# Cow won't let down her milk.



## Mark T (Jan 7, 2003)

Bonnie just had her seventh calf yesterday. Her udder is very full and is not sore - she lets the calf suck and lets me try to milk but nothing comes out. I tried 20 cc of oxytocin but that didn't do the trick either. Any suggestions? I'm getting scared about the colostrum situation for the calf.


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

Mark, have you been able to "unplug" the teats? Does absolutely nothing come out? 
Is the calf up and about? Energetic? Passing manure and urine? 

May not be in time, and not sure where you are, but we're in Mineral, VA, and I have a couple of bags of LifeLine if you want them. I'll check back here in a bit.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Well I`m not sure what to tell ya, should be something come out weather or not she is letting her milk down for the calf or not. How long have you had cows? Are you sure she is not pluged up? Take a warm damp cloth to the barn and massage her udder and then try it. I have never had a cow have nothing come out in my life, and I have been around for some time. Is the calf nearby when you are milking her? Just keep working at her, grab high on the teat and pull down, that is about all you can do,without beig there to help ya. > Thanks marc


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Mark have you ever milked Bonnie? Or is this her first calf with you as her owner? If you not familar with handmilking, well lets just say that some folks just can't handmilk. With that in mind I'd figure the calf has gotten plenty of colostrum....Topside


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## eggzackly (Apr 14, 2011)

I have never owned a cow, just wanted to say that up front. If I were in your shoes, maybe I'd try to hold the nipple up high with one hand, clamp it off, and try to strip down with the other hand. It's kind of hard to clamp with one hand at the top and milk with the rest of your fingers if you are not used to it. Ditto the warm wet compress before you try to get the milk flowing.


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

Mark, if you want the colostrum supplement, leave a note here and I will check early in the morning.


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## Mark T (Jan 7, 2003)

Thanks for the replies. Particular thanks to Seddon for your kind offer.

I've had Bonnie since she was a day old and she's eight now. She has been handmilked and has been a great mom - the first five times. She raises her own and two other calves I get from a dairy barn and they have ended up in the 600 pound range at ten months. Last year her calf did not do well, went downhill and died. She refused to take any nurse calves. She acted like her udder was sore.
When I saw the calf yesterday afternoon (she was three days early according to the AI calendar), it was up, dried off, bouncy, and wagging her tail as she sucked. I'm on crutches and Bonnie, who is normally quite tame, is shy of them, so I didn't go check her udder by hand.
Calf is not as energetic today, so I dropped the crutches, crawled over and tried Bonnie's teats - I got a little dribble out. Her bag is full (she's an Ayrshire dairy cow), and she's not sore like she was last year.
The plugs are out - I can barely get anything. I managed to get half a cup or so of colostrum out and gave that to the calf but it isn't anywhere close to what the three or four quarts she may need.
I gave the calf a half bottle of milk replacer (luckily I had a bag on hand since I'm raising a neighbor's orphan). She then went over to Bonnie and sucked, but would try each teat for about ten seconds, drop it, and then go the next teat. She never got that milk froth that they'll get when they are tapped in. While she was sucking on one teat, I crawled to the other side and tried hand miling - just a drop with each pull. The milk is in the udder but nothing is coming. Again, Bonnie isn't in pain and the udder doesn't feel warm - she'll stand there and let the two of us pull on her all day.
The calf is also now favoring her back right leg - Bonnie may have stepped on her at some point. It trembles a little bit when she's standing still and trying to nurse.

I hope she got some colostrum before the spigot dried up, but I doubt it. Has anyone ever had a calf survive if it didn't get colostrum?

Another question: What is Bonnie's issue? She's had trouble two years in a row and I really don't want to cull her - she's a pet. She leads the local Spring parade each year, lets the kids ride her, and I love leaning against her and reading a book while she chews her cud. That said, my wife's out of work, I'm a teacher, and money is tight - it would be hard to justify keeping a 1100 pound pet when we are strapped. Someone please give me hope.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Oh. Hmm. Well, this is a stab in the dark from here.

Perhaps she did have bad mastitis last freshening and now she has so much scar tissue in her udder that whatever 'milk' she is producing cannot travel down to be expressed.

I have seen that happen with a quarter before. Never all 4, but if she was just left w/ a bad staph infection and not milked (by people or calves) then perhaps.

After having this infection for so long and the resulting scar tissue, she may not seem sore at all.

I would try giving her a mastitis tube treatment and keep the calf off her overnight the first night (so the tubes stay in there).

I believe there is a meat withdrawal time for those tubes, so keep that in mind if you do have to cull her.

What a sad story but maybe she will come right for you yet.
You are sure she is producing milk though. 


Hmm.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Mark, could it be that your cow has Caked Udder because this is what it sounds like to me. Most often seen in first calvers, it is not confined to them by any means and at least one of my older cows will come in with this every year and not necessarily the same cow. While usually accompanied by pain in heifers, this doesn't always seem the case in older cows and they will allow the calf to suckle or you to handle the udder but neither of you will get much milk.

If it is Caked Udder (or more corrrectly perhaps, Congested Udder) the udder will appear very full and if pressed with the finger tips, will leave an indentation. If servere, there will be swelling between the udder and navel. Oxytocin helps with the lets down of milk and should be given prior to every milking if used but the best method is to foment the udder with hot water and massage at least twice a day and more if possible. It usually takes up to 4-5 days to clear up so you will have to continue feeding the calf but keep it a little bit hungry so that it continues to go to it's mother - the bunting of a hungry calf is also good and has the same effect as you massaging the udder except that a hungry calf can be none too gentle. 

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

Mark, not sure what to say about your situation and Bonnie's future. Bonnie sounds like a very special cow to you. 

Yes, we did have a colostrum deprived calf one year and it survived, with intense veterinary intervention; however, the calf's vision was somewhat impaired. I was never sure how well she could see, but she never ran into anything and could see the wire of the electric fence just fine.

It may be too late now for colostrum to do any good, but your vet may be able to advise you on how best to care for the calf under these circumstances. If I can help in some way, please let me know.


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## Catalytic (Sep 15, 2010)

Someone on KAFC is having a similar problem, you may want to read the thread here: http://familycow.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cow&action=display&thread=46748


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## DJ in WA (Jan 28, 2005)

My first thought was as GoneAMilkin said, chronic mastitis.

I'm not sure what average productive life is for most Jerseys, but I think you've done pretty well to get her to age eight. I know in dairies they usually don't last near that long.

Cows are more prone to mastitis as they get older - immunity weakens, teats hang lower and more prone to injury and/or contamination. An injured or weak teat sphincter allows bacteria to enter the udder through the teat canal.

Obviously it would be good for an experienced vet to look at her. Short of that, perhaps some good photos of the udder would help our guessing. And you could do some mastitis testing.

Does the udder feel really fulll and swollen? Have you tried pressing a thumb into the bottom of the udder where fluid accumulates as Ronney suggested to check for udder edema? It will feel like dough and will leave an indentation.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

DJ in WA said:


> I'm not sure what average productive life is for most Jerseys, but I think you've done pretty well to get her to age eight. I know in dairies they usually don't last near that long.


DJ, the average productive life of a Jersey is no more or less than for any other breed and a house cow on a small farm has a much greater chance of lasting a long time because she isn't being asked to do the hard yards. They are usually very well fed and looked after all their lives. My eldest Jersey is now R14 which is a good age. She is in calf and springing, looking good and I expect her to pop any day soon. Her production is not as great as it was as a youngster but she still gives a good 15 litres a day, more than enough for a family. She has never had mastitis.

So yes, if all else fails, get a vet to have a look at her. I doubt that it's a biggie (although it might be for the calf) but correct diagnosis and treatment goes a long way to helping. If this were my cow I would be looking at anothr 4-6 years from her.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## Sheila H (Jan 27, 2021)

Mark T said:


> Bonnie just had her seventh calf yesterday. Her udder is very full and is not sore - she lets the calf suck and lets me try to milk but nothing comes out. I tried 20 cc of oxytocin but that didn't do the trick either. Any suggestions? I'm getting scared about the colostrum situation for the calf.


My older cow milk will not come down baby was born yesterday 3pm did get some colostrum down it last night and 3/4 bottle this morning and clues on what to do


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Can you explain a bit more what your situation is, Sheila?


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