wean and be done. I'm going to keep them separate and let the calf nurse twice a day for a short time and then when I see she's (calf) eating and drinking fine . . . well that's my intention but if I can't get the cow milked I don't know what to do but put the calf on to nurse her out.
Tell me if you think it's time to just throw in the towel. I'd be sad as hell to say goodbye, we've had a wonderful 5 years, but this has become, as I said, a freaking nightmare!
FYI: she does NOT have mastitis, physically she seems fine. Her behavior at all other times, except milking, is perfectly normal. She IS old, and looks it to a degree, but she's healthy looking, eating well and so on.
Please give me some ideas here!
Fellow cow lovers, I am at my wit's end.
I have a lovely Jersey cow, Lucy, who was my first milk cow. I've had her for five years and she taught me that milking cows is exactly what I should be doing! She's made everything cow related a pleasure. For five years I've milked her by hand and oftentimes could pull up a stool and get my bucket full without even tying her.
That was then . . . this is now.
Lucy has turned into the cow from hell. I'm convinced she's got dementia and has become that cranky, at times nasty, old lady in the nursing home that everyone tip toes around so as not to be noticed.
Here's the bare facts.
Lucy is 14
For four years she was an only cow and all was well.
18 months ago I bought a second cow. New cow calved and I milked both cows by hand. All was well.
I dried Lucy up last winter and continued milking other cow and all was well.
Lucy calved late May and I left her to nurse her calf for the time being since plenty of milk coming in and all was well.
Newer cow started to drop off in production so I decided to begin calf sharing with Lucy and the sh*t hit the fan.
Lucy absolutely refused to be milked. She did everything one can imagine a cranky cow might do. I tried for 3-4 days and had enough and figured I'd leave them be a bit longer. She was producing plenty of milk so I put another calf on her to keep her production up for the time when i'd calf share and/or wean and go to twice a day milking. Now My other cow has significantly reduced milk output so I had to either drop customers or revisit calf sharing with Lucy.
I'm on week 3 now and it's been a freakin nightmare. I'm beginning to hate that cow as much as I once loved her!
After a couple days of being kicked, crapped on, crap everywhere, I decided to step back with an attitude of starting over- I "reintroduced" her to the process of milking. went slow, made it a pleasant experience and milked a little longer each time and stopping before anything awful could happen to ruin the session. That worked for maybe 3 days. On the fourth day I got a bucket of milk and the very next day I got sh*t on, 3-4 times while she danced around like she had ants in her pants.
Now after 2 weeks of this inconsistent behavior I'm going to have to find some resolution. I just cannot do this. I have started dreading milking her, to the point I'm searching through the cupboard for my antacids I haven't used for months.
I just don't understand why she's changed. She's had several calves for me, I've always calf shared, it's always gone fine. Of course I've dealt with the expected issues . . . holding milk for the calf, getting antsy, blah blah, dealt with it and moved on. We are just not making headway with this and I cannot continue.
Has anyone had a similar experience with a radical change in behavior? Do old cows get witchy? Do cows behave differently with different calves?
I cannot afford to feed and house a cow that is not providing . . . If I can't milk Lucy the alternative is the final trip to the meat locker.
I decided tonight to just wean and be done. I'm going to keep them separate and let the calf nurse twice a day for a short time and then when I see she's (calf) eating and drinking fine . . . well that's my intention but if I can't get the cow milked I don't know what to do but put the calf on to nurse her out.
Tell me if you think it's time to just throw in the towel. I'd be sad as hell to say goodbye, we've had a wonderful 5 years, but this has become, as I said, a freaking nightmare!
FYI: she does NOT have mastitis, physically she seems fine. Her behavior at all other times, except milking, is perfectly normal. She IS old, and looks it to a degree, but she's healthy looking, eating well and so on.
Please give me some ideas here!