Pictures of Bop, so what is she?

[bulldog]

Hope these come through. Any ideas?
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/q...Bopbear010.jpg
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/q...Bopbear009.jpg
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/q...Bopbear012.jpg

Tonight she did not want to finish her whole bottle. She got that bottle full of MR this morning then full of electrolites for lunch, I know you are all going to freak out at her getting that much, but her poop is nice and solid. So should I be worried about her? Thanks, and I sure would love to know what she is. She was in an auction of about 900 head of holstiens, so she was definately the odd ball.

[topside1]

Jersey/Gelbvieh cross...that's my guess.
Gelbvieh originated in Bavaria, in southern Germany. It is believed to have been developed in the late 18th and early 19th century from self-colored Bernese and Swiss Brown cattle used on the local red or red spotted cattle. Like most European breeds the Gelbvieh was originally selected for meat, milk and work.

[topside1]

If a calf doesn't finish it's bottle and want more, well I'd be concerned...Topside

[JKB07]

Like John said, Id be worried if she wasnt finishing a bottle.


As to her being jersey/gelbvieh cross, well thats a long shot, but you never know. Probably not the most common cross.

If it was an all dairy auction, I would say she has jersey in her.... not sure what else.


Justin

[MARYDVM]

Jersey X Buffalo? Jersey X Highlander? That head is weird.

[Ronney]

I have an Angus/Jersey cross a few days older that is a dead ringer for that calf. The daughter of that calves mother calved two days later to the same bull and had a jet black calf with white back feet. At that age it is almost impossible to tell what they might have in them and even at an older age, it can be hard. Wait till she gets up in age a bit, it might become clearer.

I know from experience that my little red fellow will darken as he ages, the dished face of the Jersey will become apparent and along with the lighter bone structure, anybody with a few clues will be able to work out what breeding he has in him.

How much milk are you feeding her? Chances are that, along with the electrolytes, she is being stuffed full of liquid. She's only a little thing so start off small and work up on a daily basis and forget the electrolytes. Everybody has their own ideas but I start mine off on 1 litre per feed and add 250mls per day per feed until they get to 2.50 litres. No scours, no sickness, no dehydration. Also I provide fresh water which they are capable of drinking on their own - and do.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[gone-a-milkin]

I will guess she is a jersey X angus also.

I hope she starts doing better for you as well.

[Madsaw]

With the size and coloration, I would stay away with any ideas of a jersey cross. If its polled then yes its got beef in it. But, if she has horn buds, I would say she is a brownswiss holstein cross. Had many of them over the years look identical to yours. If it is truely a swiss cross you got a great animal. Very gentle and milks like made.
Bob

[randiliana]

Hostien x Red Angus. We have a steer calf out of our Holstien nurse cow and a Red Angus bull that is the same thing, except a bit of white on his belly.

[Karin L]

If she was brown swissXholstein she wouldn't be red like that. The BS-Hols X heifers I've seen are black.

I'd put her at something like Randi suggested, Red AngusXHolstein or Brown Swiss.

[Eunice]

The dairy where I milked cows used Brown Swiss semen on the Holstein cows and sometimes we got a red calf from the cross. I am guessing that the Holsteins were red gene carriers. I would say yes to Swiss for the strong bone structure, but say no because of the hooves not being black.

[NICC08]

she looks a little rough. If she's not hungry after she finishes her bottle something is wrong. a hungry calf is a healthy calf. overfeeding kills more calves then it does good.

she's def. not a swissxholstein. 99% of the time they are black, I have one now and have seen several. anything with holstein in it is usually black. i'd say she has highland in her with all that hair and that head. i'd be willing to bet she has little if any of the 7 dairy breeds in her.

Good luck

[thequeensblessing]

I'd like to know where you got her and how much you paid for her. Around here, that goes a long way to telling what a calf is. Around here, unless it's a free martin, dairy heifers for sale, even half dairy heifers, are as scarce as hens teeth and bring a tidy sum of money! Beef heifers are pretty common everywhere though and go for between .50 cents and 70 cents a pound, depending on the breed.

[Madsaw]

Originally Posted by Karin L

If she was brown swissXholstein she wouldn't be red like that. The BS-Hols X heifers I've seen are black.

I'd put her at something like Randi suggested, Red AngusXHolstein or Brown Swiss.

I should have stated it differntly. Brown swiss x Red and White Holstein. I am not to used to black and whites any more. The holsteins in our herd are red and white. So, the best cross we found is a holstein to a swiss. then that calf if a heifer needs to go back to the breedof the dam when her breed time comes. We was crossing cattle 20 yrs ago. Trying for a better grazer. Best grazing cow was a jersey cross. Meanest cross was the jersey x.
Not many of the swiss cross will have black hooves. I will start a new thread with pics of some of the differnt crosses. Besides this heifer does not have teh jersey dished nose. Or as some call it the upturned nose. Plus a angus will not add that kind of bone mass to a jersey. a jersey angus will still be fine boned.
Bob

[MissKitty]

She looks like she has jersey in her to me...so sweet.......MissKitty

[Karin L]

Originally Posted by Madsaw

I should have stated it differntly. Brown swiss x Red and White Holstein. I am not to used to black and whites any more. The holsteins in our herd are red and white. So, the best cross we found is a holstein to a swiss. then that calf if a heifer needs to go back to the breedof the dam when her breed time comes. We was crossing cattle 20 yrs ago. Trying for a better grazer. Best grazing cow was a jersey cross. Meanest cross was the jersey x.
Not many of the swiss cross will have black hooves. I will start a new thread with pics of some of the differnt crosses. Besides this heifer does not have teh jersey dished nose. Or as some call it the upturned nose. Plus a angus will not add that kind of bone mass to a jersey. a jersey angus will still be fine boned.
Bob

Bob, since she was bought at the auction she could be anything. The little black on her nose in the second pic could indicate something, but of course she's young and at this age she could be comprised of anything: except jersey of course. So that's why I'm still leaning on the Red Angus-Brown Swiss cross, because her head sort of has that "angusy" look to it, even though you and some others may say different. She could be 1/4 RA and 3/4 BS too...but without seeing the dam its hard to say what she is.

[francismilker]

Bulldog,
What's your geographic location and was it a beef or dairy sale you bought the calf at? In my southern climate, calves being born this time of year don't have that much hair. If she were here, I'd guess some kind of highland cross with that shag hair do. I'm with MaryDVM though, her head is a little different. Some calves that go through a tough time in the birthing canal are a little egg-headed for a while and then they line out.

[KayJay]

Originally Posted by NICC08

she's def. not a swissxholstein. 99% of the time they are black, I have one now and have seen several. anything with holstein in it is usually black. i'd say she has highland in her with all that hair and that head. i'd be willing to bet she has little if any of the 7 dairy breeds in her.

Good luck

I wouldn't say definately not a swissxholstein... I have a swissxholstein bull calf right now that is kind of a chocolatey brown with red highlights, not as light as the calf in the pics, but certainly not black.

[Skelton]

I've been raising bottle calves for 13 years now. We get them from the same dairy who AI's his cows. So, we know for sure what the parents are, and we have a Brown Swiss X Holstein bull that is identical to that calf. Just cause some of ya'll haven't seen that color before doesn't mean you can't get one that color. However, getting her at a sale barn could mean that she has beef in her. Who knows???? She is a nice little calf though.

[bulldog]

Wow, thanks for all the thoughts! I got her at a dairy auction, she was the only red calf there. She went for $1.00 a LB, the Holstein heifers brought $2-3.00 a LB. But folks around here are real partial to Holsteins. I am in Western NY, so her coat is just the same as all the Holsteins, still get some 10 degree weather at night. I don’t know just how old she is either, but I should guess around a week, still no horn buds, so maybe she is beef? At this point I am just hoping she makes it, she came home with shipping fever, so hopefully I can get it cleared up. I'll start another thread on that issue though. Thanks, I guess time will tell what breed or breeds she is. She was the tallest calf in the barn!