2 milking questions

763 Views 7 Replies 4 Participants Last post by AR Transplant, Aug 18, 2004

Christina R.

Discussion Starter · Aug 15, 2004

If I seperate the calf and mama during the night, I'm figuring I milk the mama before the calf eats in the am. Will there be enough milk left for the calf's am feeding or do I specifically make sure I leave milk for the am feeding?

If it takes about 10 minutes for pros to hand milk one cow, can I milk at 6:30 am and then let the calf with the mama or is that making the calf wait to long for her am feeding? I was thinking of milking at 6:30 am and 6:00 pm once I begin to do 2 a day milkings (when the calf is weaned or sold). For right now I am thinking of am feedings only. Thanks!!

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willow_girl

· #2 · Aug 15, 2004

Well, if you want to be charitable (especially if your cow makes more milk than you can use) you can always reserve the calf's favorite teat for it!

How to tell which one is its favorite? The one it always goes for first!

Just make sure it's milking it out completely, which shouldn't be a problem especially as the calf starts getting bigger.

Incidentally, when my Jersey, Dawn, calved in April, I left the calf with her all the time for awhile, and only milked her in the evenings. As the calf started getting bigger (and hungrier!) I began separating them from noon-6 p.m. and milking then.

Now, since I have more danged cows than I know what to do with :haha: I've been letting Libby-Belle have all the milk. That is one happy calf!

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Christina R.

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 15, 2004

Thanks Willow, Evalina does definitely have a favorite teat. Thanks also for telling me about that udder still being pre freshening edema. In my milking failure all I could think about was I'll never getr that poor girls udder down to the size they are in post milked pictures. Good luck with Twister.

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willow_girl

· #4 · Aug 15, 2004

One more thing I forgot to add, if her udder is real hard and tight, there is an excellent cream on the market called UdderMint, which conditions the udder by stimulating blood flow via menthol. (As a side benefit, if you get a cold, you can rub some on your own chest -- it works better than Vick's!

) I would recommend cleaning the udder, applying Uddermint (keep it away from the teats unless you want peppermint-flavored milk!) and waiting about 5 minutes before beginning to milk.

You may have to get this at a dairy supply (and it ain't cheap

) I have used it on many first-calf heifers with good results.

P.S. You did a great job of bonding with your cow if she'll let you milk her with no problems! I wish I could say the same for Twister; having been milked in the parlor all her life, it took her 2 days to figure out that, if she didn't want to be milked in the pasture, all she had to do was walk away from me! I had a dilly of a time with her yesterday. Gary is installing one of my new stanchions in the barn right now!

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pygmywombat

· #5 · Aug 15, 2004

I always share the milkings with the calf. After the calf hits about 4 weeks old and is hogging all the milk I seperate it and mom overnight and milk only in the morning. Calf gets to nurse all day.

You don't have to worry about leaving the calf milk after you milk, the cow is constantly making more and the calf can always get the last of the milk out of the cow that you cannot. Leaving milk in one quarter is asking for mastitis, as some days the calf isn't interested in nursing in the mornings or may decide it likes another quarter.

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AR Transplant

· #6 · Aug 17, 2004

I have to seperate Isabella and Sugar in the morning and milk at night.

Everytime I tried the morning milking, Isabella would come to the fence(right outside our bedroom)at 2:00 a.m. and bellow until we let her in with her calf.

Yep, she sure has us trained.