2nd calvers

JeffNY · #1 03/27/07, 02:25 PM

I am used to beefer calving, bagging etc. I haven't dealt with 2nd calf dairy cows. Generally what is the timeframe they begin bagging? Also, can they bag unevenly as they bag sometimes, or otherwords. The quarters dont bag up all at once. I did notice this with some heifers, during the bagging process they did bag evenly, however some bagged in the rear more, then it evened out etc. The one due really bagged up quickly in her right rear, but left rear is totally different. Find it odd, considering her last lactation her right rear was slower, due to it being pinched. Left rear never did pinch. Her front quarters are even. Her bag is square when it was bagged. Only thing I can come up with is they will even out as she gets closer, and being she doesn't have a tiny bag, there is a lot there to bag up. Vet was here today doing Rabies and T9 shots, and he said she likely wouldn't calf in the next couple days. My estimate is this weekend, or early next week. Also that 2nd due date, the April 18th date might be the date, however he did say some can calve as early as 2 weeks prior, or so. So who knows, could just be an early birth.

I did have one last year calve 2 weeks prior to her due date, was a Jersey too. I had a holstein in the spring calve about 7-10 days before her actual due date. Who knows!

Edit: Forgot to add, she was dry treated, and did dry off nicely.

Jeff

jerzeygurl · #2 03/27/07, 09:26 PM

it seems that the more theyve calved the sooner they bag up.

but on the other hand, if your used to last years bag, it seems like they are huge, but keep getting bigger and bigger, and way out do the bag from the year before....

JeffNY · #3 03/27/07, 11:15 PM

I beleive what I was seeing, was edema. Udder edema really came out a lot today, and what I was seeing was the fluid build up. Well tonight it had disspearsed to the rest of her udder. Her right rear is bigger, fuller, but not by much over her left rear. See how this happened today, she is getting closer. But when I saw that, how uneven it was, it really threw me for a loop. Because generally when you have a lopsided udder, it is evident in the first lactation, and is due to genetics. It would be very odd to all of a sudden get it in the 2nd, yet the udder isn't lop sided. The real question is how far is she off from calving? Those two ligaments, the last to settle haven't changed much since yesterday (Monday). If she holds off till next week, it wont be surprising. Considering her first go around she seemed to take forever before she calved, yet she calved a day before her due date. I guess we'll see.

Jeff

jerzeygurl · #4 03/28/07, 08:59 AM

the one i have that gets edema usually gets it 3 days before calving and its evenly dispersed, it is the bag not the quarter that is retaining water...

it reminds me of papermache over a balloon,

vaponydoc · #5 03/29/07, 02:24 AM

Hi, Jeff -- I don't mean to tell you something you may already know, but a good way to tell if swelling in any tissue is edema or not is to see if it "pits."

If you press your finger into the area in question for several seconds it will leave an impression when you move your finger away. This is "pitting edema" and the technique is useful to distinguish edema from other causes of swelling.

Good luck!

JeffNY · #6 03/29/07, 05:27 AM

Yeah, im aware of that, but thanks!. Here is a good one, whatever fluid made its way through her udder is gone. I have no idea what it was, but it dissapeared, and her udder is normal. Not only that, it appears she is going to go another week or so. Ligaments near her bum actually tightened up a little, not as soft. So she is doing what she did last year, show lots of possibilites, but naaa ill wait some. So she could have a due date of April 18th, not March 28th, and could come early (she is along far enough to not go to the 18th).

Jeff