# Helping to dry up milk?



## TexasShepherdess (Apr 16, 2012)

I weaned all my lambs this past weekend and the one ewe with Twins is not very comfortable....her bag is still largish and she just looks uncomfortable..is there anything (RX or otherwise) that I can buy/ask my vet for that will help dry up her milk? she is obviously on the "bland" diet to help with this..but Id like to help her.


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## boykin2010 (Apr 16, 2012)

I hope someone comes along to answer this because I was just about to post the same question.


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## SheepGirl (Apr 16, 2012)

There is nothing that I know of. Just keep feeding her low-quality feeds and she should dry up sooner than later


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## TexasShepherdess (Apr 16, 2012)

I just feel so bad for her..Never had issues with my horses or cattle..I watched her attempt to lay down three times..she'd get half way down, with her rear in the air...you could tell it was uncomfortable for the poor girl..


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## Hillsvale (Jun 3, 2012)

how did this go, I have a ewe that had twins... one rejected and bottle fed. Last weekend we sold the lamb that was still nursing (I thought just a bit) but now the ewe has a full udder and is resistant to intervention...


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## Remuda1 (Jun 3, 2012)

The best luck I've had so far is to put them on basically NO additional feed other than pasture. If you still got lush pasture, I'd pen her and go with kind of poorly grass hay only and probably not free choice. Mine have taken as little as a couple of days of this to start having visible results. Once they start shrinking, it hasnt taken long to dry up. I've had a couple that I weaned twins off of both at one time. Those girls really blow up.


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## secuono (Jun 3, 2012)

You can milk her, use the milk or dump it.


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## feed grass (Jun 3, 2012)

secuono said:
			
		

> You can milk her, use the milk or dump it.


not usually very good advice.  All you are doing is opening up the channels- to allow for bacteria to get in, and cause mastitis--- if it's not already there. 

Don't turn the babies back in to suck her out either-- will do the same thing.

The best thing to do when weaning is plan ahead-- take the grain completely away for 2 weeks prior to weaning, and give poor hay, or just pasture.  

You should never turn ewes that have been weaned- out to pasture at weaning-- especially not fresh/ lush pasture.  

I always without water for 12 hours from my ewes, unless they are hard milkers- in that case go a full day.  

Give the ewes about 2 days, and check their udders for hardness- this indicates mastitis is coming-- and treat it ASAP.  After 3 or 4 days, the udders should start to go down- after a month-- they'll be non-existent on young ewes or those with smaller udders.


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## BrownSheep (Jun 3, 2012)

We actually staggered the weaning on a ewe with triplets. We removed  two left one with her for week or so.


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## feed grass (Jun 3, 2012)

BrownSheep said:
			
		

> We actually staggered the weaning on a ewe with triplets. We removed  two left one with her for week or so.


I've seen cases where people do this with twins-- and it turns disaster.  Most of my lambs only nurse from one side-- never switching.  I see this most often when I lose a lamb that is a month or so old... the other side will swell up like a balloon...  Singles nurse both sides, but for some reason-- twins will only nurse from one side far more times than they'll switch sides...


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## BrownSheep (Jun 3, 2012)

feed grass said:
			
		

> BrownSheep said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I haven't really noticed this, but then again we don't have many sets of singles. Our ewes also generally wean on their own well before we remove them.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 4, 2012)

I never, ever withhold water.  I think that can lead to disaster. I'd rather have a ewe with a full udder than have one get dehydrated.   

It takes a minimum of 5 days for the udder to get the signal to stop producing milk.  If you milk her out before this, her body doesn't get the signal to quit producing.  After 5 days, you can milk her out if she's still engorged, but usually they're not too bad.  If you do milk her, just use a teat dip afterwards.  Milking her out after 5 days also gives you the chance to see if there's any mastitis.  I usually don't end up milking my ewes out ever, and I've not had any issues w/ mastitis.


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## TexasShepherdess (Jun 7, 2012)

As Remuda said, once the actual shrinkage started, it went quickly. This ewe had a HUGE bag anyway..it took about a week for her to actually start going down. Just kept her on coastal, and waited her out.


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## Four Winds Ranch (Jun 7, 2012)

Usually when I am going to wean, I bring them all in and lock them up from the pasture with water, straw, and low quality hay for about 24hrs. before I take the lambs away. I put the lambs were the ewes can not see them, and keep the ewes penned up with the water, straw, and low quality hay for another 48hrs. Then turn the ewes out on a small or already eaten off pasture for a couple more days before they go out to a lush one,so I can monitor them. Occasionally, there is one with too much milk and her bag is not going down, I will milk her a bit, but not right out, just enough to relieve the pressure, and with in a day or two her bag will start going down.


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## Rvrfshr (Jun 14, 2012)

I was wondering if a loose Ace bandage wrap would ease the discomfort of the ewe?

This is something my Granfather, a vet, once did.  It's been so long ago that I don't remember the circumstances.


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## feed grass (Jun 14, 2012)

Rvrfshr said:
			
		

> I was wondering if a loose Ace bandage wrap would ease the discomfort of the ewe?
> 
> This is something my Granfather, a vet, once did.  It's been so long ago that I don't remember the circumstances.


what good would it do if it was loose?  wouldn't stay on.


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## bonbean01 (Jun 15, 2012)

I believe the term loose was as in...not to bind tightly to cause problems.  I thought that was obvious to all.  A good question about helping an uncomfortable ewe during weaning and I look forward to input from forum members who may have knowledge about this.


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## Rvrfshr (Jun 15, 2012)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> I believe the term loose was as in...not to bind tightly to cause problems.  I thought that was obvious to all.  A good question about helping an uncomfortable ewe during weaning and I look forward to input from forum members who may have knowledge about this.


I shouldn't assume that it would be clear that " loose Ace bandage wrap" would preclude anyone from assuming the opposite which would be a blood flow constricting binding.

Thank you Bon for assisting with clarification of this.


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