Only one teat produces milk for calf....calf not doing well

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MattK

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Hi,

I had a cow give birth to a bull calf yesterday around 4:15. The calf was really trying to feed for quite a while. He slowly puttered out so I gave him some Lifeline colostrum. This morning I decided to get the cow in and try to milk her. Her teats would not milk....only one would produce milk. I took what I could and mixed it with the lifeline and had to tube the calf. I called the vet and he said to give her some oxytocin. I gave her the shot and her bag got more full however I still cannot get any milk out. Her teats feel hard on the inside. Any ideas on what to do to get her milking? I am going to switch to milk replacer now with a lamb nipple. Any other ideas? I hate having to tube the calf!
 
her teats may also be plugged , and if that is the case you will really have to work to get the plugs out
Suzanne
 
suzorse":b0nxjw2e said:
her teats may also be plugged , and if that is the case you will really have to work to get the plugs out
Suzanne
Warm wet rags soaking the teat openings and massaging the teat end between you fingers, kind of rolling them back and forth will help to break free a clog if that is the problem. A strong sucking calf will also eventually work it loose
 
You will need a teat knife to open the teats. Teat knives are small scalpels rounded on one side with a handle.
Or perhaps you could use a stainless steel teat tube to open them, plastic teat dilaters are often too flimsy to open
a teat that feels "hard" as you describe as it probably has an internal "spider" growth or a small tumor that needs to be extracted for the cow to ever give milk out of it again.
Did she give milk out of all 4 teats last year?
If not, the teat canals might be permanently grown shut on any not in use last year.
 
I'm with SoButch, but I'm always disinclined to shove even a teat cannula, much less a teat knife, up in one - but sometimes it's necessary.
Have one cow in the herd right now that has one front teat with the teat canal completely scarred in, all the way from the orifice up into the gland itself - no way whatsoever to get milk out... but she raises a whopper calf on 3, so she gets to stay for the time being.
Close to 10 years ago, had one that came in with one big teat that would milk, and 3 dead-end ones. Fortunately, another cow had just lost her calf, and I just switched ol' 1-tit's calf over to the other cow and sent her on to town.
 
I put a call in to my vet to see if she can come out and take a look. It makes sense that a teat knife may need to be used. She had a calf last year but I bought her in October so I don't know if she had problems or not. The calf from last year looks great so I don't want to get rid of her but if this is going to be an ongoing problem she will have to go. Is there any chance this could be mastitis? Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond.
 
Could be mastitis, but you would usually feel heat in that quarter.
 
I don't feel any heat in the quarters that are not producing. I can get a drop or two out of two of the quarters and I felt a tumor like feeling at the base of one of the teats. Could I massage this out or does it require more invasive means. The vet told me to give her oxytocin today but I feel her bag was so big she didn't need it. The good news is I got the calf on the one quarter that is producing milk. Any other suggestions?
 
Has the vet actually put hands on her udder? It he/she a large animal vet? If it's edema, lasix will help some. It's unusual to not have edema in just one quarter though.
 
MattK":2eu59htl said:
I don't feel any heat in the quarters that are not producing.
I'm betting on no active mastitis and tissue damage was caused by mastitis much longer than 9 months ago and she healed out of it leaving scarring damage rendering her a 1 or 2 teater.

I can get a drop or two out of two of the quarters and I felt a tumor like feeling at the base of one of the teats. Could I massage this out or does it require more invasive means.
Doubtful it could be massage out, if it could you would have gotten it already.
I'm going to say best to leave it alone, low potential for improvement, higher potential to make it worse with invasive means. IF there is significant old damage to the mammary tissue, pretty much nothing you can do to rejuvenate milk production.


The vet told me to give her oxytocin today but I feel her bag was so big she didn't need it.

Size of udder has nothing to do with milk letdown.
I've worked on a dairy cow holding over 70 lbs of milk and nothing you could do other than a shot of oxytocin would get her to let it down. You would think it's just not physically possible to not start leaking out, but it's a mental thing. Hormone oxytocin is naturally produced by cows and when cow is properly stimulated she releases it into bloodstream it hits the brain...wham milk letdown. Cow in fear, pain or otherwise agitated releases the hormone adrenaline it hits the brain...wham automatic milk shutdown. I'm going to suggest the next time you are going to work on the 3 quarters give her a shot of oxy and then after trying IF it appears hopeless of getting milk out, give it up and don't even bother with a teat knife....it's over, leave her be and move on. You said she raised a good calf last year for the other guy, but I suspect creep feeding probably had a lot to do with his success and that's why he sold her.


The good news is I got the calf on the one quarter that is producing milk. Any other suggestions?
That is great news! Might be the best you can hope for. Be prepared to offer a creep feed if it looks like one quarter isn't providing him enough so he doesn't end up being a dink.
I'm hoping for a good outcome for you Matt, but sadly far from expecting it.
All the Best of Luck to ya
SOB
 
I have had luck infusing them They make a kit for this and you can get it at most feed stores. Or you can take a long needle and file the point off of it. Less flexible if you use a needle. Push it up the teat canal fully. Then milk her out well once you get a flow. One of mine had gone bottle teat last week and I infused her. I thought it was mastitis but it was only blockage. Calf was hitting the hind teats and not the front. Now he's pulling on all four.
 

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