Help! My cow won't quit making milk.

Skye · #1 04/18/08, 09:09 AM

How in the world do you dry off a Jersey cow? She is due to calve in 9 weeks and I cannot get her to go flabby. She has been away from the calves for over a week and I have quit giving her grain. She is beginning to look thin. I want to start her on her dairy ration as soon as she is dry to make sure she and the baby are getting the nutrition they need. What am I doing wrong or could I do better or am I panicing to soon?

**gone-a-milkin** · #2 04/18/08, 09:34 AM

She is unlikely to just 'burst at the seams'. Are you milking her? What I do is go from twice a day to once a day for a week. Then once every other day for a week. Then just QUIT milking her. And be SURE that no sneaky little calves are still snitching milk (thru the fence for example). The udder gets tight-looking and looks uncomfortable. Then the cow stops making milk and reabsorbs what is in the udder. I know they LOOK terrible, esp. big uddered ladies, but it WILL work. Main thing is to stop milking her.

Up North · #3 04/18/08, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gone-a-milkin

She is unlikely to just 'burst at the seams'. Are you milking her? What I do is go from twice a day to once a day for a week. Then once every other day for a week. Then just QUIT milking her. And be SURE that no sneaky little calves are still snitching milk (thru the fence for example). The udder gets tight-looking and looks uncomfortable. Then the cow stops making milk and reabsorbs what is in the udder. I know they LOOK terrible, esp. big uddered ladies, but it WILL work. Main thing is to stop milking her.

I agree. No grain, 1 a day for 1 week...then COLD TURKEY!

Skye · #4 04/18/08, 02:06 PM

She hasn't been milked at all in over a week. I am just afraid that she won't dry up in time to replenish her glands. Maybe I am just being impatient.

Up North · #5 04/18/08, 02:38 PM

The milk in udder will involute and be absorbed by the body. Then her feed will go to body condition and building the new calf. It will all be ok.

JulieLou42 · #6 04/19/08, 01:12 AM

What works for me is to go once a day for four days and then every other day for another three times. She's got next to nothing left by then.

vquinn2 · #7 04/24/08, 05:27 PM

Do you strip her out or just relieve the pressure? I hate this weaning/drying off stuff! Seems as tho everybody (cow and calf) are miserable.
Valerie

vquinn2 · #8 04/25/08, 09:36 PM

I'm attempting the weaning process also

I hadn't milked Katie (jersey-due to calve July 5) since Tuesday a.m. she's been dripping milk since Tues p.m. I checked her last night---yep we've got mastitis in one quarter. How do I fix this? I put Today in that quarter last night. Do I milk her out 'some' - to relieve the pressure? Or is that asking for more trouble with mastitis? HELP!
Thanks
Valerie

Up North · #9 04/25/08, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vquinn2

I checked her last night---yep we've got mastitis in one quarter. How do I fix this? I put Today in that quarter last night. Do I milk her out 'some' - to relieve the pressure? Or is that asking for more trouble with mastitis? HELP!
Thanks
Valerie

Were it my cow I would handle situation this way. In the morning I would milk her out completely. Then I would treat the affected quarter with Today again. I would thoroughly rub in a peppermint based udder lotion on the entire quarter. I would then proceed to milk her regularly, stripping out and discarding milk, and applying peppermint lotion after each milking -Until the case of mastitis has completely cleared. Then I would dry her off and use Tomorrow dry cow product at dryoff to minimize chance of reinfection. If this process took 7-10 days, so be it. If she is due July 5, you have time. A cow in normal good health can go with only 40 days dry and still be ok.
My experience has been that a cow that is dryed off with an active case of mastitis will,in the best case, still have it when she freshens. In the worst case, she would be a 3/4 cow when she freshens.