Problem with milk

[Bayoucowgirl]

Can anyone help me? I've got a first-calf heifer that I am trying to break for a milk cow. The heifer calved several days ago but when I found her the calf had already died - don't know why. He looked okay as best I could tell. One side of his head still had musalage on it so I'm guessing that she didn't clean it up enough for it to breathe. My problem now is in her bag. It isn't swollen, the teats are open but there is little milk - about a pint. The milk is not stringy or lumpy. I can detect no knots in her bag. The milk is bloody - looks like I got a cow that gives strawberry flavored milk. Is this normal? I'm not concerned about the quantity of milk - just the color. I know that as I feed her more, she will make more milk. If I can git her straightened out, I hope to buy an orphan calf to put on her. So...... how about it? Can someone clue me in on what I need to do for her?

 

[bigbull338]

your cow has 2 things 1 is mastitis by the clumps in her milk needs tobe dred 2 she has bloody milk it will clear up in time id get a nurse calf on her as soon as possable scott

 

[jerry27150]

bigbull, she said it is not stringy or lumpy. bayougirl, just keep milking her & it will clear up in 2 days to a week. but you can put a clf on any time

 

[Bayoucowgirl]

Thanks for the response. This evening when I milked her, the color was better but still pinkish. How fast should I increase her feed to increase the milk supply? I don't want to founder her.

 

[jerry27150]

wouldn't give her much grain if you are going to put a calf on her. used to increase for dairy cows about two lbs of grain a day

 

[milkmaid]

The blood in milk is not uncommon - I've seen some older cows after freshening that gave milk with so much blood that it did look like a strawberry milkshake. Calves didn't seem to mind. Occasionally I've seen heifers whose milk had to go in a bucket for up to a week after calving before it cleared up enough to put in the milk tank.

You didn't mention breed, but if she's a dairy breed and only giving a pint after being milked for several days, I'd suspect she's either holding her milk (a few cc's of oxytocin will fix that) or - no offense intended - you aren't getting her milked out. Heifers are hard to milk by hand; esp ones with small teats and a bag with a lot of swelling. If she's a beef breed, then you might be getting her milked out, and that's all she's giving. Takes cows a little while to get up to peak production...usually figure on 2-4 weeks.

How often are you milking her?

 

[bigbull338]

when i was in the dairy business i loved cows and heifers that freshed with blood in their milk b/c they would always milk their self to death scott

 

[Bayoucowgirl]

To all of those who have offered advice, a big thank you. This site has been a blessing because there are few old timers left in my area who have the knowledge from a lifetime of experience to share with me. As to some of the questions that have been asked: The heifer is a registered red poll - a dual purpose breed I'm told. I've been milking her out for about a week now. The milk has cleared up and the volumn has increased to about 1/2 gal. a day. I milk her once a day in the evening around 7:00. After tomorrow, I will start to milk her morning and evening. (I'm a teacher and will be out for the summer.) Now I've got a new problem! This evening when I went out to milk her I noticed a slightly bloody rear end. She was also walking a little stiff. Would this be part of clearing up after the birth of her calf (May 16)? Can anyone offer input as to what might be going on?

 

[dun]

To all of those who have offered advice, a big thank you. This site has been a blessing because there are few old timers left in my area who have the knowledge from a lifetime of experience to share with me. As to some of the questions that have been asked: The heifer is a registered red poll - a dual purpose breed I'm told. I've been milking her out for about a week now. The milk has cleared up and the volumn has increased to about 1/2 gal. a day. I milk her once a day in the evening around 7:00. After tomorrow, I will start to milk her morning and evening. (I'm a teacher and will be out for the summer.) Now I've got a new problem! This evening when I went out to milk her I noticed a slightly bloody rear end. She was also walking a little stiff. Would this be part of clearing up after the birth of her calf (May 16)? Can anyone offer input as to what might be going on?

Not particularly unusual to have a bloody discharge for a couple of weeks post calving. The only time I'ld be concerned is if it continues regularly for a couple of days and[/] it's bright blood.

dun