How do cows keep producing milk?

Question

surely they need to be pregnant? are they in calf all year? please explain how this works and what happens to the calves?

Answer 1

Cows neither produce milk all the time, nor do they only produce milk when they are pregnant. In general, cows begin to produce milk when they give birth and will continue to do so until they are "dried-off", which happens when their calf is weaned (beef cows) or when the farmer stops milking them (dairy cows). For most cows, milk production increases until about 90 days after they give birth, and then slowly declines during the rest of the lactation. If a dairy cow is re-bred successfully at 60-90 days following calving, she will usually be "dried-off" after a lactation of about 305 days so that her mammary gland has a chance to re-charge for a couple months before she gives birth to another calf. (A cow's gestation period is about 280 days.) Some cows that do not re-breed can be milked continuously for 2-3 years, but production declines sufficiently over time that this is not usually economically feasible. Consequently, cows with fertility problems get culled from the herd.

Answer 2

yes, pregnant and/or just had a calf, its a continual cycle

Answer 3

After the cow has her first calf her mammary system contains aveoli cells that begin to produce milk which is stimulated by the prolactin hormone.  The cow does not need to become pregnant again to continue milking and actually if the cow does become prengant the amount of milk produced will decrease as part of the feed intake is diverted to the growing fetus.  If the cow does not become pregnant again she will continue milking until her genetic ability and quality of feed intake diminishes.  We have had cows milk for 2 to 3 years following the birth of their calf without being pregnant.

Answer 4

Cows cant produce milk until after their first born as before that they are called heifers. From eating grass the Livestock gets the substance to keep producing milk. 40 to 60 days after giving birth their milk is at it best, the farmer then breds the cow again to keep the milk status continous.

I hope I helped, I have been around cattle all my life :)

Answer 5

constant milking keeps them producing milk

Answer 6

A cow starts to give milk when she has a calf so a pregnancy starts the cycle.  Peak production usually occurs at 90  to 120 days after calving.  This would coincide with the maximum needs of the calf if she is a beef cow.  In beef cattle the rancher tries to breed the cow back to calve on an annual basis.  With high producing dairy cows the stress of milk production often means that they will not breed back to produce a calf every year.  the calving interval stretches out to 13 to 14 months.  Some cows will naturally produce efficiently for several more months but prolonged lactations on cows that don't breed back is usually stimulated by hormones and a lactation can be maintained for many months.

Answer 7

thiskid is 100% right /the calfs stay with there mums for 2 days  then get hand reared for meat or to producd milk