[Awnry Abe]

Nellie just freshened today. I brought her in for a light milking and a tube of calcium. I have never seen so much blood in the milk. It came out almost all red, all 4 quarters. I've dealt with very berry milk before, but this seems extreme. Graphic pic below. I just need a baseline for 'normal'.

This is her 2nd freshening. Last year, her 1st, we mismanaged her and kept her calf on her for 3 months. When we finally did milk her, she ran a heavy blood tinge for several weeks. Then she cleared and had very normal lactation the rest is the way. Never an issue, other than attitude.

Comments and advice welcome.

 

[gone-a-milkin]

Certain cows just always freshen pink. This is the reason I can NEVER drink strawberry milk. :yuck: <cringe>

That does look like a lot of blood, but I wouldn't worry until you have milked her a few times.
It is very rare for them to stay THAT bloody for longer than a couple days.

There are strains of mastitis that show bloody though.

Give it a couple days before panicking.

Cute calf, what did you get there?

 

[Awnry Abe]

Certain cows just always freshen pink. This is the reason I can NEVER drink strawberry milk. :yuck: <cringe>

That does look like a lot of blood, but I wouldn't worry until you have milked her a few times.
It is very rare for them to stay THAT bloody for longer than a couple days.

There are strains of mastitis that show bloody though.

Give it a couple days before panicking.

Cute calf, what did you get there?

Thanks, I hoped that you would weigh in. I planned on giving it a few milkings before intervening. She had excellent health last year, even in the early strawberry period. I maybe should add that she has been dry since January-ish. I don't know if that is a factor. I am trying to go 6 months on, 6 off.

Got another bull! Thats 21-6 in favor of the boys this year.

I did a big no-no tonight. He came a week early so I still don't have her halter on. She wouldn't come up, so I carried him in my lap on the tail gate of the mule as DW used us as bait to get her to the barn. No issues there, other than we both slid off the back going up a hill and he crunched my midsection when we landed. I did a fair amount of handling of him at milking to coerce her into the stall. Not a big deal, I'll pull him for good on Friday night or Saturday morning.

Well.....yesterday I moved the beef herd. They have been calving like crazy this week. The pasture they left was huge and thick. I had the feeling that I was leaving a calf behind. (Actually left 2 behind). After all of the dust in dairy barn had settled and I was finished cleaning, I heard a hoarse sounding cow that was obviously calling a calf at the fence. I went alone this time on the ATV. I tried to let her back into the prior pasture to march back to her calf, but she didn't get my plan. The herd was about to jail-break, so I shut the gate and went looking for him on the ATV. I found him at the extreme far fence of this huge pasture. He was a little day-old fella so snagged him and tossed him over my still-smelly lap and drove him back to her...where she took one sniff and head-butted him right back at me....it was an "oh-dang-what-did-I-just-do" moment. I forgot all about having the birthing fluids of the other calf all over me. He got sucked into the mob of the herd looking for anything that would stand still. Eventually, about 30 minute later, she ran in after him and tried to sort him out from all of the wrong teats. I was mildly entertaining to watch. I'll keep an eye on that situation, but I think it is going to be fine.

 

[gone-a-milkin]

I am a little sick of fresh cows right now myself.
They can be such idiots.
Right now there are 5 new calves still running with the dairy herd.
The mamas are forever stopping traffic to spin around and yell for their kids,
or they get this idea the calf was left in the field even though it is RIGHT THERE.
And you cannot reason with them when they get all hormonal like that.
Its best to just try and stay out of their way.

The farm I work on has been milking 3x a day all summer.
We just went back to twice this last weekend.
I have never been so relieved. The whole summer was just a blur of sweating and naps.
I did lose a lot of weight though, so I guess it was good for that.

Soon enough we will be milking in the freeze. I hate that worse.

 

[Awnry Abe]

I am a little sick of fresh cows right now myself.
They can be such idiots.


Soon enough we will be milking in the freeze. I hate that worse.

No kidding! On both thoughts. At about 20 degrees, things get real challenging for me. Forgetting something water related is unforgiving the next milking.