Cow's giving colostrum, is she about to calve?

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My milk cow might be about 7 months pregnant. I stopped milking her about 3 weeks ago to let her dry up in case she was bred. Her udder looks like theres a bit of milk in it so I tried milking her today and got colostrum. Does this mean she will calve soon? Can they get their colostrum this early? I bought her about 4 months ago and she wasn't supposed to be bred but she started looking pregnant and drying up so I let her dry up just in case she was. She is not bagging up. Any ideas?

-- Julie Capasso (julieamc@excite.com), August 23, 2000

Answers

I have a commercial herd, some of which have dairy influence. What I look for is bagging up (and a couple of mine need jogging bras), freshing (which means the birth canal becomes moist and loose) and how she acts. Some get so loose you would think if she stepped wrong the calf would just fall out. If she goes off by herself, lays down, gets up and looks behind her repeatedly I know she is close. If it is the first calf, sometimes mom will stand watch with her. Some just simply surprise me by bringing a calf along with her. You can get your vet out to preg. check, but it is an educated guess.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 23, 2000.

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