Jersey Bull Condition

[Curtis B]

Just a few questions for the experts..... I saw the thread on Jersey heffers and it brought up my "concerns" with the two Jersey bulls I got about a month ago. They look better than they did when I got them, but they are no where close to the Holstein steers I have. I also have a concern about worms, even though they were supposedly wormed in Nov. They seem to have very loose stools, and I was bouncing back and forth between taking a sample to the vet and just worming all the cattle. Here are some pics

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Thanks

[Callieslamb]

A jersey will always be smaller and more bony than a holstein.

[agmantoo]

I do not know what your bull has been dining on but even for a Jersey, to me a beef person, he seem light on the rear. Here is my jersey holstein cross first calf heifer coming off nothing but grass all Winter for comparison.

[springvalley]

He looks normal to me, jersey`s are a little light in the rearend, till they get a bit more age on them. Agmanto, wish my pastures looked that lush right now. Thanks Marc

[Ronney]

Curtis, I don't know why you have kept these two as bulls (as opposed to steering them) but that aside, they look absolutely fine for their breed. They are nicely covered with no ribs, hip or pin bones showing up and I personally would not be concerned about them.

Don't try to compare the straight Jersey with anything including a Jersey/Cross because there is no comparison either in the dairy breeds or the beef. The are among the smallest of our common cows, small boned and consequently light framed. They are not fast growers and never become heavy - if they do they are too fat! They are primarily a high quality milking breed which wastes no energy in growth it doesn't need and that is reflected in both sexes.

Loose faeces could be indicative of your grass coming away although you don't seem to have too much of it. I wouldn't drench at this point but that is up to you.

Agman, I too am drooling over that grass big time. We have had no significant rain since early December. 2mls here and there with the most being 30mls at Easter which just disappeared into the ground. The Kykuyu on the river flats have kept us going but we are now heading into winter with still no rain in the forseeable future and the Kykuyu will die off with the colder weather. Most farmers have destocked, I have only my dairy herd plus 4 calves, cut my ewes back to 18 and all my lambs go to the works next Monday. That is the least stock I have every carried into winter. Water is becoming a major concern as rivers run at a trickle and natural springs dry up.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[Curtis B]

Thanks for the replies. I new Jerseys are usually light in the rear, but I wasn't sure since I have never raised one. Ronney, they are bulls still since they are about 1 to 1 1/2 years old, and they will be going to the butcher here in sept/oct, I didn't see the need to go through castrating since I onlyplan on having them a short time. The pasture you see is not what the rest is like, it is right by a gate to the pasture and the mineral feeder so it is a bit more used and beaten. They were mostly grained with very little pasture when I got them, they are now grass only, and have been getting minerals for about a week only, so my thinking was loose stools could also have been from the recent changes. Just for comparision this is one of my holstein steers that has had nothing but pasture, he will be 1 in June.

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Sorry for the blury pic

[Chixarecute]

They may be drinking more to offset the intake of minerals - give them a week or so more & you'll likely see the stools become normal again.