Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Cattle Boards
Got Milk?
Dairy Farming
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Help Support CattleToday:
Message
<blockquote data-quote="J and L" data-source="post: 201942" data-attributes="member: 3494"><p>Linda writing now-</p><p>On the oxytocin issue-- alot of what I do it teach employees how to make judgement calls. When properly trained employees will make decisions using the same process I do. We've found that most employees relish being taught <em>how</em> to make the call, not just what the call should be. While I fully agree that shots should not be the norm, my experience has been that hooked on oxytocin one lactation does not mean hooked for life. Oxytocin is like many other hormones-- animals will cut back their natural production of the chemical if there is an easier supply of it. BST is a great example of this. While a cow might give +10 over her natural production with it, if she is on it for 3 months she will drop 15-20 below her "natural" curve when it is stopped because her body is trusting another source for it and thus has reduced her own output of it. Her output resets next lactation (this is why the reduced BST supply sharply dropped milk production and is also why 6 months later milk supply was rebounding without it-- cows were freshening again and continuing on their own curves)</p><p></p><p>With all decisions the scerenio sets the stage-- for example, it is 11:00 PM on a -2 degree F night and a new heifer is in the parlor. After the normal prep and attach, the heifer lets down some but unit comes off quickly and the udder is still very tight. Oxytocin or no? Here, the permission would be a hands down "yes"-- the reasoning: heifers that let down some but not all are not likely to get a full letdown on a second attach. The temp says that if the heifer starts to drip in the freestall before the next milking frozen teat ends are a real possibility-- it is easy economics to see that the potential of losing one or more quarters on a $2000 heifer is much more significant than having her on shots a couple of days. </p><p></p><p>Second example: Fantastic cow, teat end injury and mastitis. Pain can keep a cow from letting down completely, so oxytocin with antibiotics is normal. Most cows will resume normal letdown once treatment stops. Occasionally the cow needs oxytocin for longer than the treatment-- I've always suspected that in this case the injury pain is overriding normal letdown. </p><p></p><p>Third example: Nervous heifer, mid summer day. As in scene 1-- unit comes off early and udder is still tight. The call? Re-prep and reattach-- then let her go no matter the result. The risk from her not milking out is very low if she has no mastitis.</p><p></p><p>As for inheriting letdown, I can't say I've seen a correlation. Cysts-- yes--I've seen that in families. Mastitis-- not specifically. I learned a real lesson on inheritibility when we purchased a herd where cow families had the same first letter for their names. Matilda, Menerd, Matea, Mildred, Maggie-- all related, all dripped on the left rear quarters. I don't believe that mastitis is inherited-- I do believe that physical characteristics that can cause susceptibility are. Just as being an NBA star wouldn't be inherited but the height that would help one become a star would be.</p><p></p><p>Linda</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="J and L, post: 201942, member: 3494"] Linda writing now- On the oxytocin issue-- alot of what I do it teach employees how to make judgement calls. When properly trained employees will make decisions using the same process I do. We've found that most employees relish being taught [i]how[/i] to make the call, not just what the call should be. While I fully agree that shots should not be the norm, my experience has been that hooked on oxytocin one lactation does not mean hooked for life. Oxytocin is like many other hormones-- animals will cut back their natural production of the chemical if there is an easier supply of it. BST is a great example of this. While a cow might give +10 over her natural production with it, if she is on it for 3 months she will drop 15-20 below her "natural" curve when it is stopped because her body is trusting another source for it and thus has reduced her own output of it. Her output resets next lactation (this is why the reduced BST supply sharply dropped milk production and is also why 6 months later milk supply was rebounding without it-- cows were freshening again and continuing on their own curves) With all decisions the scerenio sets the stage-- for example, it is 11:00 PM on a -2 degree F night and a new heifer is in the parlor. After the normal prep and attach, the heifer lets down some but unit comes off quickly and the udder is still very tight. Oxytocin or no? Here, the permission would be a hands down "yes"-- the reasoning: heifers that let down some but not all are not likely to get a full letdown on a second attach. The temp says that if the heifer starts to drip in the freestall before the next milking frozen teat ends are a real possibility-- it is easy economics to see that the potential of losing one or more quarters on a $2000 heifer is much more significant than having her on shots a couple of days. Second example: Fantastic cow, teat end injury and mastitis. Pain can keep a cow from letting down completely, so oxytocin with antibiotics is normal. Most cows will resume normal letdown once treatment stops. Occasionally the cow needs oxytocin for longer than the treatment-- I've always suspected that in this case the injury pain is overriding normal letdown. Third example: Nervous heifer, mid summer day. As in scene 1-- unit comes off early and udder is still tight. The call? Re-prep and reattach-- then let her go no matter the result. The risk from her not milking out is very low if she has no mastitis. As for inheriting letdown, I can't say I've seen a correlation. Cysts-- yes--I've seen that in families. Mastitis-- not specifically. I learned a real lesson on inheritibility when we purchased a herd where cow families had the same first letter for their names. Matilda, Menerd, Matea, Mildred, Maggie-- all related, all dripped on the left rear quarters. I don't believe that mastitis is inherited-- I do believe that physical characteristics that can cause susceptibility are. Just as being an NBA star wouldn't be inherited but the height that would help one become a star would be. Linda [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Got Milk?
Dairy Farming
Top