Cow personalities

willow_girl · #1 05/28/12, 11:50 PM

I thought this picture perfectly captured the personalities of my white cow, Christine, and her daughter, Lillian -- both of them afraid that someone else is getting something better than she is, and darned if she'll let that happen!

Dreamfarm · #2 05/28/12, 11:52 PM

too funny. reminds me of my dogs. Beautiful cow by the way; what breed?

willow_girl · #3 05/28/12, 11:55 PM

Christine is a Holstein and Lil is half Angus.

InvalidID · #4 05/29/12, 12:00 AM

Are the brown areas normal on Holsteins? I've noticed that on a few of my yearlings and someone told me they aren't getting enough copper. I've got loose minerals and blocks, they hit them regularly, but still with the brown areas.

Ronney · #5 05/29/12, 05:35 AM

I don't know if the brownish areas on Christine are just a trick of the light or a reality. Willow, does she have something else in here - she looks to have a very beefy looking head for a Holstein. If she does have something else in her, this could also account for the brownish tinge.

But yes, a coppery tinge in the black hair of cattle is often indicitive of copper deficiency. The easiest way to find out is to have bloods taken. I inject for copper once a year as all my cattle are copper deficient. They had access to mineral blocks but because of the risk of copper poisoning they do not have enough copper in them to deal with a real deficiency. I no longer provide mineral blocks as they are expensive and there is no point in throwing minerals at them if they don't need them and no point if they do need them and there isn't enough to cover the deficiency. All I provide these days are salt blocks.

Cheers,
Ronnie

willow_girl · #6 05/29/12, 06:07 AM

Wow, I had never heard that before about the copper deficiency! I'll have to look closer and see if it's just a trick of the light, or what. They get loose minerals (red salt) and also some minerals in their TMR. I'll have to look at their bagged grain to see whether it has copper in it as well.

Nope, Christine's 100 percent Holstein, so far as I know -- she came from a commercial dairy.
Cow personalities - Cattle

(Above was taken last summer.)
She is 10 now, and has been with me since she was a first-calf heifer.

Ronney · #7 05/29/12, 06:29 AM

Ah, now I can see the head better. Straight Holstein and a nice looking cow.

I think that browny tinge in the top photo might be a light factor because if you look at the white below it, it has a creamy look to it.

Cheers,
Ronnie

G. Seddon · #8 05/29/12, 06:31 AM

The expression on Christine's face in the last photo says it all! "This pile of hay is mine, all mine!"

bajiay · #9 05/29/12, 06:41 AM

She is pretty. That is the first thing I noticed.
I agree with G. Seddon!

Vickie44 · #10 05/29/12, 06:47 AM

Could just be red factor in her sire. I always liked the red and white Holsteins. WG she is nice looking cow

willow_girl · #11 05/29/12, 07:54 AM

Thanks! Teeny is kind of a tank. You don't get between her and food, that's for sure.

More pics from yesterday. My first attempt at photographing Bitey didn't turn out so well:
Cow personalities - Cattle

Subsequent attempt was better:
Cow personalities - Cattle

She's my sweet girl and the true love of my life.

**gone-a-milkin** · #12 05/29/12, 08:13 AM

Bitey Jane! There she is.

I was excited to see some new pics of your girls, but I was like "Huh? Where is Bitey?"

They look to be in fine fettle, your ladies do.
Plenty of groceries for all of them.

Thanks for sharing.

InvalidID · #13 05/29/12, 10:52 AM

Looks like the dairy you get your Holsteins from breeds than much like the one
I get mine from. HUGE! LOL

myersfarm · #14 05/29/12, 11:39 AM

I know in the Angus breed the gentics some of them when eat FESCUE will have the brown hair..also copper will disapear in the mineral if you only have a few cows it will disappear before the eat the whole bag so they might not get enough over a pediod of time

myersfarm · #15 05/29/12, 11:43 AM

Copper deficiency is a widespread problem in U.S. beef cattle herds. Cattle experiencing copper deficiency exhibit anemia, reduced growth, loss of pigmentation in hair, changes in hair growth and appearance, heart failure, easily fractured bones, diarrhea, compromised immune system function, and impaired reproduction, particularly estrous cycle disruption. Breed composition of cattle also affects copper requirements. For example, Simmental and Charolais require more copper than Angus, and copper supplement levels may need to be increased by as much as 25 to 50 percent for these breeds. In cattle grazing toxic endophyte-infected tall fescue, tall fescue toxicosis may be confused for copper deficiency, based on hair coat changes. In some cases, these conditions can occur together.

myersfarm · #16 05/29/12, 11:43 AM

http://www.thebeefsite.com/articles/...or-beef-cattle

willow_girl · #17 05/29/12, 12:05 PM

Learn something new every day!!!

Christine and Bitey (and Twist) all came from the herd I milked in Michigan. The farmer was a young guy building his herd, and had purchased cows from all over, so there was a lot of variation.

Christine looks a lot like her mother, who was a big, white, long-bodied cow. Lil also has that long-bodied look, although (being half Angus) she carries more muscle, as one would expect from a beef breed.

The herd I milk now has possibly the largest Holstein I've ever seen! I call her "Sideways" because she doesn't fit in the parallel parlor. (Usually we bring her in last, so she can stand, well, sideways.) She's had two daughters, and they both are/were very big girls. One, a second-lactation cow I call Oreo, is my current herd favorite since Maddy went to live with the Krishnas. Oreo remind me very much of my Christine ... she doesn't want to be a milk cow.

Hopefully she will have a long and productive life in the herd, as I really can't afford to feed another large and hungry cow!

myersfarm · #18 05/29/12, 01:25 PM

willow girl...I guess I will have to ask what did you learn

farmgirl6 · #19 05/29/12, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myersfarm

Copper deficiency is a widespread problem in U.S. beef cattle herds. Cattle experiencing copper deficiency exhibit anemia, reduced growth, loss of pigmentation in hair, changes in hair growth and appearance, heart failure, easily fractured bones, diarrhea, compromised immune system function, and impaired reproduction, particularly estrous cycle disruption. Breed composition of cattle also affects copper requirements. For example, Simmental and Charolais require more copper than Angus, and copper supplement levels may need to be increased by as much as 25 to 50 percent for these breeds. In cattle grazing toxic endophyte-infected tall fescue, tall fescue toxicosis may be confused for copper deficiency, based on hair coat changes. In some cases, these conditions can occur together.

holey crap! had no idea...great pics...

allenslabs · #20 06/03/12, 10:17 AM

Copper deficiency is a problem with goats too. Had a goat I thought was black and white. Gave her a copper bolus and she turned black white and tan. It is amazing how copper deficiency leaches out the color on animals.