[trish.farm]

Looking to wean my calves in about November when they will be 7 months old.  Have one calf and one adopted calf so they are good mates!! 

First question is my jersey drying up after having 2 calves on her.  Is she going to get a massive udder and get mastitis, do I need to milk a bit each day etc etc.

Second question regarding separating the boys from their mummy.  The 2 calves are staying in for the winter in a stable with a concrete yard attached, with access to a little paddock attached when its dry enough.  Some cattle friends have said to separate the calves but leave mummy and her friends in the adjoining paddock for a couple of weeks so they are next to each other but cant feed.  Others have said take them straight away and let them bellow for a few days.  Unfortunatley the winter paddock my big girls and mummy are going in is only the other side of our wood and in calling distance. 

Any expert advice would be greatly appreciated.   

[farmvet]

Another option would be to shut the calves off & just let them out 2x then 1x a day to suckle so they are weaned gradually.  Its a bit of a faff for the first day or 2 but they quickly get the hang of the routine especially if they get a hard feed to entice them back to bed after a suck.

[trish.farm]

Ah good idea, thanks Farmvet. Yeh should be fairly easy with my lot.  Was more worried about Daisy walking around with a massive bag!  I assume that if i had to keep milking her to relieve the pressure it will just encourage more milk? Just a quick feed twice a day from babies should slow down the milk production.