help? our new cow is losing condition

Well, I think she is beautiful.

Thanks for the pics.

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Cows may not be smarter than People, but some cows are smarter than some people.

aw. I think she's the finest animal on the farm and pretty beautiful, too. Never thought a cow was going to steal our hearts!

Glad to show her off. Thanks for pushing me to get it done.

Nice lookin' gal. She is far from what I would call a skinny cow, as heavy as she is milking she appears to be in god shape. Congrats, not everyone has color coordinated cows and chickens( :>).

it's more that I can tell how much weight she has lost in the 3 weeks we've had her - rather than exactly how much she currently weighs/current condition - if that makes sense. I want to be a responsible caretaker and she has gotten boney compared to where she was when we got her.

I had not noticed how the cow and the chickens were so coordinated till I posted the pictures! Yup, we are the proud owners of a buff orpington-colored cow. LOL!

Cath, she is in excellent condition and you have no cause for concern. Don't forget she is a dairy cow and not a beef - she is designed to produce milk, not meat. She will probably drop a bit more condition before she is through but that need not be a cause for concern.

And yes, she does match your chooks rather well doesn't she.

Cheers,
Ronnie

Yes, I have to agree, very good condition! You're doing fine & asking all the right questions. Enjoy!

thank you, everyone. I appreciate all the help and support very much.

her fecal came back neg for parasites, btw. so we have a clean bill of health and a bit more confidence and knowledge to go forward with.
Cathy

She looks good to me too. Great news about the neg fecal! You have a nice healthy dairy cow there. Enjoy her.
Trisha

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Trisha in WA
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Diamond Belle Ranch

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She looks like a normal producing Jersey to us. We never worried about any of our cows that looked that good and were 3 months fresh. I may have missed it, but I only see where you say you're feeding 3 pounds of grain a day, but you don't say what the protein is for your grain versus the protein from her previous owner.

Proteins can vary, from corn @ 8% to dairy ration @18%. I fed 14% when dry but bred, and 18% when lactating. Cows and goats...Topside

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I wish my jerseys were in that good condition. I've got a couple that you could see through if you looked real hard and I feed the hound out of them. Good looking cow!

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Francismilker

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