She Won't Milk

Dr. Beal:

We milk a small herd of dairy cows and generally have no trouble but after calving we have trouble with letdown. I understand that the cow doesn't want to share her milk but more often than not, the only way we can get the milk is by pulling the calf off. What we're wondering is if you have a suggestion for encouraging let down by natural methods. Such as acupressure or a homeopathic or herbal remedy?

S.G.
Linwood, KS

Susan,

From your description it sounds as though you are leaving the calves with the dams during the time you are milking rather than raising them on a nurse cow or by bottle.

Cows will hold their milk for a number of reasons.  While some are "selfish" and hold out for the calf, leaving the leftovers for the humans, more often the difficulty is found elsewhere.

Sometimes it's a matter of rearranging some things - for example,
pulling the calf off the evening before and getting the humans' share
before letting the calf nurse for the day.  Sometimes it's a matter of
looking at the aspects of your milking process - calmness in the barn, udder preparation w/ appropriate massage and attention, time between udder prep and milking (many times folks wait waaaaay too long), milking machine settings/vacuum and all,.... Stray voltage may also be an issue here.


Sometimes its a nutritional issue that influences their attitude
(calcium phosphorus balance, for example - low or unavailable calcium will often result in animals who are not really clear thinking.....B vitamins are also involved in this process) and/or their ability to produce and liberate milk. These issues can be a question of balance as well as availability (presence in front of the animal as well as bio-availability of the actual product). They may also revolve around energy availability.

There are several things you can try. I'm going to make the assumption here that she has milk - but won't relax enough to let it flow. (There are other solutions for cows who don't make milk or who dry too soon). All the following recommendations can be considered natural but not all are homeopathic.

Again, if baby is swiping it before the humans get to milk her, you'll
have to rearrange the calves (gang pen them?), milk, then let the
calves nurse.

Often using some Rescue remedy (a combination of Bach flower essences used to alleviate stress and anxiety) will help settle things down enough that she'll let down. You can mix that in a clean spray bottle (plant mister type), using four drops of the stock solution in whatever water the sprayer holds. If you use the solution quickly, no need to preserve it.

If you prefer, you can add a teaspoon of vodka or brandy
to the mixture as a preservative. If the solution becomes "mothered", simply discard it and mix fresh.  You can mist the barn before and during milking, mist the cow, mist the udder, add the rescue remedy to the udder wash.... or any or all of these in combination.

I've had folks use beer, too - both as a relaxant as well as for the
nutritional value.

There are several tonic herbs that are useful for milk letdown. Red
clover is one, nettles another that come quickly to mind. You can
provide these are part of the pasture mix or offer them as a tea (steep the fresh or dried herbs in water and let her drink it). Some of my clients make tincture of these herbs, too. I typically use them as fresh herb or a tea.

Acupuncture points for these sorts of situations will vary with the
cause and with the cow. Some points to look at are Stomach 36 (a master point for the lower body, a great point to use in difficult labour, with prolapses, and with reproductive issues. Use it with care or not at all in pregnancy because it may cause the cow to slip a calf - sometimes, not always.). Bladder 18 is a point which is a master point for the liver - seat of emotions and anger as well as the function of liver as we know it. Pericardium 6 helps calm the shen (the emotion) and may be of benefit.

There is a Governing Vessel point at the top of the poll which can also be useful in calming the individual. When massaged slowly the effect is calming, when massaged more vigorously the effect is more stimulating. This point is a handy one to know in other situations, too. Stimulation of this point will raise depleted energy, reduce sleepiness, and help one think and remember more clearly because it helps "raise chi". Because stimulation of this point helps raise chi (literally as well as figuratively) it's a point to remember any time you are faced with an individual with a prolapse, be it
uterine or rectal. Stimulating the point reduces the effort needed to
replace the prolapse and may actually enable smaller prolapses to resolve on their own.

There are charts of these points available on-line and also in Dr Hue Karreman's excellent reference book on Natural Health Care for dairy cows. His book is available through ACRESUSA.

As with the acupuncture points, the choice of homeopathic remedy is a very individualized situation. The remedy will vary with the cow and the cause and the history. I'll paint with a broad brush in the
following words, but please realize that there are other options for
remedy and other information (beyond the presenting complaint or the diagnostic label) that can be useful in choosing a remedy for a
specific animal.

The homeopathic remedy Pulsatilla is often indicated in situations
where the milk is held, when the flow is obstructed, when the volume of milk is disappearing. Sometimes you can use the remedy empirically - but it's often nice to look at other aspects of the cow to see if she fits the larger picture of the remedy description. Often individuals needing this remedy (or as the homeopaths say "in a Pulsatilla state") will have a decrease in thirst, will prefer to be outside, will be bothered by heat and want to be in fresh air. They may have had (recently or in the past) some discharge (snotty nose or vaginal or ......) that tends to be creamy and bland, often white or pale yellow. She may have had a history of a swollen udder before calving or may have been one of those heifers who bagged early (or maybe even before she was bred). She may have had a history of late heats, irregular heats, hard to catch in heat,.....

Sometimes these cows will be slow "calvers" - and often cows who have a tendency to breech calves will benefit greatly from this remedy, even if the cow is not pregnant when you does her with the remedy. Using Pulsatilla orally during/before a delivery will turn a breech calf if the calf is not engaged in the pelvis when you give the remedy. The basic mechanics of the pelvic engagement preclude the action of the remedy - no room for things to turn when the calf is already starting through the pelvis.

Using homeopathic medicines in this manner means that you'll need to look at things over a period of time. It's not a matter of giving the cow a dose of Pulsatilla every day or every milking. Rather it's a matter of giving the remedy and allowing the body to respond over a period of days to weeks. The assessment of the response will not be presence or absence of the presenting complaint but more likely will be relative degree of the complaint. So, if the yardstick is milk letdown, you may see that she'll decrease the time until she releases milk. This will occur over a couple of days/week or so - but rarely immediately (though sometimes you can see that, too).

Whenever one has a situation in which something happens after trauma or exertion (calving, trailer-ing, excessive or unusual exercise or activity....)  the homeopathic remedy Arnica needs to be considered.  Arnica is an extraordinary remedy to use in these situations. The individual who needs this remedy does not want to be touched and will often indicate that they are fine and don't need any help. In people they even say that outright. In animals we need to be observant to see that attitude. You'll see animals who want to bite or chase or kick, or who avoid being caught. Sometimes you'll see momma cows who don't want their calves near them (don't touch me) or who bully their calves. (Arnica is not the only remedy that is useful for those cows who bully calves.) You'll also see animals who appear stoic but somewhat withdrawn. While they don't flee or fight, they also don't really engage in the herd. They may stand stock still when they are being handled, and are often described as the "old soldier" type of individual.

Arnica is also useful in situations where there is no or little milk or
where the milk is disappearing. If you can couple that description with a history (either short or long) of a rough calving, of being hauled, of being roughly handled (sometimes the case in hauling and sale barns....) or of exertion (remember, it takes a lot of work to stand in a trailer and be hauled), then that supports the choice of this remedy.

Remedies are easy to give. Take one or two pellets and add them to a glass/bottle of clean water. Shake or stir the solution for thirty to sixty seconds. Depending on the type of pellet, they may or may not immediately dissolve. Take a small amount of this solution and drizzle it on the cow's nose leather. Most cows lick their noses when that happens - and thus she's easily dosed. You don't have to force her to swallow the remedy, nor do you necessarily have to get it in her mouth (though that is an option if you have the temperament or restraint available). Nose drizzling or spraying with a plant mister works great with cattle. You can mix up a batch of the liquid medicine and store it long term. I'll often add a small amount of vodka or brandy to that solution (a teaspoon or less) since the carbon in the alcohol preserves the remedy. You can store in glass or dropper bottles.... Or, you can mix up a fresh dose each time, using pellets in water. I usually make a stock solution of commonly used remedies and use them -that tends to be far easier than fussing will pellets every time. (And the medicine becomes even more cost effective when used that way !).

30c is a good potency to begin with. Remember you are dosing to get a response - so if you see a change, even if it's slight, after one dose, no need to repeat the dose. If you see no change after one dose (and the changes may be subtle), then you may want to dose once a day for three days. If there is no change in a week then we need to re-examine the choice of medicine.

Sometimes you need to repeat the dose at interval (every few months) as the response to remedy does wane. If you need to give the medicine every day to maintain the effect/response, then there is a better medicine out there.

So - no short and simple answers here. I trust this information has
been of some use to you. Please feel free to be back in touch if you
need further information, if you need clarification about any of this
material or if you want to "fine tune" the advice for the individual
animals in the herd.

Susan Beal