Mandie's Jersey Journey

[mandieg4]

Our Jersey heifer is about to calve any minute now. Her bag has gotten huge and she's got some mucus discharge. She is so not ready to be milked yet though. She'll let me rub all over her head and neck but won't let me anywhere near her legs or udder. Goats would have been so much less intimidating! DH has been working 80+ hours a week since March and hasn't had time to make me a stanchion to hold her. I am thankful for my FIL for buying her for me, but it would have been a whole lot better if he would have waited until we were ready for a milk cow rather than surprising me.

 

[freemotion]

Take a breath.......and another.....ok, one more, this time from your belly.......

I don't know cows, but my goats get very, very touchy as they near delivery. After, especially RIGHT after, they are suddenly easy. Relatively. I've now milked one experienced doe (Mya) and three first fresheners and at this point Mya is my most difficult! Because I was the one to train the others right from the beginning.

Get out there and bond with her but don't worry about touching her udder right now. Try to be there when she delivers and get the mucous (sorry!) on you and let her lick it off so she bonds with you like you are a calf.

My dad milked four cows as a kid and did so right out in the field, without tying the cows or even giving them a pan of grain! He says my goats are spoiled! I can't imagine milking a goat that way.

I was also very surprised at how easy to train the goats are, since I worked professionally with horses for many years. Dairy animals are bred for centuries to be easy to handle, so.....breathe!!!

Keep us posted!

 

[valmom]

Is she a youngster on her first calf, or is she experienced? Everything will be fine! Deep breath. The first large animal baby is the most intimidating! I've had several foals and it is amazing. Are you around enough to help her if it's needed? We put a baby monitor in the barn that went to the house for our foals so I could listen in and run down to the barn when they started. Other than lots of towels and betadine for the umbilical cord you don't need much. Oh, and the vet's number on your cell phone! Just in case.

 

[justusnak]

I don't have a lot to offer, since I will be getting my first milk goat in a week...so.. Everything will work out just fine, I am sure! Congrats on your upcoming little one.

 

[Javamama]

Ditto what Free said. My pregnant goats won't let me near their backside, underside, or plain ol' side But once they kidded, they were fine. So she may change once she drops that calf.

 

[framing fowl]

How exciting! Just think of the milk, and the cream, and the butter, and a calf. Just remember, most of the time Mother Nature just takes care of things without much intervention on our part.

Keep us posted!

 

[Wildsky]

You still have some time, so don't stress out. The baby will take care of the first few days, you don't need to dive under there and milk her right away! So relax and just enjoy getting to see a baby born!

(and do keep a camera handy!!)

 

[TanksHill]

 

[animalfarm]

You have a full jersey right? You need to pre-emptively treat her for milk fever within 12 hr. of the calf being born. This means 100-ml subcutaneous shot (under the neck skin) of a calcium solution you can get at the feed store or vet. If you chose not to do this, watch her very closely for a full 3 weeks after giving birth. Milk fever kills fast, within hours, but if treated with- in 2 hrs of it starting, the cow can be saved. The cure will be instant, but requires a vet.

If your cow goes down any time after birth and doesn't look like normal relaxing, or starts shivering/acting weak/listless call the vet. Don't wait!!!

Bribe your cow with a treat and tie her with rope halter to where ever you want her to stand for milking. You don't need a stanchion, most cows don't like their heads clamped and will fight to get loose, but something with sides to keep her from moving away from you will make your life easier while you are learning.

She will fight you as she has a calf and doesn't want you. There is a contraption called "cow can't kick" which is a clamp that fits over her back just in front of the hip bones. When you tighten the screw to close the clamp (sounds/looks like medieval torture device but really isn't) it prevents the cow from kicking and you can then safely teach her to milk without trauma to either of you. Try to keep the calf where mamma can see it and not stress out. After a few days when the edema in the udder has subsided, you won't need the device and the cow will accept both you and the calf. The device can be ordered on-line and is well worth the money for the little time you will actually use it. Keep it, because next year, the cow will try to keep you out of the picture again.

 

[miss_thenorth]

You have a full jersey right? You need to pre-emptively treat her for milk fever within 12 hr. of the calf being born. This means 100-ml subcutaneous shot (under the neck skin) of a calcium solution you can get at the feed store or vet. If you chose not to do this, watch her very closely for a full 3 weeks after giving birth. Milk fever kills fast, within hours, but if treated with- in 2 hrs of it starting, the cow can be saved. The cure will be instant, but requires a vet.

If your cow goes down any time after birth and doesn't look like normal relaxing, or starts shivering/acting weak/listless call the vet. Don't wait!!!

Bribe your cow with a treat and tie her with rope halter to where ever you want her to stand for milking. You don't need a stanchion, most cows don't like their heads clamped and will fight to get loose, but something with sides to keep her from moving away from you will make your life easier while you are learning.

She will fight you as she has a calf and doesn't want you. There is a contraption called "cow can't kick" which is a clamp that fits over her back just in front of the hip bones. When you tighten the screw to close the clamp (sounds/looks like medieval torture device but really isn't) it prevents the cow from kicking and you can then safely teach her to milk without trauma to either of you. Try to keep the calf where mamma can see it and not stress out. After a few days when the edema in the udder has subsided, you won't need the device and the cow will accept both you and the calf. The device can be ordered on-line and is well worth the money for the little time you will actually use it. Keep it, because next year, the cow will try to keep you out of the picture again.

Good info. Is that only pertinent to jerseys-- about the milk fever?

I am searching for semen or a bull for my dexter right now so I will be experiencing this next spring/summer.