So, here she is

dunroven · #1 12/06/12, 04:45 PM

This is the heifer that I told you all about that our friend purchased from someone who just needed to get rid of them because he couldn't afford to feed them.

The first guy told our friend she is pregnant and due in February. With the ease of picture posting now, I thought I would get a picture of her and see what you thought. I can't get one from the back end. She just keeps turning around to face me.

She is skittish yet and won't let me touch her. The other calf is the bull that "supposedly" bred her. Again, let me know what you all think.

Thanks!

G. Seddon · #2 12/06/12, 05:23 PM

Not sure where you first posted about them, but....doesn't matter.

Jerseys? Do you know their ages? They look like they need some TLC and deworming, especially the one on the right with the scruffy coat (bull?). Provide hay and fresh water. If you start them on any grain, I'd start slowly with a very small amount and gradually build up. Provide good quality loose minerals. Keep them where you can keep an eye on them and get them used to you, but be very careful around with the bull.

They can bounce back with good care and attention. If you have other cattle, keep these two quarantined for a while. Get advice on vaccinations from your vet.

Nice that you rescued them!

dunroven · #3 12/06/12, 05:44 PM

Actually they already are looking better, BUT, my question is, does she look pregnant to you? They are both under 2 years. She is slightly over a year, he, maybe not, but no one is certain.

Oh and Holstein/Angus cross is what we were told on her and jersey bull on him. (yes, he's the one on the right). I thought our friend said Jersey/Angus cross on her, but I guess I misunderstood that.

CJBegins · #4 12/06/12, 06:00 PM

Both are full jerseys and the Heifer is older than a year. Her horns have more than a years growth on them. The bull is probably right at a year.

The heifer is gonna grow out to be beautiful. I love her coloring. The bull could have bred her, you will have to watch for udder/teat changes as she progresses.

Carla

**gone-a-milkin** · #5 12/06/12, 06:29 PM

Does the heifer have any white at all on her? She looks very Jersey to me.
The Holstein x Jerseys I have seen generally will have at least a tiny bit of white: either a sock or on their flank or udder.

It is impossible to tell too much from these pictures.

If she isnt bred yet, she will be eventually by that little bull.

I will second the advice not to get too chummy with that bull.
Keep him back out of your personal space.

Good luck with them.

dunroven · #6 12/06/12, 08:13 PM

Yep, I think she is very pretty. I love her eyes! She is not very trusting, but the bull, aka Shaggy (after Shaggy on Scooby-Doo), wants to be very friendly. Dolly (Dolly Madison), finally did eat a little bit out of the bucket today.

Our friend said to feed them a good bit of grass hay and about half a 5 gallon bucket of cracked corn. What is your opinion on this? He did give us a small bit of DDGs, but that is all gone. I'm not sure about feeding them. I know when we grew out our Jersey steers, which were totally reddish brown, not dark like this at all, that we gave them a 5 gallon bucket of cracked corn twice a day, but if Dolly is bred, I want her to have good gain so she can give us a good calf.

Thanks for your help! I'm new to a heifer! Oh and also, we are only keeping the little guy to see if Dolly is bred. If she is, he's going to become a steer. If she isn't, he's going to be a bull until she is and THEN he'll be a steer and he will go into the freezer later on.

Also, no white on her except right around her nose.

Jersey/guernsey · #7 12/06/12, 09:44 PM

What a beautiful heifer, you don’t see many black jerseys in this area; where about did she come from? anywhere near the WI line?
And yes the little bull could have bred her. Jersey bulls work young, but I doubt she’s due in Feb (you should be able to see that her barrel is lopsided with the calf or even bump it)

dunroven · #8 12/06/12, 10:43 PM

We don't know her origins. The guy that couldn't keep them was from over by the Nebraska line, near Onawa, Iowa. They came to him from 2 different places, and I don't know that guy at all. My friend who lives about a mile from me here, knows him, but he didn't know where he got them either.

I can't get close enough to her to bump her yet, but she is just starting to think about maybe getting close to me, but not enough to "really" let me touch her yet, so, I'm hoping she will tame down soon.

She really has a HUGE voice! LOLOL She lets me know when she's ready to eat! LOL The guy had her mother too, and she was pretty tall. This heifer is about half the height of her mother, so I'm guessing she's got quite a bit of growth to get yet.

So someone tell me for sure what kind of feed I need for her. I want her to be a great milker for me as well as a great mother. I intend on keeping her as a milk cow and so I want her to be cared for well. You know what they say about contented cows. I want her VERY contented! LOL

DarleneJ · #9 12/06/12, 11:27 PM

I don't know much about cows, but I would make sure they get a salt lick with minerals in it as well if you haven't already.

Dolly has a CUTE face. Really cute.

dunroven · #10 12/06/12, 11:31 PM

I think she does too! I hope I can get her tamed down so she will milk without problems. Anyone have any suggestions on how to tame her?

**gone-a-milkin** · #11 12/06/12, 11:33 PM

I wouldnt feed her up on a bunch of corn if she is preggo.

Good grass hay and the right minerals will do her fine.A little bit (couple/3 pounds of higher protien grain) to help you tame her down.
The risk is putting too much of that gain into the calf and possibly getting her into birthing trouble with a big, fat headed bully baby inside her.

It is better to let her work for the calories by eating her hay.
She is going to grow a lot more, even if she is already bred for a Feb calf.
(I am not convinced by these pics that she is).
I have seen lots of "uh-oh bred too young" heifers who grow during a LOT during that first lactation.
by the time they come to drop the 2nd calf, they are way bigger with heavier bone and developed muscle.

There is really no rushing her into perfect condition.
I dont know if you have read up at all on animal rescues, but slow and careful increases on feeding are the safest way to do it.

Keep a close eye on these two.
You should l be able to tell within a month if she is bred, just by watching how that bull is with her.

dunroven · #12 12/07/12, 12:05 AM

I'm not convinced she is bred either, and maybe these pictures just make her look poor. She's actually pretty well filled out. Its hard to get a good picture of her. She runs every time I try to get close enough, but I'll try for better pictures.

Shaggy has tried to mount her a few times, but never quite gets to it. She walks away, but she just doesn't seem big enough, width wise, to me, and I have no experience with cows having calves, so I'm totally new at this end of things.

We have raised steers before, and bottle baby bulls but never have had a heifer, so I just want to make sure I do it right. Makes sense about the gain on the baby though. I do appreciate that, hadn't even really thought about it.

I'm really glad that the guy that had them gave them up when he knew he couldn't feed them and asked for help rather than letting them stand there and starve. Would have been a shame, especially her!

Callieslamb · #13 12/07/12, 07:04 AM

Grain will go a long ways to making her friendly. Treats will also - mine like bread and any greens since their pasture is gone for the season. If you're going to milk her, it's good that you have a while to work with her. See if you can find some 14-16% dairy grain to feed her. A dairy cow will never look like a beef cow. I don't think she looks that bad either. Her winter coat makes her look a bit scruffy.

G. Seddon · #14 12/07/12, 07:42 AM

Difficult to tell by the photos, but she may not be pregnant if the shaggy one is mounting her; actually, she might not even be cycling if her condition is poor. Corn will provide fat, but I suspect she's still growing and needs protein, perhaps a little bit of good grain twice a day -- also gives you a chance to befriend her a bit. A good dewormer will also make a difference.

CJBegins · #15 12/07/12, 07:57 AM

Dunroven, one of my favorite treats to use to gentle a cow is range cubes. I always start them out with some in a bucket so they learn what they are and how yummy they are. Then I start trying to feed them by hand, one at a time, held in my fingers so she doesn't have to touch me and then gradually feed from the palm of my hand.

I haven't met a cow that doesn't become an addict yet and they are good for them. I have a couple of cows that will try to wrap their tongues around my arm just to get some "candy".

Carla

dunroven · #16 12/07/12, 08:38 AM

Okay, it sounds like cow cubes are in order here, but are they actually called that or is there a specific name for them? Is this like a molasses/grain combination type thing or alfalfa or what am I looking for?

I can't wait to do that! LOL My sister used to have a big old black cow, not sure what she was and they never did anything with her except that she was a pet. Her name was Beauty and she would walk up and just take one swipe with that big old tongue and lick you from head to toe. She was a great old cow. That was when I was a little girl, but I loved to play with that big old cow. She was like a HUGE dog! LOLOL

springvalley · #17 12/07/12, 08:54 AM

Ok, here`s my take on her, I don`t think she is bred for Feb. and she does need some protien. Feed her all the good grass hay she wants without wasting it. worm her and start slowly with the feed, if you feed to much to fast you are going to founder your cattle. I would feed these guys some rolled oats or barley or wheat with a couple handfulls of soybean meal on it. Also feed a mineral and salt not all in one but seperate. And also do something for me, and I don`t mean to be snippy here, pick up the garbage in their lot, cattle can get hurt when nothing is in their yard, so when you have lumber, tires and garbage laying around they can get hurt on it. If the wood has nails in it, those are hard on their hooves, and you don`t need to be treating a puncture wound on their feet. I don`t have a neat and tidy place, but I don`t like things in yards where there are animals. And I also think the heifer is around 14-16 months old , the bull more like a year old. Good luck with them. > Thanks Marc

springvalley · #18 12/07/12, 08:56 AM

Please no cubes, I don`t like them, and they are not cheap, and they can choke on them. Go get some stale bread at the bread store, it`s cheap, and they love it. (Treat only) > Marc

mamahen · #19 12/07/12, 09:24 AM

I didn't like the cubes either, because mine think you have to inhale & choke on them.

Mine also like apples, sliced & bread. Even horse cookies are yummy.

With goats, you don't really want to give them a whole lot of feed early in the pregnancy (to grow giant, unpassable kids) - You start amping up the feed the last month or so.

For a heifer/cow that size & age - I would start at about 2 lbs 16% dairy ration, two times a day.

Do that for a week-week 1/2 , increase to 3 lbs morning, two evening. Do that for a few weeks until you get them to the amount you want (probably 3-4 lbs twice a day? until she calves.)

If she's not pregnant - I would just keep at the 2 lbs twice a day.

Shake the can so they know you're the goodie fairy!

Jersey/guernsey · #20 12/07/12, 10:49 AM

Don’t worry her condition looks fine a dairy cow will never look like a beef cow.
I like to feed heifers I’m training in the place I want to milk them later then spend a lot of time just standing close and talking to them.
A short bred heifer doesn’t need grain just plenty of good hay (second or third cutting grass/clover or grass/alfalfa) something with protein.
And I definitely second the bread idea to get her good and docile
really a nice heifer!