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The Relationship of Production of Heifers Milked Prepartum to the Composition of Colostrum¹

West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Morgantown

ABSTRACT

Many heifers and cows have badly swollen and congested udders before freshening. It is thought that such a condition makes it undesirable to put these animals on full feed and to try to bring them into full production until the swelling has subsided. Sometimes the udder becomes so distended that some believe that the gland may be injured permanently. Breeders frequently are concerned about the advisability of milking such animals before parturition.

Turner (5) was of the opinion that prepartum milking for a period of about 10 days has certain advantages. In all cases when cows were milked prepartum the udders were soft and pliable. The colostral character of the milk largely disappeared and the globulin content was reduced to that of normal milk at parturition. From the standpoint of the well-being of the calf, the initiation of milk secretion prior to parturition caused many of the calves to die at an early age.

¹ Published with the approval of the director of the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station as scientific paper no. 403.

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