How Long?

[MF135]

I just bought 8 more reg. Shorthorn heifers. They'll be 2 in Aug/Sept. Long story short they weren't intentionally exposed to a bull but seller said bull got in with them for cpl week period. 2 are clearly showing so when I tagged/wormed them I went ahead and "milk checked" the rest. 4 heifers are definitely lactating milk. Not a clear liquid, but milk.

I plan to take them all to get palpated this sat but in the meantime, I'd like to know how soon before calving could/should a heifer start lactating? Ive raised cattle my entire life but with weak grass in this drought and never having shortys I don't really know what to expect out of their bags (volume wise) before calving.

 

[hillsdown]

If a few have milk then expect a calf asap, usually 2-3 days until they calve but a lot of factors can throw a wrench into that . I would not worry as they are within calving age , hope the bull was not a high BW one though. Good luck, keep an eye on them and you/they will do fine.

 

[JSCATTLE]

Ive seen them make a bag and go back down for several weeks. But you should be able to see that with out milking .

 

[KNERSIE]

The "milk test" is like inviting mastitis for a visit.

 

[dun]

The "milk test" is like inviting mastitis for a visit.

Glad to see that someone else feels like I do about it.

 

[MF135]

The "milk test" is like inviting mastitis for a visit.

Glad to see that someone else feels like I do about it.

Whoa, I didn't milk her out or anything. I jus gave a squeeze w/ my thumb and forefinger to see if it was in fact milk that was causing the strut and then squeezed out the teat to keep the milk from goin back up in the udder.

They are out of a HVR Castlerock 804 ET bull whose dam has an exceptional udder.

 

[dun]

The "milk test" is like inviting mastitis for a visit.

Glad to see that someone else feels like I do about it.

Whoa, I didn't milk her out or anything. I jus gave a squeeze w/ my thumb and forefinger to see if it was in fact milk that was causing the strut and then squeezed out the teat to keep the milk from goin back up in the udder.

They are out of a HVR Castlerock 804 ET bull whose dam has an exceptional udder.

Breaking the seal on the end of the teat without a calf handy to keep emptying the udder is an invitation to problems. Still have no idea why anyone would do it

 

[regolith]

What Dun and Knersie have said.

It's completely unnecessary. You can assess everything you need to about an in-calf heifer without handling the bag.
Compare the right flank to a heifer you know isn't pregnant. You can make a bit of a guess between six to nine months by how flat/bulgy it's showing. Less than five - six months she's probably still pretty flat but will have some udder/capacity development. Once the udder's 'half-sprung' and starts increasing rapidly in size you're looking at anywhere from tomorrow to a month out. So you look at how relaxed the vulva and tail head are to know when you're within a few days.
Or you can just have your vet scan them and guesstimate the age of the pregnancy. Or ask the seller which couple of weeks it was they were running with the bull.

 

[jcarkie]

heifers will bag up as early as 6 months but i would never milk anything out. i agree with the others don't open the teat till delivery. seeing the udder is proof enough for me if you are going to check them anyway. lots of signs to see how close, i have 3 that are bred to calve in sept one is bagging up some, the others are not. they will start spinging and then i look for the mucus plug some dont bag until the day before.