Udder

“ In large ones the upturned growth often begins on the belly, in front of the udder, extends along between the teats and up the back part of the udder, over the whole width. Indeed, the udder is not wide enough for it, and it encroaches on the thighs, where we may find the hair having an upward growth on them, inside next the udder, beginning not far above the hock joints, and running up as high as the wide part of the escutcheon extends up the thighs, and which often terminates with corresponding curls in the hair at the outlines, and the higher up and wider these are apart the better. ”

“ But, as the udder in most animals is attached in a pendulous manner to the body, and as the weight of the column of fluid would press with a force which would, in every case, overcome the resistance of the contractions of the extremity, or prove oppressive to the teat, there is in the internal arrangement of the udder a provision made to obviate this difficulty. ”

“ An ideal udder can be briefly described as one possessing at least twelve fully developed teats, the more the better—these should commence from a point as near the fore legs of the sow as possible, and be placed as nearly as possible an equal distance the one from the other. ”

“ The veterinary surgeon should be called in instanter. Garget in the udder, or weed, is also to be guarded against. After calving, some cracks and sores appear in the udder; they get very troublesome. The teats must be drawn and clean milked out; blood will sometimes appear with the milk; the cow must be secured, if necessary, to effect this. The udder should be bathed with warm water, and well rubbed over with hog's lard, and to this treatment the complaint will generally yield. ”

“ That all ewes with large udders are caught and milked out. Catch them without rushing them into a bunch of ewes and young lambs. If you can't, let them go until you can—watch for this opportunity. Tie or pen them up until the udder becomes normal and the lamb can get the teat without help. Many ewes having spoiled udders will come to [Pg 19] good milk in a few days, if milked out well two or three times daily.
When the ewe has a caked udder, or is troubled with what is commonly known as "blue bag," treat her at once—for she will die if you don't—by milking out what you can. ”

“ General breaking up of the udder may be greatly hastened by the sucking of a hungry lamb and the kneading it gives the udder with its nose is beneficial. The above mentioned congestion or Garget may emerge into active inflammation resulting from continued exposure to cold weather, standing in cold drafts or injury to the udder from stone, clubs, feet of other animals, overfeeding or rich food, like cotton seed or soy bean, sore teats or a ewe losing her lamb in the period of full milking; serious disturbances of the animal’s health is liable to fall upon the udder. ”

“ A bucket of warm water, replenished as it cools, may be set beneath the udder, and two persons can raise a rug cut of this and hold it against the udder, dipping it anew whenever the temperature is somewhat lowered. A sheet may be passed around the body, with holes cut for the teats, soft rags packed between it and the udder, and kept warm by pouring water on every 10 or 15 minutes, as warm as the hand can bear. ”

“ The escutcheon, then, is that surface on the cow’s udder where the hair grows upward. But it is not confined to the udder, it extends upward above the udder, often to the vulva, and outward upon the thighs on both sides of the udder. (See Flanders cow, class first, order first.) These escutcheons are different in size, in shape, and in quality, (quality means the quality of the skin, and of the hair growing on it,) and these differences indicate the different milking qualities of the cows, including quantity and quality of milk, and the length of time they will give milk after being with calf. ”

“ As far as my own experience goes, the latter plan is the best, as I have observed that, when cows have been dry a long time, they are very subject to inflammation in the udder when they are again milked, instead of the contrary being the case, as is commonly supposed. When a cow is to be let dry, a little milk is left in the udder every time of milking, and in about a week or ten days the secretion of milk will cease. ”

“ In the first class he places cows, both parts of whose milk-mirror, the mammary and the perinean, are large, continuous, uniform, covering at least a great part of the perineum, the udder, the inner surface of the thighs, and extending more or less out upon the legs with no interruptions, or, if any, small ones, oval in form, and situated on the posterior face of the udder. Cows of this class are very rare. They give, even when small in size, from ten to fourteen quarts per day, and the largest size from eighteen to twenty-six quarts a day, and even more. ”

“ It may, however, assume a more serious aspect; the milk gets coagulated in the udder, and the result will be the loss for yielding milk of one, two, or more of the quarters of the udder, if the proper remedies are not instantly adopted. Mortification sometimes ensues; diseased portions will break off from the udder, and it may end in the death of the animal. Putting the calf to suckle the cow will be useful in effecting a cure; but often the teats become so painful that the cow will not allow the calf to approach her. ”

“ Many are too rough and many do not seem to be able to get all the milk from the udder. To get all the milk from one quarter of the udder the milker should use both hands, using one hand above the teat to squeeze the milk into the teat and with the other hand milk it into the pail. ”

“ Cows, independently of their power to retain their milk in the udder, afford different degrees of pleasure in milking them, even in the quietest mood. Some yield their milk in a copious flow, with the gentlest handling that can be given them; others require great exertion to draw the milk from them even in streams no larger than a thread. ”

“ The more oily or greasy to the feeling the skin of the udder and the perineum is, the more it indicates good quality and richness of milk, for the oil or fat is there, showing it is in the nature of that animal to give butyraceous milk. ”

“ Poultry men who keep their chicks on ground not used for chick raising the previous year, and who insist on strictest cleanliness, report highly satisfactory results in avoiding gapes.
GARGET. —A swelling, accompanied by inflammation of the udder. It may be caused by kicks or blows, by germs getting into the udder, or as a result of holding the milk too long. Do not use the milk when the udder is affected. For garget rub with hot camphorated oil twice a day. Give as medicine 8 tablespoonfuls of hyposulphite of soda each day, either in the feed or in a drench. ”

“ Great care should be taken to drain the milk completely from the udder; for if any be suffered to remain, the cow will give less every meal, till at length she becomes dry before her proper time, and the next season she will scarcely give a sufficient quantity of milk to pay the expences of her keeping. The first milk drawn from a cow is also thinner, and of an inferior quality to that which is afterwards obtained: and this richness increases progressively, to the very last drop that can be drawn from the udder. ”

“ A large, rather long, white and loose udder, extending well back, with four long teats, serves also as a characteristic mark of a good milch cow. Large and prominent milk-veins must extend from the navel back to the udder; the belly of a good milch cow should not be too deep and hanging. The color of the North Dutch cattle is mostly variegated. Cows with only one color are no favorites. ”

“ The yellow colour inside the ears is a point always looked for by judges. The cows, large-bellied and narrow in front, are truly wedge-shaped, the greatly developed udder adding to the expanse of the hinder part of the body. They yield an abundance of milk, rich in fat, and are excellent butter-producers. ”

“ The flavor could hardly come from the food, for all the cows were fed alike and no objectionable weeds were found in their pasture. The cow seemed perfectly healthy and no evidence of inflammation or disease could be found on the udder or in the milk. Neither could any form of bacteria be found in the milk, which, in cultures or introduced into the udder of a healthy cow, would reproduce the fishy smell. ”

“ The best course, it seems to me,—and I speak from considerable experience, and much observation and inquiry of others,—is to milk the cow dry immediately after the calf has sucked once, especially if the udder is painfully distended, which is often the case, and to leave the calf with the [158] cow during one day, and after that to feed it by putting the fingers into its mouth, and gently bringing its muzzle down to the milk in a pail or trough, when it will imbibe in sucking the fingers. ”

“ On pastures these little creatures soon find their way on to cattle. They attach themselves by preference to the tender skin on the escutcheon, the inside of the thighs, and on the base of the udder. Yet when they are very numerous they may be found in small numbers on various parts of the body, such as the neck, the chest, and the ears. ”

“ Have the flanks, udder and teats of the cow thoroughly cleaned before milking and scald all utensils used for the milk. Harmful bacteria may have gotten well established on the premises and the entrance of a few is enough to seriously affect the flavor of the milk. ”

“ But in this scale the cow is so lightly esteemed for the dairy, that the udder, the size and shape of which is of the utmost consequence in determining the capacity of the milch cow, is set down as worth only one point, while, in the same scale, the horns and ears are valued at two points each, and the color of the nose, and the expression of the eye, are valued at four points each. ”

“ The udder should be attached high behind and the thighs should be narrow. In fact, we want a cow that is not an “easy keeper” but that will milk out clean. The cow should be soft skinned and fine haired. Beware of the wild-eyed, nervous, quick-moving cow for she wastes her energy. Beware of the sluggish cow for she will be sluggish in appetite and will convert her feed into fat instead of milk. Perhaps the best way to describe the disposition of a good dairy cow would be to say that she is alert and intelligent but calm and sensible. ”

“ The safest and least troublesome manner of raising calves, is at the udder of the dam; and whenever the milk is converted into butter and cheese, we believe this to be the most economical. The milk of one good cow is sufficient, with a run of fresh, sweet pasture, to the feeding of two calves at the same time; and if we allow the calves to arrive at three or four months of age before weaning, we may safely estimate, that one good cow will yield a quantity of milk in one season, fully equivalent to bringing up four calves to a weaning age. ”

“ By keeping the calf on the fresh milk, whether he take it directly from the udder, or warm from the pail, all risk of disordered bowels is avoided. The milk is precisely adapted to the perfect health and thrift of the young, and whenever we substitute for it any other food, we must watch carefully that not the slightest mismanagement produces disorder, lest more is lost by disease or want of improvement, than is gained by the milk of which they are robbed.
The first milk of the cow after calving, is slightly purgative, which is essential to cleanse the stomach of the calf. ”

“ It is well known that certain signs or marks of great milkers are developed, only as the capacities of the animal herself are fully and completely developed by age. The milk-veins, for instance, are never so large and prominent in heifers and young cows as in old ones, and the same may be said of the udder, and of the veins of the udder and perineum; all of which it is of great importance to observe in the selection of milch cows. ”

“ To prevent Cows from contracting bad Habits while Milking.—Cows should always be treated with great gentleness, and soothed by mild usage, especially when young and ticklish, or when the paps are tender, in which case the udder ought to be fomented with warm water, before milking, and touched with the greatest gentleness, otherwise the cow will be in danger of contracting bad habits, becoming stubborn and unruly, and retaining her milk ever after. ”

“ The cow must be kept carefully cleaned, particularly the udder, and so must the hands of the milker, and the pail which holds the milk. "The habit of some milkers of wetting their hands with milk just as they begin is a filthy practice and the cause of much bad milk and poor butter." There must be no hidden, inaccessible places in the pails, nor must rusty tinware be used, because it imparts a metallic flavor to the milk. ”

“ The udder is slightly developed or hard, and shrinks very little after milking. The veins of the perineum are not apparent, and those which run along the lower sides of the abdomen are small, straight, and sometimes unequal. In this case the mirror is not symmetrical, and the cow gives more milk on the side where the vein is largest.
These cows often have large heads, and a thick and hard skin. Being ordinarily in good condition, and even fat, they are beautiful to look at, and seem to be well formed. Many of them are nervous and restive, and not easily approached. ”

“ Their legs are long and rather small, and the udder is often of extraordinary size, in conformity with the reputation of the breed for enormous milk-production. It is not unusual for a cow to give more than her own eight in milk every month for ten or twelve consecutive months, and there are numerous instances of yields of 100 pounds or more a day, and 20,000 to 30,000 pounds a year, although 40 to 60 pounds a day, or 7500 to 8000 pounds a year, is considered an average. ”