Milk let down

[Kathy Millar]

I went to my first "milking" lesson today at a friend's who had bought a heifer from me about 3 years ago. It was really neat milking "my" cow. We discussed milk let down and I was wondering if any of you had any thoughts and/or ideas on this topic. My friend takes the calf away the night before, then milks in the morning. Part way through, she lets the calf suckle on the opposite side and this really helps with getting the milk to flow otherwise the cow holds it back. I would really like to get enough cream to make butter but I understand the cream comes towards the last and the cow may hold on to the richer milk for her calf.

[Duncan MacIntyre]

My approach to milking is fairly simple - if you want to milk a cow, milk a cow. If you want to have the calf suckle the cow, let it. I can't see any point in mixing the two. The calf can be bucket fed with very little bother and once it is established the routine is far less confusing for all concerned - no forced separation of cow and calf except at the start, with a decent Dexter you will have enough milk for a family of four plus two calves for most of the lactation, so the calf can have a companion and not be solitary. For rearing heifers to keep as replacements it is the ideal way to have a really easy handled cow.

During her first full lactation at Burnside my first Dexter, Harron Erica, gave milk for the house from mid February till December, fed her own pedigree heifer Burnside Holly, and seven bought in calves in succession which were sold for a total of £500 more that purchase cost.

Duncan

[Rutherford]

If you go to the American PDCA site you will find an article I wrote on milking:
www.purebreddextercattle.org/
Let down in Dexters is particularly tricky, probably because they have had less time being bred for commercial attributes, which, of course, also has its advantages. It is important to remember that ‘let-down’ is purely hormonal, the cow has no conscious control over it, and also speed is of the essence since it only remains for a few minutes. This is unfortunate, if you are a novice milker, and there is something to be said for buying a second hand machine, even for one cow. If you have more than one cow, and the first go is unfortunate, it is worth trying a second one, some are particularly difficult. I have managed complete success over the years, by allowing the calf one quarter, good luck.
Beryl (Woodmagic)

[Duncan MacIntyre]

One aspect that will influence milk let-down is lack of stress. If a cow or particularly a heifer feels fearful of a new situation she is very liable not to let the milk down. Be careful always to have a regular routine, handle them with care and gentleness, which can be difficult when starting a heifer milking as she may well want to kick you off. Do not retaliate, just persist gently and you will get there. Some very sensitive cows will just not let milk down for a stranger doing the milking, which can cause problems. Many commercial dairy farmers resort to oxytocin injections from time to time, to get over the first few stressful milkings for nervous heifers. It should be needed very seldom in Dexters.

Duncan

[Rutherford]

Duncan’s way will certainly increase the potential income, However, it does also increase the risks, today, with bought in calves, there is a considerable chance of disease which I wont take, having been badly caught once with almost a dozen dead calves from a virulent attack of rotavirus, it was a heartbreaking experience.
If the aim is simply to keep one’s household in milk, there are certainly advantages in keeping the calf on the cow. It is a very foolproof way of rearing a first class calf. It also allows for a short break away, leaving the ‘relief milking’ to the calf. Otherwise, if you hand milk, finding someone can be a problem. Keeping the calf in by day, which the cow will quickly accept without much heartbreak, enables you to handle it adequately, and you have control on how much the calf can take. It is a practice I adopted years ago and has kept me, and others in cream and butter, with little labour or hassle.
As far as let down is concerned I certainly found this more of a problem in Dexters than other breeds. Routine and quiet handling are important, but that is simply good stock sense, and is not necessarily enough to overcome the difficulty. Nature doesn’t intend the milk to be leaked all over the pasture or for the calf to be robbed, and man has to find his way around it, either by selection or cunning. Personally, I would hate to resort to drugs.
Beryl (Woodmagic)

[Broomcroft]

Do you drink your milk raw?

[Rutherford]

Yes, and have most of my life, which cant be a bad ad for it. It is a lot better than some of that horrible stuff that passes for milk in some of the supermarkets.
Beryl (Woodmagic)

[jeanthomas]

Hi Clive,

I see you are asking Beryl about raw milk. All I can tell you is that in the early 1990's we had a guernsey/dexter cow which we milked regularly. My son was born in 1992. He was about a year old when I fed him raw milk. My doctor was not impressed! All I can say is that Ben is now 6'3", 16 years old and has never suffered from ashma. He came home from school when he was about 5 and complained, he said he wanted an inhaler like most of the other children had!! Could just be genes??? I dont know but green milk has never done any of us any harm.

Jean

[Duncan MacIntyre]

The MacIntyre family got involved with dexers purely to get a supply of raw milk when the pasteurisation of it became compulsory in Scotland. We had got close to getting a goat when we saw the dexters at the Royal Show in 1984. All ideas of goats went out the window, and the search for a dexter began. It was late 1986 before we got one, they were much harder to get in those days.
I was reared on raw milk myself and not aware of any problems. That was Ayrshire milk, not Dexter. I drank large amounts of it when it was still warm as a boy.

Duncan

[Kathy Millar]

Thanks, Beryl, for the article. I have copied it out as I feel this would be the best way to go. It remains to be seen who can milk the fastest, the calf or me! :D

I looked at portable milking machines and they are as expensive as I thought they would be. There is a neat little gadget for sale in the US that milks one teat at a time with a hand operated pumping system. Anyone used one?

[Rutherford]

The best of luck Kathy. It is a pity that the machines are so expensive, there is an occasional one comes on the market second hand over here, it could be that they may become more available, if the demand grows. I haven’t come across your one teat gadget.
Beryl (Woodmagic)

[Minnie]

Hi Kathy,

We're also looking at milking our dexters. So I read this thread with great interest.

We were hoping to in January but due to weather did get our milking bale built. We were lucky enough to get a single milking machine from a fellow who's been selling them on ebay, but he's in Australia.

Thank you to everyone for so much great information.

Kind regards

Vicki

[Martin]

Just come across this on 'e bay'
Portable Milking Machine - Item number 190226768807
Located in Horsham West Sussex.
1 bid @ £375
It looks in good nick if anyone is interested.

[Rutherford]

Hi Kathy, since this topic has come back, can you give us an update on progress of the two novices?
Beryl (Woodmagic)