Heifer won't let down milk

hillsmom · #1 06/11/14, 10:04 PM

I have a yearling jersey heifer that calved about 48 hours ago. She seems fine other than she will not let her milk down. Gave her a shot of oxytocin this morning with no luck and even used a teat cannily without any success. Kept the calf away today and had a little success tonight but not much. Any other ideas? Thanks!

MO_cows · #2 06/11/14, 10:08 PM

Is she really just a year old? She might just be too immature to make milk.

hillsmom · #3 06/11/14, 10:58 PM

Yes. Bought her from a friend. She wasn't supposed to be bred but.......

topside1 · #4 06/12/14, 06:34 AM

So she was three months old when bull injected his sperm? First calf heifer at that age is biologically out of sequence and undoubtedly confused mentally....Topside

topside1 · #5 06/12/14, 06:35 AM

If this story is true you better be buying a rubber nipple today....

Lizbet · #6 06/12/14, 10:13 AM

Did you check to see if the cows teats aren't blocked? Our dexter had a clogged teat with her first and wouldn't let the calf touch any of them until it was removed. We used a wet warm cloth to loosen the clog. warning if this is the problem be prepared to be kicked while trying to fix the problem.

G. Seddon · #7 06/12/14, 11:09 AM

Are you bottle feeding the calf? Did it get colostrum?

jwal10 · #8 06/12/14, 11:40 AM

Make sure all are open and the calf can nurse for a few days so she settles in. Then use a warm cloth and massage her udder to sooth her. It takes a while for a new heifer to let down. Be quiet and use slow movements around her, she will get used to what you are doing and it will work out. I hope she is closer to 2 than 1, otherwise don't push her milk production and let her grow....James

Awnry Abe · #9 06/12/14, 12:38 PM

Welcome to the cattle forum!

Not knowing your level of experience leaves me guessing and assuming many things. Don't be offended by these follow-on questions.

1) Do you have a good eye for what "normal" looks like? In my own limited experience with a FF (3), none were exactly a faucet of milk at the very first expression. In fact, one was so rock hard with edema that it was like milking a brick. It took the calf to loosen her up over a couple of days. On another, her colostrom was too thick to express. Same story. It took a calf.
2) It sounds like you are getting some milk. Is that out of all 4 or just 1 or...?
3) How old is the cow in question? I am mostly curious about this (all other answers being deemed "abormal"). I kind of tend to think like MO_cows in that, at a certain age, a heifer is capable of producing a calf. Also a certain age, she is capable of producing milk. I don't know that the two ages necessarily track conveniently.

...
The "yearling" comments reminds me of the my own sloppy usage of the term. I'll call a calf a "yearling" as soon as I wean it--even if it is only 6 months old--because that is how I start handling it. "Time to go move the yearlings...". No worries there. But I'll sometimes continue to call it that (in error) until it is laying on the ground and pushing out its first calf a full two years later--looking up at me reminding me that "I stopped being a yearling when you turned my in the bull." Because I am sloppy with the term, I assume the rest of the world is as well, and don't consider it a trustworthy term for use in trade or troubleshooting. For instance, if you were to post an ad for a yearling, one of my first questions would be "when was it born?", because at that age, I need to know #of months, not just that it "is youthful".

Northerner · #10 06/12/14, 02:32 PM

My jersey had her first calf (an oops) at 15 months. She milked fine right from the start. She is now on her fourth calf, and we always let the calf nurse exclusively for the first few days. Btw we are so much more carefull who is in with the bull now, those jersey girls are FERTILE.

hillsmom · #11 06/12/14, 02:34 PM

Thanks for your reply. By a yearling I mean she is 16 months old, just a loose term that we use when they are under 2 years of age. As of this morning she is finally starting to let her milk down. I got approximately a quart this morning from one quarter and then about another half or so after her calf finished. I think the big issue was that she was sore and nervous, but is calming down and getting used to a new routine.

Awnry Abe · #12 06/12/14, 10:42 PM

Yeah, that's young! I'm glad she is settling in.

G. Seddon · #13 06/13/14, 06:25 AM

Glad that things are working out okay.

Big difference between 12 months and 16 months, especially when dealing with heifers! Advice, even though you didn't ask: if you ever get another heifer that's too young to be bred, remember that your vet can prescribe something to terminate the pregnancy. It's better than taking a chance on calving difficulties in a too small heifer.