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Somewhere in between a vegan and non-vegan, I am skeptical about what happens if cow is not milked regularly.

  1. Will it die due to mastitis or any other infection?

  2. Will it get dried up (stop producing)? Will drying up cause an issue to the cow?

Source 1. Here one of the participant raised the issue about cow getting mastitis if not milked

Source 2. Lindsey Worden, Communications Manager, Holstein Association USA & Holstein Foundation.

Source 3 : Vegan point of view

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isherwood
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samnaction
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    Hi, do you have a source for this claim, or is it just a question you're asking yourself? Note that your question could be on scope on [Biology SE](http://biology.stackexchange.com/). – Babika Babaka Jul 22 '16 at 12:43
  • @SeriousSarah unfortunately the source is in tamil – samnaction Jul 22 '16 at 12:44
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    Ok, could you link it in your question and provide a translation ? (No need to translate a whole page, only the relevant parts) Also, what is the exact claim of the source? Is it that the cow would die or that it would dry? – Babika Babaka Jul 22 '16 at 12:48
  • So now there's a claim, but is it notable? – ReasonablySkeptical Jul 22 '16 at 14:25
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    I know enough to say that the answer will be extremely dependant on the breed of cow. I assume you mean some type of milk cow, but it might be worthwhile to explicitly state that. – Jonathon Jul 24 '16 at 01:16
  • Also, is there any special rules for questions asking for data that can never really be produced in peer reviewed journals? No one is going to do a study on "what happens to cows when we abuse them in this particular way", that would be unethical and almost certainly illegal. Millions of farmers and vets around the world can tell you what happens to a cow when not milked, but I doubt you will find any studies on the matter. – Jonathon Jul 24 '16 at 01:30

2 Answers2

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There is a possibility of death due to injury and eventual infection if a dairy cow is not milked. Many wild or "less-domesticated" (if you'll allow) breeds of cattle, bison and other bovines don't suffer from the same danger.

Immediately, the real problem is that the udders will swell and cause the cow severe pain and stress if not released. Generally the milk will stop producing and not cause a literal rupture at some point, but the udders may be so tight they become very vulnerable and inflamed. This can lead to infections and other health problems, which can then lead to death.

Pro Tip: Be kind and milk dairy cows at least every day or two while lactating.

Oh, in case the summary version isn't clear:

  1. Yes, it will probably become infected.
  2. It can dry from the pressure. Any hormonal transition can have effects on health. You dont want to attempt this with a cow that just started a lactation cycle. The best way is to let the current cycle run on then dry using low-calorie high fiber diets.

Sources:

That Realtor Programmer Guy
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    20 years and chooses the wrong spelling. ;) http://grammarist.com/usage/udder-vs-utter/ – JasonR Jul 22 '16 at 19:56
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    you dont really spell the terms much in ranching haha, and its been a while ;p thx corrected tho – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 22 '16 at 20:00
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    This site has rather specific standards for references; see http://meta.skeptics.stackexchange.com/a/2512/6308 and http://meta.skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/5/faq-must-all-answers-be-referenced. We can't really accept your experience (1) as evidence since we have no way of verifying your credentials or the scientific rigor of your observational methods. And Google (2) is hardly a reliable source, especially since it won't show the same results over time or even to different people. – Nate Eldredge Jul 22 '16 at 23:50
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    As for "logic" (3), an udder is not a bladder and the mechanisms that produce milk are quite different from those that produce urine. I'm not convinced that the analogy is valid. Anyway, wouldn't this logic apply equally well to wild cattle? But you say they don't suffer the same problems. Evidently there is something about the milk-producing structures of wild cattle that avoids this problem, so clearly they are not like a urinary bladder; why should we believe that the analogy is any better for domestic cattle? – Nate Eldredge Jul 22 '16 at 23:53
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    The Oregon State source (4) is decent but it doesn't give any citations for its own claims, and there's no indication of whether it has been peer reviewed. – Nate Eldredge Jul 22 '16 at 23:55
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    (I do appreciate your post and am not trying to pick on you, but at Skeptics.SE, we're, well, skeptical.) – Nate Eldredge Jul 22 '16 at 23:57
  • While there are some good bits in the answer, it comes off a bit condescending. The only acceptable source by our standareds is number four, and it does so only at one point in the text. Can you edit your answer so it is centered to that, add some more references which support the consequences you claim, and remove the snarky bits? – Sklivvz Jul 23 '16 at 11:18
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    Also - to be clear - it is not correct to say that a dairy cow needs to be milked. Your source #4 says that it's risky to stop milking it without altering the diet of the animal first, but that it's healthy to stop milking it if it's done properly. – Sklivvz Jul 23 '16 at 11:21
  • @NateEldredge no problem; my point on logic is simply that stretched tissue is uncomfortable and more easily inflamed -- which I consider common knowledge, maybe not? The milk production of dairy cattle has simply been bred to stay active longer. The normal biological process that stops production is pressure on the udders, but its less effective for dairy cattle without supportive diet/milking schedule. – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 23 '16 at 16:31
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    @Sklivvz regarding having the cow dry, its not an immediate process so even when you do it correctly the cow still needs to be milked some -- not EVERY cow 100% has to be milked for survival, but certainly for comfort. re: snarkiness, can you be a little more specific? apologies, i believe you but i'm dense about such things. feel free to edit the post to your liking. – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 23 '16 at 16:49
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    @Sklivvz various sources added – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 23 '16 at 17:03
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    I know you need to stay with evidence based reasoning. But in my experience one of the bigger issues with swollen dairy cow utters is that they can get so big they drag in the dirt and get stepped on. Of course cows are capable of drying themselves off, and dairy cows still contain this ability on a biological level. But physiologically, the utter is so gigantic already that it quickly because a serious issue when not handled with the utmost care and attention. – Jonathon Jul 24 '16 at 01:38
  • All of the papers that you have referred relate to mastitis and inflammed or stressed udder affected cows! Does nonmilking affect healthy cows which do not have these conditions? – pericles316 Jul 25 '16 at 06:42
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    @pericles316 nonmilking is a common cause for these conditions to develop. when the udders remain under pressure they are prone to infection, which is mastitis. – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 25 '16 at 06:47
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    Let me offer an unimpeachable source in support of @GaretClaborn... your mother. Udders are the cow's mammary glands (breasts). Dairy cows have been bred to have massively large capacity mammary glands. Beef cattle, buffalo and other bovines have normal sized udders that are usually not even visible at a glance. If their new born dies, just like if your mom chose not to nurse you, they experience a great deal of pain unless "their milk is expressed" (they're "milked"). Drying requires them to endure some of this pain in order to get the body to stop producing milk. Ask mom about this. – DocSalvager Jul 26 '16 at 02:28
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    @DocSalvager +1...tbh for "your mother" ;p Very good point too, it helps that we have the obvious human experience to compare with – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 26 '16 at 05:13
  • @DocSalvager-Nice explanation, but will the pain experienced by the nonmilked cow cause death? Is there any evidence for that and as an additional question, do human mothers die of that pain when nonexpressing their milk? – pericles316 Jul 26 '16 at 13:38
  • @pericles316 Can anyone die of pain? – Babika Babaka Jul 26 '16 at 13:44
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    @SeriousSarah-Yes, severe chronic or acute pain is known to cause death through indirect mechanisms. – pericles316 Jul 26 '16 at 13:56
  • @pericles316 AFAIK I haven't heard of this in human mother, but I have heard of bloot clots. Additionally, one of the top causes of cancer, in all animals, seems to be chronically inflamed cells. – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 27 '16 at 06:14
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The answers are

  1. Will it die ? Due to mastitis or any other infection-Depends on whether it is diseased or not.

    No if it is a pasture-fed, primiparous, nonpregnant cows since research shows that partial milk synthesis is possible even after 28 days of nonmilking in pasture-fed, primiparous, nonpregnant cows.

    Yes if it has severe udder stress or mastitis.

  2. Will it get dried? Will drying up cause an issue to the cow?

    No it will not cause an issue to an healthy cow since its a normal occurence in a cow's life cycle. You can read more about that here.

Effects of reduction of milking in cows:

  1. Reducing milking frequency reduces milk yield. Dry period requirement is peculiar to dairy cows.

    Most dairy cows throughout the world are milked twice daily. In intensive dairying systems, however, it is not uncommon to increase milking frequency to between 3 and 6 times daily to increase milk production. Reducing milking frequency is much less common; however, once-daily milking of dairy cows, practiced either strategically during certain parts of the lactation or for the entire lactation, is not uncommon in key dairying countries where less emphasis is placed on milk production per cow. The practice fits well with more extensive dairy production systems, particularly those based on grazed pasture. A feature of once-daily milking is that it reduces milk yield by approximately 22%. Source: Invited review: reduced milking frequency: milk production and management implications

  2. Long periods of nonmilking is noted to result in reduction of milk secretion, milk composition modification, and eventually shrinking mammary glands.

    Conclusions : Changes occur in the mammary gland during the dry period which influence mammary cell proliferation and mammary function in the subsequent lactation. Source: Dry Period in Dairy Cattle

  3. Lactoferrin is noted to increased during short nonmilking periods of 2 days.

    Two experiments with cows in mid and late lactation were carried out to examine milking strategies to increase milk lactoferrin concentration and yield. Milking was suspended in cows normally milked twice daily, for periods of 2, 4, or 7d (mid lactation) or 2 or 4d (late lactation) after which cows were milked out and twice-daily milking resumed for 4d. In all groups, lactoferrin concentration was significantly increased during the remilking period, approaching concentrations similar to those found in human milk (~1 g/L). Lactoferrin yields were significantly higher in all treatment groups, although increasing the nonmilking period beyond 2d offered no advantage. Source: Suspension of milking in dairy cows produces a transient increase in milk lactoferrin concentration and yield after resumption of milking

SUMMARY:

  1. Partial milk synthesis is possible even after 28 days of nonmilking and fully reversible if remilked after seven days of nonmilking in a pasture-fed, primiparous, nonpregnant cow. This shows that nothing severe happens to a pasture-fed, primiparous, nonpregnant cow if left unmilked for a period of 28 days.

    These data indicate that the process of involution is fully reversed after remilking following 7d of milk stasis but more extended periods of nonmilking prevent the complete recovery of lactation. However, even after 28d of milk stasis, the milk synthesis capacity of the mammary gland could still be partially recovered. Source: The effect of milking reinitiation following extended nonmilking periods on lactation in primiparous dairy cows

  2. However, if udder stress or infection causing mastitis occurs during the nonmilking period, this might result in the death of the nonmilked diseased cow.

    Whether or not cows will die if they're not milked depends on two factors: How much they're milking at the time, and how fast milking ceases. If a cow is only producing 20 pounds per day or less per day, she can be "dried off" (caused to cease milk production) simply by stopping milking her. That happens to almost every cow every year, and is a normal part of the "have a calf--produce a lot of milk per day---milk less and less per day--dry off--have a calf" cycle that's a cow's life. Done right, there's no problem at all.

    However, if a cow is producing much more than 20 pounds per day, stopping milking her in one fell swoop will cause severe udder stress including inflammation, and the more she's milking the greater the chance that this stress and the resulting infection could kill her. Unfortunately, we have first-hand experience about this in this region (45 miles south of Montreal) since a few years ago we had a devastating ice storm that killed electric power for several days. One farmer who couldn't get a generator lost a bunch of high producing cows when he wasn't able to milk them. (He had about 150 cows, and milking by hand was out of the question.) Source: Can dairy cows die if they aren't milked?

pericles316
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    *"This shows that nothing severe happens to the cow if left unmilked for a period of 28 days."* Sorry but this doesnt make sense as it only applies to those healthy cattle that were not severely affected, by developing mastsis, as you note in your second point. *"However, if udder stress or infection causing mastitis occurs during the nonmilking period, this might result in the death of the nonmilked cow."* Also see added sources on my answer which detail adverse effects specific to long-term udder inflammation. So the answer to the first point is, yes, the cow may die. – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 23 '16 at 16:55
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    Confused by your answer. You seem to be stating that it will not die or get any infections because research shows that it is possibly to resume milking even after many days of not milking. These two statements are not related. – Jonathon Jul 24 '16 at 01:22
  • @Jonathon Wisnoski-I have modified the comment to reflect for healthy cows. Let me know if this makes it understandable – pericles316 Jul 25 '16 at 06:25
  • @Garet Claborn-Thanks for further confirming my answer because my comments are for nonmilking in healthy cows and not for cows which have an inflammed udder or affected by mastitis which is covered in the second point! – pericles316 Jul 25 '16 at 06:29
  • @pericles316 apologies I dont understand what you mean? You say **"Will it die ? Due to mastitis or any other infection-No..."** according to your second point this is still "yes". Right? – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 25 '16 at 06:33
  • @Garet Claborn-Please read my modified answer and let me know of your comments! – pericles316 Jul 25 '16 at 06:40
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    I think one point of clarity may help... when you say **"No if it is a healthy cow "**, its important to note that non-milking is generally what causes mastis. Udder inflammation leads to it pretty easily. So it's not like cows with mastis and cows without mastis are two control groups for this scenario. – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 25 '16 at 06:40
  • I see that clears it up thanks, just so people coming in from search will know to take care of mastis ;p changed vote – That Realtor Programmer Guy Jul 25 '16 at 06:41
  • Let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/42959/discussion-between-pericles316-and-garet-claborn). – pericles316 Jul 25 '16 at 06:43
  • Your TLDR section is the same number of lines as the previous section. I can't tell what part of that is supposed to be a summary and which parts are new information. –  Jul 25 '16 at 18:32
  • @Dawn-Point taken, i will change the TLDR to summary! – pericles316 Jul 26 '16 at 13:30