Cow Doesn’t Seem to Have Much Milk- Help?

[Farmgirl1228]

I’ve got a Angus X cow that just calved yesterday and had a nice little red heifer. But she doesn’t seem to have much milk at all.

She had her first calf in March 2019 and failed to breed back. Decided to keep her and turned her out last spring and she bred right back. When she had the first calf she raised her well and the calf was a nice size by weaning. Can’t clearly remember, but I do believe she had plenty of milk.

But this time she damn near looks like a dry cow. I wasn’t even expecting her to calve so soon due to her not bagging up much. She’s got some (checked all 4 quarters), but the calf switches teats constantly and butts a lot at her udder.

Any advice? Or thoughts on why she’s not got a lot? Hoping she’ll start bagging up more with the calf nursing, but still worried. Gave the calf some colostrum yesterday as well to make sure she got plenty.

Thank you in advance

 

[knabe]

i haven't seen a cow of mine yet that after a year of little milk, they ever came back with more.

i'm sure others have seen the opposite.

on the other hand, see how the calf does.

some say they start eating more and distort milk epd's.

i would like to see some beef cows milked and analyzed.

chianina i think have high butterfat content with not much milk, and they have smaller testicles, but higher sperm count.

there's always rules and exceptions.

 

[shortybreeder]

How long ago did she calve? When was she due?

Sometimes if a (dairy) heifer drops her calf more than a few weeks early, she won't have much of an udder right away. But in most of those cases, she will catch up quickly and by day 4 or 5 her udder will be as big as it's going to get. I'd assume beef cattle would be similar, albeit less dramatic of a change.

 

[Steve123]

Give her a shot a Naxcel to make sure everything is healthy. You can get the 1 gram vial and freeze the rest after you mix it. I agree to watch the calf and if they look like they are starving you can step in with a bottle. Once they get old enough they will rob from other cows. She could have some fat in her udder from the layoff and won't be a big producer.

 

[Farmgirl1228]

i haven't seen a cow of mine yet that after a year of little milk, they ever came back with more.

i'm sure others have seen the opposite.

on the other hand, see how the calf does.

some say they start eating more and distort milk epd's.

i would like to see some beef cows milked and analyzed.

chianina i think have high butterfat content with not much milk, and they have smaller testicles, but higher sperm count.

there's always rules and exceptions.

Thank you for your reply. I’m hoping that she’ll start producing more. So far calf seems good but doesn’t seem to get much out of nursing.

 

[Farmgirl1228]

How long ago did she calve? When was she due?

Sometimes if a (dairy) heifer drops her calf more than a few weeks early, she won't have much of an udder right away. But in most of those cases, she will catch up quickly and by day 4 or 5 her udder will be as big as it's going to get. I'd assume beef cattle would be similar, albeit less dramatic of a change.

She calved January 1st, 2021. She was due approximately January, possibly late December. She didn’t have an exact due date. I’m hoping that’s what happens and she’s just a little early and she’ll start producing heavier soon.

 

[Farmgirl1228]

Give her a shot a Naxcel to make sure everything is healthy. You can get the 1 gram vial and freeze the rest after you mix it. I agree to watch the calf and if they look like they are starving you can step in with a bottle. Once they get old enough they will rob from other cows. She could have some fat in her udder from the layoff and won't be a big producer.

Thank you. I’m hoping that I don’t have to step in but I will if I have to. If it comes to it I’ll probably just try a nurse cow (we’ve got one currently with 2 calves) or bottle feed. Last time I had calves rob off other cows it didn’t go well. They chose the heifers/heifer calves and some of them ended up with mastitis

 

[wypeterson22]

If you don't mind, keep us updated on how it turns out for you. Good luck!

 

[Farmgirl1228]

If you don't mind, keep us updated on how it turns out for you. Good luck!

Thank you. So far so good. The cow has bagged up better and the calf is as spunky as can be. She's a cute little bugger, that's for sure. I will try to post a picture if I can figure it out XD