Content
After calving, a cow does not produce milk because she produces colostrum during the first week. It is vital for the calf, but not suitable for humans. Moreover, there is no second without the first. And you need to start milking the cow from the first day after calving. Otherwise, you can’t count on good productivity.
How much milk does a cow give after her first calving?
The first heifer always produces little milk compared to subsequent calvings. True, this “slightly” varies depending on the future milk production of the cow.
Low milk yield is directly related to the evolutionary adaptability of animals to wild life. The female, in order to save the body's resources, produces exactly as much milk as her baby needs. And not a bit more. Nature “did not count on humans” to act as an additional burden.
A newborn calf does not need much food. On the first day, the first heifer can produce only 3-4 liters of colostrum.
The baby grows, it needs more and more milk, and the cow gives it the necessary food.But at the peak of lactation, the first heifer will produce approximately 1.5 times less than an adult animal that has calved more than once. The exact amount depends on the breed and individual characteristics.
Then the calf switches to regular feed, and lactation begins to decline. In beef cattle breeds or low-productive outbred individuals, this state of affairs persists throughout their lives.
A dairy cow also produces little milk immediately after calving. Its quantity increases later. But in order to obtain maximum milk yield, the animal begins to be milked from the very first day, simulating a lack of food for the cub. This allows you to store colostrum with the maximum amount of immunoglobulins at the same time. Some experienced cow owners use cross-feeding of colostrum. This way, the calf can receive antibodies that its mother does not have.
Giving the calf additional colostrum from another cow will improve its colostral immunity.
Can a cow calve without filling her udder?
Under the influence of hormonal changes in the body, a cow’s udder, strictly speaking, does not become full, but swells. And the degree of this swelling depends on the individual characteristics of the animal’s body. Therefore, a sign of early calving, a swollen udder, is not always found. The timing is also different: from 3-4 weeks in heifers to 0 hours in old cows. In some cases, the udder becomes full during the calving process.
It is very rare, but it also happens that there is no swelling at all before and during calving. According to the observations of livestock farmers, this is the worst option of all possible. Due to hormonal imbalance, the udder may become full after calving, and in several stages. However, colostrum begins to be released.Subsequently, milk production proceeds as usual. This phenomenon may be due to a slight hormonal imbalance. But when a cow licks a newborn, along with the remaining mucus, she also receives the hormones necessary for milk production. Therefore, there is no need to rush to separate a newly born calf from the uterus.
Licking a calf stimulates milk production in a cow
Why doesn't a cow give milk after calving?
The main reasons why a cow does not produce milk after calving are usually caused by postpartum pathologies or diseases. Physiological ones can be characterized by the phrase “harmful character”.
Physiological reasons
It happens that a cow does not give milk after calving for no apparent reason. Most likely, the “wild” instincts of her ancestors came into play. In the general herd, the queen did not give milk to someone else's calf. In this case, the cow “pinches” her teats and “refuses” to be milked. A similar situation arises when a stranger tries to milk an animal. In dairy cattle breeds, these instincts have already been almost destroyed, but in outbred or aboriginal animals this still occurs. The control measures here are relatively simple: a calf is allowed near the cow during milking. Sometimes it is enough if the cub is nearby behind the partition.
The second reason may be the cow's chronic thirst. This does not mean that owners keep the animal without water. In the absence of succulent grass or feed replacing it, the cow drinks enough to support her own body. She “releases” much less liquid for milk production than she could if there were foods containing a large amount of liquid in her diet.Even in old, milked cows, during the dry season, milk yield can drop to 4 liters per day. Under such circumstances, a recently calved animal may not produce milk at all. Or it will only be enough for a calf.
Another physiological reason is the consequences of previously suffered mastitis. Often, due to adhesions in the teats after inflammation, the cow becomes poor milking. Getting milk from such an animal is a difficult task. Especially when it comes to colostrum on the first day after calving. It is much thicker and does not pass well through the narrow channel of the nipple. It may seem that such a cow has calved, but she has no milk. It is there, but in the first days only the calf can get it. Sometimes it makes sense to train such an individual to feed several other people’s cubs.
Due to severe swelling, the cow may also not give milk, as it hurts when the udder is touched. Such queens sometimes drive away the calf. Whether this can be considered a pathology is a complex question. Swelling of the udder before calving is normal. It is called “filling”. It is believed that a cow will soon calve if all the skin folds on the udder have straightened out.
But the swelling can be very strong. Then the animal is simply in pain, it does not allow it to touch the udder and “pinches” the colostrum.
Sometimes the reason is that the cow is “unwilling” to produce milk in an unsuitable milking machine. It may be damaged. A cow may have irregularly shaped teats. The machine may be very old and cause pain to the animal when milking.
Pathological causes
With pathologies, the situation is worse, since they range from simple hormonal imbalance to infectious diseases dangerous to humans. The reasons why a cow does not give milk may be:
- hormonal disbalance;
- metabolic disease;
- any of the postpartum complications;
- mastitis;
- brucellosis;
- other infectious diseases.
Any malaise and even too dry food can lead to a decrease in milk yield. But a cow does not give milk after calving for a relatively small number of reasons.
Hormonal disbalance
Possible due to a lack of prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production. Cows of any age are susceptible. The production of prolactin directly depends on the amount of oxytocin in the animal’s body. But it is very difficult to determine the lack of this hormone without special tests. If in humans a lack of oxytocin is manifested by a whole list of psychological symptoms, then with animals it is more complicated. It is unlikely that the owner of a cow will pay attention to some irritability of the cow. Will chalk it up to bad character or searching for his place in the herd. Especially when it comes to a chick.
Therefore, a situation may well arise when a heifer calves, but the udder is not full before the calf appears. There may also be no milk. This means that there is not enough prolactin in the first heifer’s body. You can try to correct the situation by injecting oxytocin, which stimulates the pituitary gland to produce prolactin.
Improper feeding provokes metabolic disorders and postpartum complications. One of the symptoms of these problems is the development of mastitis. The latter can also occur “on its own” due to damage to the udder and penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the wounds.
Twins in a cow is also an undesirable hormonal imbalance during hunting; due to possible surges in hormones, such animals are rejected from further breeding: today she brought twins, and tomorrow she will “refuse” to give milk
Mastitis
It occurs in a mild or severe stage.Private owners usually notice the disease when the cow has already calved, but the udder remains hard and there is little milk. The mild stage cannot be determined without analysis. An express check is also available to a private owner, but it is usually neglected. On farms, after calving, samples of colostrum are taken from each teat for testing before allowing the newborn to the udder.
If inflammation of the mammary gland is caused by non-infectious causes, treatment is usually carried out with massage and frequent milking. In the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, the use of antibiotics is recommended.
Brucellosis
The most unpleasant reason for lack of milk. The disease develops slowly and there are no symptoms at an early stage. It is for this reason that dairy cattle owners are required to be tested for brucellosis. In addition to the results of laboratory tests, at an early stage the disease is manifested by abortions at a late stage. Therefore, if a cow calved prematurely and does not have milk, it is necessary to check the animal for brucellosis as soon as possible.
Pregnancy lasts 9 months, and miscarriages usually occur at 8-9 months. Since this is not a normal calving and the necessary hormonal levels have not been established, milk is not produced.
This is dangerous primarily for the animal owner himself. Brucellosis is easily transmitted through raw milk.
Often the owner does not want to believe that his apparently healthy and highly productive cow is terminally ill
What to do if a cow has calved but there is no milk
It would be advisable to determine the reason for the lack of milk. But if calving is normal and on time, and there is no mastitis, then lactation can be induced with an injection of oxytocin.Errors in feeding that lead to metabolic disorders cannot be corrected anyway. You can only stimulate milk production.
But we must remember that the “main task” of oxytocin is to contract the smooth muscles of the uterus during calving. For a layman, the easiest way is to inject the hormone subcutaneously or intramuscularly. In this case, the dose required is double that of intravenous or epidural administration. But no side effects from an overdose of oxytocin have been identified. The dose for a cow when administered intramuscularly is 30-60 IU. Single injection. The drug is also injected if the cow’s contractions are too weak.
Mastitis cannot be cured instantly. In this case, the calf is fed colostrum from another cow, and the uterus is treated with antibiotics. The latter can be of local or general action. In the first case, antibacterial ointment is injected into the nipples. The baby should not be allowed near the udder at this time.
If mastitis has spread to the entire lobe or the entire udder, it is better to use intramuscular injections of antibiotics. It is advisable to milk the contents of the udder every 2 hours.
If calving was premature, the calf is unlikely to survive. Tissue samples from the corpse must be taken to the laboratory for examination.
Retained placenta, even if the calf is born on time, may be an early sign of brucellosis
Veterinarian advice
Except for the treatment of mastitis, veterinarians have no special recommendations. Sometimes it is even impossible to understand why an apparently healthy animal does not produce milk. Therefore, recommendations are only possible if there are obvious reasons.
If a cow does not milk due to edema, she is given diuretics.In order not to overload the liver and kidneys with strong drugs, drink a decoction of dill. It is better to brew only the seeds. They have a stronger diuretic effect. At the same time, massage the udder with movements from bottom to top. The rear lobes are slightly creased in the direction from the nipples to the tail. Front - forward to the stomach.
To prevent severe edema, the cow must be removed from concentrates in the last month of pregnancy. After two weeks, the udder should return to normal.
The drug Percutan is well suited for treatment of mastitis. This product is for external use in the form of a spray. It is used not only for mastitis, but also for the disinfection of minor skin lesions. Milk from unprocessed healthy lobes is used. Anything infected with staphylococcus is crushed and destroyed. It should not be given to a calf either.
All manipulations can create problems for a cow owner who does not have special skills. In this case, it is better to invite a veterinarian.
Conclusion
If a cow is not producing milk after calving but appears healthy, an oxytocin injection is given as first aid. Swelling can also be removed on your own. Other problems of lack of milk require specialist intervention and an accurate diagnosis.
