Dripping milk

[April]

Our Jersey cow is dripping milk from her udder. I didn't think she was bred, because I've seen what I thought was heat each month for a long time. She's been dry for 2 years. I do, however, have a young Jersey bull in the field with her and a Jersey heifer. I've even seen his monthly interest in her, so I'm absolutely flummoxed.

Is there any other reason besides pregnancy that a cow would come into milk? If she is pregnant, is this a sign that calving may be soon? Should I be concerned about the milk dripping? I did catch a few drips to taste and it is definitely milk.

Thanks!
-April

[MARYDVM]

Once in awhile, a cow or heifer will bag up in the spring in response to the increasing daylight. This kind of precocious udder is more common in goats, but can happen in cattle.

But cows can also show signs of heat while being pregnant. So you need to try to bump a calf, or get her preg checked to see what the deal is.

[April]

Thanks so much. We're drawing blood for biotracking in the morning, provided I can get it done.

If she is not pregnant, could I just milk her anyway?

[MARYDVM]

Yes you can milk her. She won't make a normal lactation's production, but you might get enough to make it worthwhile.

[springvalley]

Ain`t nature crazy, I had a belgian mare came into heat every month, almost gave up on her ever having a foal, then one day she started making a bag and my dad said she was going to have one soon. Sure enough she had one within two weeks, I would have bet the farm she wouldn`t have had one being she came in heat each month. Hope all works out for you, Thanks Marc

[jBlaze]

goat person here, so not sure how well this applies;
Dripping implies Full udder, Full udder implies ready to calve. How long does bio-tracking take?

Hope all goes well, I am curious to see what happens!!

We had a goat, not bred, came into some milk from the spring clover.

[gone-a-milkin]

Human being here, and cycled the first 4 months of each pregnanacy, myself.
So there you go. Every BODY does it different...

Good luck! I would love to see pics.
Guessing if they are preg is a little game around this forum.

[MARYDVM]

A third possibility - the heifer in the pasture could be sucking on her. Some cows can turn on the milk for an adopted "calf", even if the calf is as big as them. A cow that's being sucked on, or has an udder filling up from seasonal influences will have a moderately full bag that may be uneven. A cow about to freshen will have a tight, looks like its ready to explode udder.

[April]

I'll bump her this morning and maybe feel something that way. I'm pretty good at determining if the goats are pregnant, but these cows are blowing my mind.

The pasture grass isn't great - I'm working on it, but it's just not there yet. So I think we can rule that one out. Maybe in a month or so after we get some rain, but right now it's not very lush.

That's an interesting thought about the heifer sucking. Her teats don't look at all like they've been sucked on, and the heifer's been out there for over a year. But those two items probably don't really mean anything. I'm sure they're sneakier than my teenagers ever thought about being.

Her bag has always been big, even when she's dry, but it's also been floppy. It's definitely tighter right now, but not full to the point of bursting.

I'd like to just "wait and see", but that's so not my nature. I'll gather the data and have some tests run and try my hand at bumping. I even looked at a "how to palpate" text last night, but I don't think I'd know what the heck I was feeling if I tried, so I'll leave that one for the experts. It is fun to guess in the meantime, though.

Here are some photos:

Udder in November of 2009


Udder now (April 2010) - Not much size change, but the teats are definitely different.


A view from behind:


I'll let you know what the biotracking results are. Thanks a bunch, everyone!

-April

[springvalley]

She could be bred, but the udder isn`t that full. I think it could be the pasture making her milk(maybe). I sure hate it when the big dairies cut off tails on cows. Thanks Marc

[francismilker]

She's got a little bit of a pig gut on her down low so I'd say she could be bred. However, she doesn't look bred enough from the gut, udder, or rear view to be bagging up. I'd guess she's making milk for the yearling or young bull running with her.