I think it's about baby cow time
 

I knew Ms Moo was exposed to a bull in November before she was bought by us in February but I wasn't completely sure she was pregnant until about 4 days ago. Her udder (stopped milking her about 6 weeks ago just incase) suddenly grew to be HUGE ! Far bigger than it was when we brought her home. Then I noticed her girly bits were swollen and she's really started moving super slowly. She didn't look like she was much bigger around than before but when my goats grow slowly I can't really tell they are pregnant, either, until the kids are born.

So last night I noticed goop from her hind end and watched her off and on through the night but nothing really changed. She has been lying around far more than usual, though. Today she's been hanging out, chewing cud but way up under the only group of trees in the pasture-and of course the goats are keeping her company. So much for a private spot!

My question is-from what I've described, does it sound like it's a baby and not some crazy infection? If it does sound like calving is imminent-how long do I have?

I'm so excited and nervous all at the same time! I've been soaking up You Tube videos all day!


ETA: Will a calf have horns like a goat? And need to be disbudded?

If the goop was a clear looking jelly like thing, that would be the mucous plug from her cervix. That's the first thing that happens when they get ready to calf. It doesn't mean she's in labour, but it does mean she has started the process.

Whether a calf has horns or not depends on the breed. Even if it's going to be a horned calf, all you will have will be bumps on his head. If the top of the head is smooth and round, then you've got a polled one.

Pretty soon there's gonna be a calf .usally every thing goes off without any help keep an ey on her I'm rooten for ya !! Be careful when a cow has a new calf some are overly protective especialy the first day .any good mother is its natures way :-) .the calf is hopefullly up and sucking a little withen an hour of hitting the ground and she has him dried off

We still have dripping but she is very light on her feet. She follows me around the pasture like a puppy when I have her feed bucket. :)

Good to know she would be protective-I would be the first one to jump in there and snuggle with that calf.

How do I go about getting her back on the milk stand? I will keep the calf regardless so I want it on her milk as long as possible, but I want some of her milk, too. Can I do like I do the goats and separate them 1/2 the day and bottle feed then leave them together at night? I don't want anyone stressed out-but I *REALLY* want some of that sweet milk!

Yes, you can milk share. Depending on this particular cow, and how much milk you want you may not even need to separate the calf.

I keep the calf in the barn and turn the cow in to her milking stall and waiting grain ration 2 wice a day I milk on one side the calf on the other .hopefully your cow is already broke to be hand milked.otherwise a stall will have to be made to protect you from being kicked.it would have been better if you would have already had her used to comeing into her stall for feeding but as you say she will follow the feed bucket so thid will help you lead her where you want till she gets used to the routeen ..just use a lot of caution when you first start milking .my cow is my big pet and was broke to be milked by hand before I got her they would snap a rope to her halter as she put her head in the manger to eat calf on the left milker on the right I still use this method but I don't tie her and I don't need a stall in the calf barn but I still feed her in the manger .this old fachoned method works for me because ic keeps her coming in to be milked and fed and to her calf as she has hundreds of acres of pasture .i'v heard of people milking and then bottle feeding but that would put all the work on me:-) .leaving the calf out with her all the time shee would not have much insparation to come in and the calf may scour taking to much milk when the cow starts produceing.

My cows always get really restless a few hrs. before labor starts....

Sounds like you have practice already in milking this cow, just be aware though that she'll be more sensitive than usual as she freshens this time.

What breed is your cow?

You can easily milkshare with a calf and not have to bottle feed it. When the calf is around 3 weeks old you can start locking it up at night and then milk the cow in the morning. Then let them hang out together during the day. Some cows will hold back for their calves so you end up not getting the hindmilk which is where all the cream is. If you have that problem you can let the calf suckle till mom lets down good. That's a good time to halter train the calf, as you can let it suckle then tie it nearby while you finish milking.

If you're getting all the milk you need without locking the calf up just wait till that is no longer the case to put it on lockdown at night.

There are a few people here who have experience doing things this way and we're all more than happy to help if you run into problems.

Yeah their teats can get very sensitive and sore.

Yes, she and I learned to milk and be milked by hand together. :) It was one heck of a ride but we made it through. It has been weeks since I milked her, though. I will remember she will be sensitive. I remember those days having been milked by a couple of my own baby humans! :) I was already getting more milk from her than I knew what to do with before I let her dry up to calve so it sounds like I won't need to separate the calf from her much at all anytime soon.

She's a Guernsey. :) And her udder looks like it might pop at any moment now. She has also been a LOT of lying around today-she let me walk right up to her without standing earlier this evening. I'm going to grab the flashlight and head out in a bit to check on her again (no electricity in the barn yet).

Thank you for the help! :)

Cows don't have near the problems goats do birthing. She'll try to sneak the calf out when you aren't there to see :) Think about milking out some colostrum and freezing it after the calf comes in case of possible future need.

Shannon something I always try to remember to tell people who are drowning in milk... you don't have to feed a cow up and milk her for all she's worth. For years with our Jerseys they only got grass/hay and we only milked once a day for 1/2 to one gallon. It's not hard to slow them down to that amount if you're not giving them concentrated extra calories. You can get them to produce somewhere close to what you need it just takes a little attention.

Moot point for you right now because the calf will take the excess you don't want, but just for future reference.

So do you have a calf yet??

NO! Still no baby! Mother Nature is testing my (lack of) patience! :)

Learning how to milk a cow and a cow learning to be hand milked, Ms Moo's production slowed up a decent amount when I first got her. She was only being milked 1x a day at the farm from where she came, and we STILL had too much milk! I didn't think I was feeding her too much then, just a bucket of feed at milking time - which she did eat quickly but holy cow she still made a ton! This, coming from a girl who was used to having goats. ;)

I plan to milk her regardless of the amount and just make use of the milk in other ways-like buy a pig or two. Surely they will like the extra, along with the 5 dozen chickens and guineas running rampant out here. Then there is always ice cream; while I have to fight the family to drink the milk that doesn't look like what we all grew up with, they have no problem eating the ice cream I make with her amazing nectar! :) Anyhow, I want to milk her consistently so she feels safe and happy and needed.

If you get a hiefer, you can always buy a bottle bull, steer him, raise him on the extra milk and have homegrown freezer beef. Great use of extra milk!
Or if you have a use for your goat milk, you can raise your goat kids on the jersey milk and free up your goat milk!
Having both dairy goats and dairy cows opens up a lot of possibilities.:)

Of that's right! Emily-there is a place up west of me that sells bottle babies for $25! That would be PERFECT!

So would having more goat milk and fewer goat kids to feed! I am SICK of sharing my goat milk!! :)

Good! Just be sure they get the calves their colostrum and thats a heck of a deal.:)

We have heavy breathing, lying on her side, tail cocked back and a small amount of thick pink discharge (can you tell I had 2 c-sections?). It's 4:40pm here and I had planned to leave for yoga in 20 minutes. I should stay home, right? Should I take her some water? Alfalfa? Salt? I planned to grab my iPhone and head back out with a blanket to lie on (me) and just wait. What's the best plan of action here?

A rule of thumb that my old boss taught me: Labor should last no more than 2 hours from the time you see the tips of the hooves sticking out.

If the calf isn't on the ground by then, intervention probably is necessary.

Here's hoping for a speedy delivery!

Oh heavens. Her water just broke ! I am so blessed to witness this !

How long do I have after her wter breaks? I still don't see calf parts.

Has the blessed event occurred?!

The bull calf didn't make it. :(

OH! I'm so sorry to hear that!

Aww... That's too bad. It does happen though. We've seen enough of that over the years.

However, you do still have a milk cow if you want. Or maybe get her a couple of bottle babies? Just make sure you don't use the milk yourself until the colostrum production is over.

It won't hurt you or anything, I just think it tastes funky.

Found a bull calf born this morning on a dairy up the road. The guys says I can get him tonight.

Meanwhile Ms Moo won't let me milk her. She will stand in the milk area and eat and let me touch her but when I squeeze she kicks. Hard. What do I do? I don't want to wait til 6pm and just hope she takes to this calf I'm buying.

I am so sorry about the calf. Hopefully she takes to this new little fellow. You are so lucky to find one.

Good on the calf!

On milking.....be persistant. If she is really swinging at you, you can take a rope( I like to use a soft rope) and tie it snugly around her body in front of her udder. Run it over her backbone and down her flanks basically. Tie it so there is a slip-knot where you can easily reach it high on her side. So you are basically cinching the cow behind her ribs, in front of her udder. Not so tight that she stumbles, just tight enough it should keep her from really swinging at you. This has been used for generations and works well on a cow not locked down tight in a dairy barn. We have a flat parlour where we are on the same level as the cows, so we use this method in our dairy herd with just fresh heifers or witchy fresh cows.

Also, as I teach all the kids as they learn to milk a cow.....the closer you are to the cow when she swings, the less it will hurt on impact. If you are snuggling right up against her flank, when she swings it will hit you as she starts her swing. Less impact. If you are standing as far out as you can, stretching your arms out to milk her, when she swings she will get a great swing and hit you at the extention of her leg. The impact will by MUCH more extreme. Trust me on this. It may go against your instincts to get closer to that big hoof, but trust me, its safer.
And really, most handled cows are comforted by the snuggling against the flank.

The soner the calf starts sucking the cow the better I wish you had a milking stall built ahead of time some espically dairy cows are no problem grafting a calf but some can be problems with low proten grain and a big stick keeping the cow and calf in ajoining stalls letting the calf in while she is eating and staying there till the calf fed if managed to get even stoubron beef cows to take a calf after about a week.with my old brown swiss iv had trouble with the beef calfs in the pasture robbing her and me not getting much milk.just let your cow be hungry and feed her when you introduce the calf be ready with a stirdy stick or cane incase you have to intervine to prevent injury to you and the calf

Emily's advice is excellent. You can buy cow hobbles but we always liked the belly rope better. I forget exactly how it works but it keeps them from moving their back end around much. You'll have to experiment with tightness, if she can still kick it needs to be tighter. I'm not crazy about leaving a belly rope on for very long though, I don't like how they compress the big veins on the belly there. Agree on getting really close in to the cow. It sounds counterintuitive but it will make the difference in just getting jostled around or really kicked.

Another forum you might enjoy is the Keeping A Family Cow forum. There are lots of nice helpful people over there too.

Good luck with her, I know a kicky cow is no fun. She'll settle down though, she's just probably upset about her calf and sore right now poor girl.

ETA I feel bad now for telling you cows don't have the birthing problems goats do.... of course then yours had a problem. Usually they really don't though.

I'm gonna try the rope around the belly next year, I've not tried that. But I have discovered in the moment your standing there trying to milk the cow or trying to get her to let a calf nurse and you don't happen to have a rope or some hobbles in your hand~
stand in close to the cow with your body crowded up against her belly tight as you can, really hip check her with your hip to get in close and personal. Use the hand closest to the cow to push HARD on that knobby knee joint (not the ankle down where most people think her knee is, the joint up near her hip that bends the same way our knee bends). Push back on that knee joint toward her tail hard and hold it. Use the pressure of your body pushed into her ribs to help you wedge your elbow and push that joint toward her tail. Now she can't lift the leg your pushing on, and she can't lift the other leg without stumbling so after a moment she will stop trying. Then you can use your free hand to milk. It takes a long time to milk like this, so it's not useful for anything but in the moment when you need to do something and don't have hobbles or help with you. It's better if you have a helper to hold the cows knee while you milk.

Hey, how is it going with the heifer and the new calves?? Thinking of your fresh heifer issues while I was milking this morning so I snapped some pics for you. Munch was nice enough to stand while I did the cinch on her. When she first freshened, she got the belly rope treatment quite often as she was a little free with her hooves. As you can see, it didn't bother her at all, she just kept right on eating!!

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a61...herdetc001.jpg

Before.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a61...herdetc002.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a61...herdetc003.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a61...herdetc004.jpg

Other side.


And I don't know what I was thinking, I do not use a slipknot. I said I did, but as my fingers automatically tied the knot, I realized I do not!