How to tell age and a few other questions.

lonelyfarmgirl · #21 03/03/11, 09:00 PM

I dont think she is old at all. Her udder and feet look too good for old.

southerngurl · #22 03/03/11, 09:45 PM

I gallon per milking or per day?

She may just be a poor doer. I know in goats if they have coccidiosis their digestion can be permanently compromised. I would think the same could happen in cattle?

I would get her on some redmond conditioner to help her digestion work better.

oregon woodsmok · #23 03/03/11, 09:59 PM

A different wormer; you've got that part.

Is she nursing that calf? If so, all the food you are putting into her, she is passing on to that calf. He looks great.

I don't think burmuda hay has all that much nutrition in it. It's more to fill in any empty spaces after they have eaten.

I'd add a scoop of Calf Manna to her grain and give her about 10 pounds of alfalfa or orchard grass hay every day. She needs protein to make milk and feed that nice big calf.

The calf is a bit cat hammed to be Angus, so my guess is that the sire is an Angus Holstein cross. He looks nice and will give you some lovely steaks.

oregon woodsmok · #24 03/03/11, 10:02 PM

Oh, and often Jerseys are bred to Dexters, so the calf could be sired by a Dexter bull.

springvalley · #25 03/03/11, 10:51 PM

My turn, I don`t think your cow looks that bad, just a bit thin. She could use a few more grocerie`s some alfalfa would help. I would venture a guess your cow is around 6 or 7, but I may be off. Just worm her and feed her more, she would look much better in knee deep grass. Good luck, > Marc

southerngurl · #26 03/03/11, 10:58 PM

Oregon Woodsmoke, she's already feeding calf manna.

wolffeathers · #27 03/04/11, 12:23 AM

Thanks everyone, I will definitely follow up one the deworming suggestion and will look into adding some alfalfa to her diet. I'm glad to hear she is not as thin or old as she looks to me sometimes. Our grass has just started turning green and started back in about a week ago, so with the horses kept off her side, the grass should come up pretty quick. Give the grass a couple of weeks and it will really start taking off(I can't wait).

She's a sweet cow, our only issues with her is maintaining weight and low production. Maybe a good worming and some extra groceries will give her the boost she needs. I hope so. As much as I dislike summer(not a hot, humid weather loving person), I miss my green grass!

Cheribelle · #28 03/04/11, 04:25 AM

She does have a beautiful udder. I sure hope you can figure this out.

matt_man · #29 03/04/11, 08:14 AM

You never did say if her production includes her nursing the calf at the same time. Is she nursing the calf and you get 1 gallon/day or is she just making 1 gal/day?

I agree with Marc...she doesn't look that bad. I have one girl that totally milks off her back and looks worse than that when she is first fresh and no matter what I feed her, it doesn't make a difference. She always gains better late into lactation and during her dry period. I always give her an extra few weeks of dry time so she can regain the weight and she gains just fine. We don't feed grain during dry time either so she gains it back on just fescue hay since she has been calving around end of Feb.

wolffeathers · #30 03/04/11, 09:06 AM

I am so glad to hear that she isn't in too bad of shape.

We're going to pick up some of the cydectin pour on today. I think if the safeguard was ineffective, it could really be worms getting to her.

We share milked with the calf. But on the days that we milked we would pull the calf in the morning and then milk about 8pm and then turn him back out with her. So the gallon was over a 12 hour period of not being milked.. I will give her extra dry time.

If she took, she'll be due 9/3/2011. We were looking for a bull to breed her back and when the time came the neighbors angus elected himself, tore down the fence and had his way(the day after we left the farm for a Thanksgiving in the mountains). At least I'll remember the breeding date. He hasn't been back for a visit, so I assume the deed was done. (Those present said they were pretty busy, the couple of days the bull stayed before his owner came to get him.)

I was hoping to breed her to a Jersey because she had a nice udder and hope for a heifer off of her. I've heard people really like their angus/jersey heifers so we'll see.

Allen W · #31 03/04/11, 03:13 PM

Sounds like she bred back on schedule so your doing alright. She could be lacking protein with just the bermuda grass hay and grain. Some alfalfa or soy bean meal would help that.

Is she making any progress on the protein tub? Some protein tubs need a minimum number of cattle using them so there is enough saliva available to soften the block as they eat.

PaulNKS · #32 03/04/11, 05:37 PM

I'm going to add my 2 cents. That is not an old Jersey. She may be 5 as you were told.

Deworm her with the Cydectin pour on and don't worry. Some Jerseys will look almost that thin no matter what you do.

I would also like to see you answer the question previously asked. When you milked her, was the calf also nursing at times? In other words were you having to share the milk?

One other point... today, if a dairy sells a cow, it is usually a cull. Sometimes it can be just as simple as her not giving enough milk. But.. the last Jersey I had was giving 6 gallons per day and was a cull from a Jersey dairy.

Personally, I think she's a nice looking Jersey. I'd take her in a minute. lol

matt_man · #33 03/04/11, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulNKS

I'm going to add my 2 cents. That is not an old Jersey. She may be 5 as you were told.

Deworm her with the Cydectin pour on and don't worry. Some Jerseys will look almost that thin no matter what you do.

I would also like to see you answer the question previously asked. When you milked her, was the calf also nursing at times? In other words were you having to share the milk?

One other point... today, if a dairy sells a cow, it is usually a cull. Sometimes it can be just as simple as her not giving enough milk. But.. the last Jersey I had was giving 6 gallons per day and was a cull from a Jersey dairy.

Personally, I think she's a nice looking Jersey. I'd take her in a minute. lol

She did say that she was sharemilking with the calf but he was separated from her for 12 hours before she milked.

I still say that if that calf is still nursing her, he needs to be weaned ASAP - he's dragging her down.

bruce2288 · #34 03/04/11, 06:57 PM

if you took a fecal sample to your vet he could check the worm load. Probably as easy to treat though for one cow.

wolffeathers · #35 03/04/11, 07:05 PM

Well dear Bess is now sporting a beautiful purple stripe down her back. Whew! You guys could have warned me I'd be dishing $80 out for the Cydectin Pour On. LOL ((Went ahead and bought a couple of horse dewormers since they are coming due and the darn bill was $112. I spend way too much money at TSC.))

I've read and reread the directions, but it does not say how often it should be applied. It stated how long it was effective for certain parasites, but not how often it should be given. Any ideas?

matt_man · #36 03/04/11, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolffeathers

Well dear Bess is now sporting a beautiful purple stripe down her back. Whew! You guys could have warned me I'd be dishing $80 out for the Cydectin Pour On. LOL ((Went ahead and bought a couple of horse dewormers since they are coming due and the darn bill was $112. I spend way too much money at TSC.))

I've read and reread the directions, but it does not say how often it should be applied. It stated how long it was effective for certain parasites, but not how often it should be given. Any ideas?

I always get a single dose for each cow from my vet instead of buying the whole bottle. I worm around October and in April.

wolffeathers · #37 03/04/11, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt_man

I always get a single dose for each cow from my vet instead of buying the whole bottle. I worm around October and in April.

Where is the head banging smiley when you need it?

The important thing is, she is dewormed. And she's not as bad off as I thought she was. Those bony dairy animals take some getting used to.

genebo · #38 03/04/11, 08:38 PM

Because the worms are so good at developing immunity to the wormers, you don't want to use them more often than necessary.

Since she's now on pasture that didn't have cattle on it before, you should have a period when worms won't be a problem, maybe for a couple of years. All you need to do is get her clean, then keep an eye on her.

matt_man · #39 03/04/11, 10:32 PM

I should have said that we don't do everyone every Oct and April...those are just the times of the year when we will notice that somebody here or there looks like they could use it.

myersfarm · #40 03/04/11, 10:41 PM

I would wean that calf or she will never gain weight