Why cows hold milk & what to do about it

Some cows have a strong maternal instinct. They’ll charge a dog from two paddocks away, and fall in love with any calf, anytime.

But they won’t accept you. They’ll kick and perform in the milking bail and won’t ‘let down’ their milk.

Cows can control their milk flow. It’s usually stimulated by calves suckling or when you wash the teats with warm water.

But if she doesn’t like you taking her milk, she can stop it from flowing.

I’ve tried a variety of methods to encourage a cow to let down her milk, including:

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wet, warm flannels;

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singing;

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swearing (definitely didn’t work but I felt better);

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oxytocin.

Oxytocin is a hormone that, when injected into cattle (or other livestock), contracts muscles in the mammary gland, which induces milk let-down. It usually takes one or two doses to get the cow into the habit of releasing her milk when she comes into the shed.

My first house cow needed it every year at the start of milking. Her head would hang low, her ears would droop, and she’d look relaxed. Serenely stoned. But I wasn’t happy about it.

Eventually, I altered the milking bail. The calves would be penned on one side and could reach through the bars to suckle two of her teats. I would frantically milk the other side and try to ensure there was no calf dribble in the bucket.

A friend who wasn’t confident at hand milking had a young heifer who would viciously kick out when she tried to milk her. Even her calf wouldn’t suckle when her mother was in the bail. She tried lots of tricks but eventually resorted to buying a one-cow milking machine that solved the problem.