Drying up a Dexter

[Rosarybeads]

We bought 2 Dexter mamas who had calves on them (very mature calves, a good 7 months old) and the guy we bought them from told me to just separate the calves after they all got settled in. They are quite large and are almost as big as their mamas (well, close enough).

So Saturday we split them apart and one mama I suspect had already weaned because she didn't seem to mind (same with her calf). The other is a different story... her and baby have been mooing like crazy at each other at all hours. But more importantly, the mama's bag is getting really big (she has a nice large bag... probably good milking genetics). Is this okay, and should I just leave them alone? We are not giving her grain, she is just eating hay; and she has never been hand milked so that would be a nightmare if we had to do that. Oh, and she is also due in May/June with another calf, if that makes any difference. Any danger signs I should be watching for in the cow? Again, she's not really handleable... I can get within a few feet of her and she's friendly, but not "put a halter on me or touch me" friendly.

Thanks in advance!

[genebo]

If you don't want to milk the mama, it's not necessary to wean the calf right now. Since mama is due in May, she will probably wean the calf herself in March.

I've had some Dexters that didn't wean the current calf until a couple of weeks before the new one came. No problems.

If you do leave them separated, mama's udder will get really tight for a week or so, then subside. She'll cry at first because she misses the calf and her udder hurts, but her crying usually ends after about 3 days.

Milking her to relieve pressure can prolong her drying up. I don't do it unless there are some warning signs that things aren't going well. Watch for teats to "blow up", meaning to swell to a large diameter. Then you might ease her pressure if she will let you.

This isn't the time to expect her to be super friendly with you. That will have to come later, when she feels better.

[Rosarybeads]

Thank you. I didn't realize we could leave the calves in with her otherwise I probably would have gone that route. We tried to move them back this morning but the little bull calf is a wild thing after moving last week... so I guess they are staying separated. So far so good... her nipples are looking a bit roundish (particularly one) but I have pictures of her before she gave birth a couple years ago and her bag was RIDICULOUS then... and it's much smaller than that now. So so far so good.