HELP! Calf favors one teat. What to do?

[zyklonbetty]

After calving for her first time yesterday, Sophie is now more full than I ever imagined. The calf favors one teat and I can not get her to drink from the other 3...and have tried leading and directing her. Is it best to just milk out her other 3?
Also- Since she had never milked before, it does not seem like anything wants to come out. I have only milked cows before, is there a trick to getting the milk to flow for the first time?

Thanks in advance!

 

[animalfarm]

Take a deep breath, relax. Leave the calf to do whatever it wants in the nursing department. You will need to milk the other 3 quarters a bit maye even the one the calf likes. Newborns simply don't need that much. There is a lot of edema in the udder makes it harder to milk. Makes the cow uncomfortable. Heifer will learn to relax and let down the milk over the next few weeks. You will keep stressing. Get what you can and just try again in a few hours or evening: whenever you can but don't plague the cow and stress her out. If you happen to be there when the calf is nursing, that is a good time to get some milking done yourself. She will for sure be letting it down then. Just milk on the floor if you must for a few days till it all comes together.

Next year will be easier. You will all know what you are doing.

 

[zyklonbetty]

Thank you so much! I tried to milk her other three and she just thrashes. I pet her udders the entire time she was pregnant in the hopes it wouldn't be like this. I suppose my main concern was how long it is okay for that milk to be in those 3 quarters before there are any issues from it (mastitis and such.) Or also...if there are any other concerns from leaving those 3/4 full. Thanks so much again AnimalFarm!

 

[Cricket]

Is she not letting her milk down or does she have the plug still in the teats? Sometimes you really have to work on them to get things started.

(and if she's thrashing in discomfort, just imagine how much worse it would have been if she'd been scared AND in discomfort! Bet the time you took to familiarize her with you handling her udder will pay off when things calm down!)

 

[animalfarm]

Thank you so much! I tried to milk her other three and she just thrashes. I pet her udders the entire time she was pregnant in the hopes it wouldn't be like this. I suppose my main concern was how long it is okay for that milk to be in those 3 quarters before there are any issues from it (mastitis and such.) Or also...if there are any other concerns from leaving those 3/4 full. Thanks so much again AnimalFarm!

You will need to keep an eye out for mastitis but if you can keep the pipes running even a little, it will help. She may tend to dry up a bit from lack of getting the milk out, but its simple supply and demand. The calf will be getting older every day and will take more every week and help build the supply back up. Don't judge your cows production abilities by this years efforts. If she keeps thrashing about, consider an anti kick device such as kow kant kick. They work, they are temporary, and make your job a little less stressful. Training a heifer whos instincts are to get rid of anyone not her calf, is frustrating even for experienced milkers. Don't give up. As Cricket said you are half way there because you spent time before hand. You can do it. Keep the calf right under her nose while you are milking if it is not nursing. She is also anxious about its where abouts right now and will be until its around 3-4 weeks old.

 

[zyklonbetty]

Thanks guys. She certainly has let down, the plug is still in and that seems to be the problem. The teats are as hard as rocks and that is where I'm confused.
She does seem to be in discomfort as in the last few days they grew so rapidly that they cracked in some places. I have started putting bag balm on the cracked spots.

It is further a pain because the teats the calf hasn't been on are practically nubs and tough to get a hold of At the very least I need her on there to stretch those bad boys out! haha!

There is also a lot of edema which is complicating things in that matter.

Since she still has the plugs in 3 quarters, is there still the mastitis concern?
They calf did try one of the other teats earlier when I was out there and I gave her a bottle of milk replacer just to make sure she has enough energy to try to get something out of the others as 1/4 just didn't seem to be doing it for her.

Really appreciate the help and didn't realize a heifer would be such a pain! At least this the only time it will be her first time. This little lady is absolutely my buddy and her new addition is quickly growing on me!

 

[animalfarm]

I was going to ask if you are using bag balm. Don't just dab a bit on the cracks. Take a small gob and liberally coat every teat and then rub your hands together so they have a film of grease as well. You don't want your hands soaking up the balm. Do this every single time you milk. It will soften the teats, make the cow happier, and just plain make it easier to milk. Don't let those puppies get dry. Calf won't give a flying hoop about the bagbalm. Teats need lubrication to work. Just look at the mess the calf makes.

The little teats are mostly a product of the edema. They won't be that small once the endema goes away. Don't try to stretch them. They are what they are. Milking doesn't involve sqeezing hard. A teat should never be squeezed more then half way. Rather then "pinching those little ladies" try grasping them with the base of the V between your thumb and index finger. Push your hand as snug against the udder as you can. With a grease job, a gentle squeeze of the thumb and a little slide it should work if you do it repeatedly. Easy is the word of the day.

If you give that calf replacer, it won't nurse. Don't do that too often. If you think there is a problem a vet should check the udder to make sure its working properly. If the cow isn't letting down he will give her a shot of oxytocin. It may simply be a case of excessive edema.

 

[Cricket]

X2. There's also a product we use for edema that is Japanese Mint--it works really well to soften the bag up (but I'd keep it off tits with cracks and stick with bag balm for that.)

Are you milking as Animalfarm suggested and doing the thumb and first finger strip? I know I started off milking goats and stripping as you can with a cow seemed like a sin. It probably feels like you're trying to milk a tree branch, but you're really going to want to see what you've got soon.

 

[zyklonbetty]

Don't try to stretch them. They are what they are. Milking doesn't involve sqeezing hard. A teat should never be squeezed more then half way. Rather then "pinching those little ladies" try grasping them with the base of the V between your thumb and index finger. Push your hand as snug against the udder as you can. With a grease job, a gentle squeeze of the thumb and a little slide it should work if you do it repeatedly. Easy is the word of the day.

I guess I should have been a little more careful in choosing my words As far as stretching them; I didn't mean literally. Just the difference between a heifer's teats and one that has ha a calf suckle is quite different from my experience. I just meant once the calf gets a hold of them they seem to naturally "stretch out" from the sucking of the calf.

And no "pinching" here. I am comfortable with milking in general, I have just never had a heifer before and it is just seeming impossible to get the plug out and I don't know the best way so have just left her alone a bit.

I thank you all for the help, I guess I should have just chosen my words better, haha. no pinching tugging, or stretching here- just a frustrated farm girl with a loss for the right verb.

 

[Cricket]

Am nagging, can't stop myself. I'd REALLY want to know what's going on and would call the vet if it were my cow and at least talk to them about it.

The tit that the calf is sucking on probably just seems longer because it's not so swollen out of shape. Good luck!