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maryjane
7072 Posts
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 Posted - Oct 28 2020 : 05:27:13 AM
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When I milked Buttercup last night, I got a healthy 2 gallons, just what I was hoping for. And I think I have her calf, 5-month old Rosetta, fully weaned. In addition, I think Buttercup is pregnant, first try AI.
It's the first time in a long time I've had to wean a calf without another calf for companionship during the process. Fortunately, her grandmother filled those shoes, but a calf can't have a constant supply of nibbles with an adult cow around. So, I've had to do lots of temporary separations for eating, then re-joining to keep Rosetta from bawling until she's hoarse. She still sleeps with Daisy and I suspect that'll be the case for quite a little while. Momma Buttercup knew it was time for her calf to move on, so she's been quiet and easy to manage throughout the process. I could swear she's almost relieved because she's being so great about coming into the parlor. It's exciting for me because getting a first time heifer to the point you know whether or not she'll make a good milk cow is years in the making. Buttercup is a nice height, has a fabulous udder and uniform ample teats (excellent for machine or hand milking). BUT. She's been a little hesitant to give me her cream toward the end of each milking, so I've been administering a small dose (.25 to .5 cc) of oxytocin. Oxytocin is produced in the hypothalamus (in both humans and cows) and is secreted into the bloodstream by the posterior pituitary gland. Secretion depends on electrical activity of neurons in the hypothalamus and is released into the bloodstream when these cells are excited. (I once had a neighbor who was having trouble nursing her newborn so her doctor prescribed some.) Without it, I've ended up with perfectly delicious, perfectly skim milk! With the oxytocin, Buttercup drops her cream and hopefully gets the feel for that, rather than getting stuck in a routine of holding it back, because the cream comes at the end of a milking and what would my customers think without cream for their morning coffee or me for my London fog tea? Or whipped cream for Stella's chocolate cakes she's been making? Or Mia's plum coffee cake? I've used this tiny dose of oxytocin method in the past and predict it won't be long before she makes letting down her cream part of her routine.
You know winter is coming when your cows start to look like wooly mammoths. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Oct 30 2020 : 07:27:29 AM
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Beautiful sky this morning.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - Oct 30 2020 : 1:04:30 PM
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| It truly is a relief when the heifers meld into the routine with the other cows, and are accepting of the stanchion, milk machine, handling and hubbub of the milk parlor. It starts early and is a constant training procedure. Estella is coming along nicely. She walks into the parlor, goes into the stanchion, listens to the milk machine motor, handles the washing of her udder. She has a sweet and trusting disposition. I keep telling Joe that Millie was once sweet too, but it seems that once she had pink eye she was never the same. I think it might have done damage to her eyesight, because she was never the same. So happy to hear Buttercup is doing so well. And your sunrise is just breathtaking. I love mornings! |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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Got milk? October 2020 this and that roundup.
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