Possible to bring milk back?

Kyla · #1 12/10/14, 10:34 PM

Please forgive the stupid question but I'm a bit new at this. I have a Jersey nurse cow that I just got and has not been milked in about a week (maybe a little more?) she's young, healthy and not bred yet. I would like to milk her or maybe raise a calf on her but I'm worried that she's already too dried up. She does still have milk but it's a small amount.
My question is... Is there a way to bring her back into milk? I've read that milking multiple times per day + good nutrition can help milk production. Any other suggestions? Any thoughts on my chances for success?

Thanks in advance!
-Kyla

sammyd · #2 12/11/14, 02:05 AM

You could try BST.

Jennifer L. · #3 12/11/14, 05:59 PM

If you jump on it RIGHT NOW, she might come along. About ten days out with no milking will dry her off for sure, from my experience.

eon69nc · #4 12/11/14, 06:43 PM

Yes by milking her often initially you can get her back in milk but here is the thing, her mammary system was in process of shut down. Hormones have changed and you could be setting yourself up for issues as these things have caused changes to system. Just my opinion

willow_girl · #5 12/12/14, 11:56 PM

You won't know unless you try!

I think a lot will depend on what stage of her lactation she's in. If she's fairly fresh -- say, within the first 3 months -- it might be possible to jump-start her system.

At work, we had a fairly fresh cow (less than a month in milk) who experienced a bout of dysentery a couple of weeks ago. Many of our cows were a little loose for a few days, but Rena seemed to take it really hard, and went down on us. She was down in a free stall for (I think) 2 days. (We hauled feed and water to her.) Then my boss moved her out to a pen, and found her standing the next day. She gradually recovered ... I think she wasn't milked for about a week, but when she regained her strength, she was returned to the milking string, and seems to be doing OK. We won't know for sure until after the tester visits, but so far, so good. She didn't get mastitis, either, which was a big concern after not having been milked for so long!