Poop question

[deineria]

Our young Jersey heifer is having poop closer to the horse type in consistency, and I am wondering what we need to look at to correct this and get it back to normal cow pies
I am wondering if we are feeding her too much grain or too much high protein grain.

[Allen W]

What is she eating?

[sammyd]

If it's getting harder and less sloppy chances are you shouldn't take away any grain.
More protien=more slop
I've seen cows on rations that make almost liquid.
A heifer should have poop that isn't too sloppy unless she's right up close to freshening and almost on full feed.

[deineria]

She is getting about 3/4 pd 14% calf starter plus about 1/4 lb of Calf Manna added to the grain twice a day plus about 15 lbs of hay and salt and minerals.

[oneokie]

What grain are you feeding? Do you know the protien content of the grain? How much grain are you feeding to the hefier each day?

How much does the heifer weigh?

Are the salt and minerals offered free choice, or are they mixed in with the grain and supplements?

Plenty of fresh water available at all times?

What kind of hay?

[deineria]

She is about 225 lbs. The grain is 14% but I add calf manna to the feed. The salt and mineral is free choice. Water 24/7 daily. Hay is just a mixed grass hay - bales not rolls.

[Allen W]

She is not getting enough protein.

[deineria]

The calf manna is around 22-23%, I believe, and she gets about 3 cups a day of it - so how much more should I give her of the calf manna to get enough protein in her? Her calf grower is actually 16%, I had to check, not 14%.
We cannot buy anything with a higher %, so that is why we mix the calf manna in to get a higher protein content.

[oneokie]

What is the fat and fiber percentages for the calf grower you are feeding?

Up the feeding to 1 lb of the calf grower twice a day and continue adding the calf manna and see if the stool loosens up. (wetter consistency)

Are 20% protien cattle cubes available in your area? Those could be used as a source of additional protein, and may be a lower cost option.

[Allen W]

What does the directions on the calf starter recomend to feed? What kind and quality of hay are you feedin? A calf that size needs very good hay if you don't plan on feeding much grain.

[deineria]

I haven't been able to find any cattle cubes. Dariy cattle aren't common in this area, so everything is tailored for beef cows.
I will check into the soybean meal. She was on a 20% calf grower when we got her from PA, but we had to transition to the 16% with the calf manna because we couldn't find anything higher. I wil have to check the feed tag on her calf feed.

[Allen W]

deineria
Sorry I edited my post while you were responding. Soybean meal would have more protein and be cheaper then calf manna.

You could feed a little more of calf starter, adding a flake a day of alfalfa hay would help too.

[sammyd]

I've run 16% after weaning but the hay was mostly alfalfa and we fed a lot more than 3 cups.
More like 3 pounds.
Personally I'd just try upping the amount of grain you're feeding and see how things look in a few days.
Don't be stingy with a calf, since they are weaned early and not left on mom like a beefer you need something to replace that awsome stuff called milk.

that being said, it's not uncommon for non lactating animals to have harder more segmented poop. But it shouldn't be in pieces like a horse......

[deineria]

I will add Alfalfa pellets to her feed since we can't buy Alfalfa hay around here.
My husband does the feeding with her, so I had to double check with amounts (her condition looks excellent), but she gets about 2lbs of grain (around 3/4 to 1 lb twice a day) and about 1 lb total of calf manna a day, but I will add the alfalfa pellets. Would around a 1lb be a good starting point at each feeding?
He said he was giving her more grain, but she was leaving a bit of it in the pan and not finishing it a few weeks back so he assumed he was feeding too much each time.

[springvalley]

Like sammyd said, heifers will be more solid than cows, mine are. I think your heifer will be fine. And as far as protien, what would they have done in the old days when they had no bagged protien? Thanks Marc

[Allen W]

If she is growing and looking good your doing all right. You could up the calf starter some. If your hay is iffy in quality you could replace some of it with the alfalfa pellets if it is good high quality hay you should be all right.

[deineria]

They hay is just okay, I'd guess, so I'm sure the Alfalfa pellets will even that out. We buy them anyway for the goats, so I will add those to her feed and she how that works. Thanks!