# Putting weight on a heifer



## BeanJeepin (May 23, 2012)

In good news - Fiona spent a few hours loose in the fence yesterday and today and seems to understand and respect it.  We still don't trust her totally in there but whohoo!!!  Progress!!  She's also short a LOT of the caked on mud she had on her belly and legs after a good curry combing and brushing.  And loves the probiotics.  And seems to get along well with the goats!!!  

My question is - how can we help her gain weight?  She's still pretty painfully thin.  Just time, lots of good grass, hay and her scoop of grain at night?  We're hoping to have her bred in the next couple months so I'm wondering if there's more I should be doing to get her weight up before that happens.


----------



## redtailgal (May 23, 2012)

She'll need to be in good condition before she is bred or you are alot more likely to have troubles........IF she even takes, alot of heifers wont take if they are in poor condition.

Good pasture, hay, and good grain will get her a long way pretty quick.


----------



## BeanJeepin (May 24, 2012)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> She'll need to be in good condition before she is bred or you are alot more likely to have troubles........IF she even takes, alot of heifers wont take if they are in poor condition.
> 
> Good pasture, hay, and good grain will get her a long way pretty quick.


Thanks, and yeah, I suspected that condition might have a lot to do with positive breeding outcome.  Hoping like heck we can get her there fairly quickly so we don't end up with a late summer/fall calf.


----------



## kfacres (May 24, 2012)

if it's your Jersey/ Ayrshire heifer-- You'll never get weight on her like you see Angus cattle having.. It's in the genes- won't matter if she gets put on a self feeder... Dairy cattle are supposed to be thin, and you are supposed to see their bones.

Fat dairy heifers, will have difficulty calving, and they won' milk worth a darn.


----------



## redtailgal (May 24, 2012)

KFacres.........Beanjeepin just got this heifer not too long ago. She came from a being tied out in the yard situation, and was a little on the thin side when they got her.  They are trying to condition this heifer for breeding.  They dont want her fat, they just want her at a proper condition.


----------



## kfacres (May 24, 2012)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> KFacres.........Beanjeepin just got this heifer not too long ago. She came from a being tied out in the yard situation, and was a little on the thin side when they got her.  They are trying to condition this heifer for breeding.  They dont want her fat, they just want her at a proper condition.


hmm.. post a picture... best way to evaluate is by visual-- instead of words.


----------



## redtailgal (May 24, 2012)

The pic is/was in  other thread...........


----------



## CochinBrahmaLover=) (May 24, 2012)

Link the other thread? I remember that thread but cannot find it...


----------



## redtailgal (May 24, 2012)

If you will click on beeanjeepins user name, you'll go to the profile, from there you can click see all post or see all threads.  It should be listed there.


----------



## redtailgal (May 24, 2012)

I found them.  she is a little thin, but a couple weeks of groceries will have her filled out.


----------



## CochinBrahmaLover=) (May 24, 2012)

Aww, shes adorable! Thanks RTG, i like looking at photos


----------



## kfacres (May 25, 2012)

She's thin- but she's not alarmingly skinny...  

If she were mine, I'd get a set ration of 5 pounds a day or so of a 15% protein grain mix... and feed it to her along with better than average pasture.  I would deworm her as well once a day for three days.  

 She is not skinny enough to need an instant feeding program to put weight on her at this point- just a daily routine.

She doesn't look all that different from the 70 dairy heifers we have running around...  

If I were going to worry about something- it would be the mud caked on her.  Something is up there-- as even our heifers who get serious rain sometimes-- won't be that dirty.


----------



## BeanJeepin (May 25, 2012)

kfacres said:
			
		

> She's thin- but she's not alarmingly skinny...
> 
> If she were mine, I'd get a set ration of 5 pounds a day or so of a 15% protein grain mix... and feed it to her along with better than average pasture.  I would deworm her as well once a day for three days.
> 
> ...


I need to get a new picture. After almost two weeks here, serious curry combing and brushing, the mud is hugely reduced.  In her prior home she was tied on a 15-20' rope, full time. I think she laid in mud full time. Granted, it hasn't rained much since we got her but I think the mud caked issue is of the past. Even the curry comb is having trouble breaking through it, it is that solidly caked on there.


----------



## WildRoseBeef (May 25, 2012)

BeanJeepin said:
			
		

> kfacres said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can't wait for the new pics!!


----------



## mangus580 (May 26, 2012)




----------



## BeanJeepin (May 26, 2012)

My husband posted pictures.  

The first one is her good side, the one we've managed to get really clean.  Man, compared to that first picture it looks GOOD.  Excuse the mess behind the second picture, but that's her "bad" side - I'm just hoping the yard cleans up as well as the cow.   Then my 6 year old scritching her white spot and then she wanted the camera, so a good one of her adorable nose. 

Jean


----------



## redtailgal (May 26, 2012)

She is coming along nicely!

I think that with just a little grain and some pasture, she'll be just fine to breed.  She's not terribly thin at all, but I'd like to see just a little more condition on her before she's bred.

Your doing great with her!


----------



## Royd Wood (May 26, 2012)

She's coming on a treat - well done oh and she's alot cleaner than 2 of my Galloways who will find a mud hole and lie in it, none of the others do it.
Without sounding like an old fartbag - just see if you can get your son to stand along side of her to scratch and comb her as standing in front scratching her head is not a good idea esp with horns. Great job so far and the best of luck with her


----------



## MrsKK (May 26, 2012)

She is absolutely beautiful and I'm so glad for her that she found you!  She's coming along nicely - just increase her grain a bit at a time, otherwise you can overwhelm her rumen.  I would put on a bit more weight, as you are wanting to bred her this summer.  She's still young enough to have a lot of growing to do and she'll need the extra nutrition to support her own growth as well as that of a calf.

Her coat is looking very nice and shiny.  My cow has a few lumps of mud that I couldn't brush off late this winter and unfortunately they will just have to grow out with shedding hair.  It irritates the cow a LOT if I try to brush them anymore.


----------



## WildRoseBeef (May 26, 2012)

She don't look too bad.   I second the comment about your son, get him to stop rubbing her forehead, as this will essentially teach her or encourage her to butt at him or anybody else that scratches her there, especially with the horns.


----------



## BeanJeepin (May 26, 2012)

Thanks for the tip.  That white spot on her head is just so very inviting to scratch and she really loves it - if you try to stand to her side she'll look at you and try to nudge you to get you to rub there.  I think she's been scratched there her whole life.  She's so compliant with, well, everything, it's easy to forget at times.  We do generally try to have the kids scratch her from the other side of the gate if she's loose.


----------



## BeanJeepin (May 26, 2012)

Oh, and she seems to really like to be brushed - she stands still for it (mostly) without a tether in the pasture.  It's pretty cool (and a testament to her good nature, I think).  She does NOT like the hose though.  I need to try a bucket and sponge to give her a bath.


----------



## BeanJeepin (May 26, 2012)

(PS, can you tell?  We really love her goofy self already!  It's so much fun to hang out with her and just watch her from the yard or house.)


----------



## kfacres (May 27, 2012)

BeanJeepin said:
			
		

> Thanks for the tip.  That white spot on her head is just so very inviting to scratch and she really loves it - if you try to stand to her side she'll look at you and try to nudge you to get you to rub there.  I think she's been scratched there her whole life.  She's so compliant with, well, everything, it's easy to forget at times.  We do generally try to have the kids scratch her from the other side of the gate if she's loose.


that's the problem-- it's all fun and games while they are little-- but once she's mature and weighs 1000 pounds-- and she's wanting rubbed-- it becomes more bothersome- and a cow can hurt someone very easy--while trying to 'play'.  

scratch from the other side of the fence doesn't help any.. that just gets them to rub-- and butt against the fence-- I've broke my arm doing this with show heifers who wanted to 'play'.

I'd dehorn her- crazy to let them remain on here, and not very smart.

Again, I'll say it-- that heifer is not any different condition than ours at home-  These are dairy heifers- and you do not want them fat.  Fat heifers will not breed as high of a conception ram as thin heifers.  *A fat dairy heifer is a thin beef heifer. * They are two different ballgames.  We've now got a 100 year old dairy herd- and it sure seems to work for us- for those who'll question it....


----------



## Cricket (May 27, 2012)

She is beautiful!  (They like to have the top of their tail scratched, too, and it's fun to watch them twitch).  Since Royd jump started the mother hen bit lol, I'd like to add a comment about heat periods.  You might want to explain to the kids that once a month she might be off her rocker a little.  The Jersey I used to have, who was queenly, would gently moo occasionally.  The heifer I have now woke me up at 2am bellowing her head off--I was sure something terrible was trying to kill them all!  She will spend a good portion of her day with an absolutely possessed look on her face trying to mount anything in front of her--to the point she's scary!  

There, I feel better!  Do you know what you're going to breed her to?


----------



## Royd Wood (May 27, 2012)

Cricket said:
			
		

> She is beautiful!  (They like to have the top of their tail scratched, too, and it's fun to watch them twitch).  Since Royd jump started the mother hen bit lol, I'd like to add a comment about heat periods.  You might want to explain to the kids that once a month she might be off her rocker a little.  The Jersey I used to have, who was queenly, would gently moo occasionally.  The heifer I have now woke me up at 2am bellowing her head off--I was sure something terrible was trying to kill them all!  She will spend a good portion of her day with an absolutely possessed look on her face trying to mount anything in front of her--to the point she's scary!
> 
> There, I feel better!  Do you know what you're going to breed her to?


Mother hen  I've been called alot worse - Good point though Cricket we have a belted yearling who is a real pain when in heat esp with her head. She's had a few smacks on the nose to stop her gettin too fresh. Any other time she's fine


----------



## MrsKK (May 29, 2012)

My cow nearly killed me by jumping me when she was in heat.  It was her first after calving and I simply wasn't ready.  If I hadn't turned right when I did, it probably would have broken my neck.  She weighs about 1,000 lbs.  Not the way I want to go.

when I scratch my cow's tail head, she wags her tail!  It's hilarious.


----------



## mangus580 (Oct 7, 2012)

Decided to toss an updated pic in here for a nice comparison....  She really likes the new 'lawn sweeper'!!








FYI - We have had her bred.... I had located a breeder when she was playing 'Jurassic park'  and he suggested doing it right then (he actually doesnt breed much anymore and wasnt sure he could be available the next time...)  So, she has been bred, 99% sure it took, and we should expect a calf around March 1st.

I am amazed at the difference now that I look back at the pictures...  I knew she was filling out nicely, but without seeing the old pictures it wasnt as noticeable.


----------

