Cow with calf to thinI think ?

[foot]

I have a cow that has a calf on her and In the am she seems to thin to me ....So If I get a picture of her can you tell me If you think she Is thin like I do ??

She has free choice minerals/hay two times per day and fresh walter.and Is on gras In the daytme.

 

[Cricket]

http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=236-bcs-of-cows
This is from Wild Rose Beef's page and you may find it helpful

 

[WildRoseBeef]

That page that Cricket posted will help indeed, but I also think it would be alright to post a pic of her on here.

How old is the calf? Perhaps the calf is pulling her down or else the calf is at an age where you can consider weaning it as soon as possible.

 

[foot]

Her calf is about 10 weeks old. There is also a 8 week old bull calf that sneaks a drink when his momma is not close enough by. She doesn't seem to mind and we wonder if that isn't dragging her down a bit too. The bull calfs momma is not thin. Here is the cow in question. It is mostly that rear end of hers that looks so sharp.

 

[Cricket]

What breed is she? Could you separate her and her calf so that she's only feeding her own?

 

[greybeard]

Not starving but yes, too thin especially for going into winter.
How old is this cow?
What kind and how good is the grass she is on?
When you put out "free choice" hay, how much do you put out and how much does she eat?
If you have distressed pasture/forage, free choice needs to be all the time--day and night. She has to be able to take in more than what is going out to her own energy consumption plus that of her calf's.
When was she last dewormed?

 

[foot]

..Shes a Mini Zebu and she Is 3 years old and Its her seconed calf....Like I said Its her rear end the sharp end that has me thinking ......heres her rear end pic

 

[WildRoseBeef]

To be honest, she doesn't look terribly thin, like emaciated-thin. On a scale of 1 to 5, I reckon she is at a BCS of 2.75 to 3, which is actually considered almost normal for a cow. I don't look at the rear lines of her body, I'm looking at the hooks and pins, the spine and how many ribs and how sharp the ribs are showing. To me she is at adequate condition, not too fat nor too thin.

If you want to know what a thin cow is, you should be worried when cows get like this:

When that triangle from the hooks to the ribs is sunken in and the thurl gets that sunken-in look, that's when you should be worried. Your cow does not have any sunken-in-ness in those areas and her ribs clearly look like they are covered in some fat, so I really would not be worried. Be careful about over-feeding with the grain, because you may do more harm than good by making her more fat than she needs to be.

 

[foot]

..Thank you for looking and puting my mind at ease WRB ..I did look at what Cricket sent of yours and I am happy that she does not look like the picture that you posted WRB ..I am making sure that she and the others have good hay to see them through the night as well.

 

[greybeard]

To be honest, she doesn't look terribly thin, like emaciated-thin. On a scale of 1 to 5, I reckon she is at a BCS of 2.75 to 3, which is actually considered almost normal for a cow. I don't look at the rear lines of her body, I'm looking at the hooks and pins, the spine and how many ribs and how sharp the ribs are showing. To me she is at adequate condition, not too fat nor too thin.

If you want to know what a thin cow is, you should be worried when cows get like this:

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s235/IluvABbeef/Cattle Diagrams/BCS1pic.png

And it's a cinch that BCS1 scored cow didn't always look like that. At some point, she looked like Foot's cow, and went downhill from there. Worry about 'em when they begin to show signs of decreased condition--not after they get to BCS1.

When that triangle from the hooks to the ribs is sunken in and the thurl gets that sunken-in look, that's when you should be worried. Your cow does not have any sunken-in-ness in those areas and her ribs clearly look like they are covered in some fat, so I really would not be worried. Be careful about over-feeding with the grain, because you may do more harm than good by making her more fat than she needs to be.

Foot's momma cow is a 2-2.5 at best imo, and in poor condition to be going into winter, which is historically the season cows need more energy and more protien--especially nursing cows. (some breeds handle cold better than others--I wouldn't know about mini zebu)
Hard to tell by photos, but using zoom function, I see little or zero fat in the loin area.
From your own link (BCS-2)

Though cows are still deemed thin at this point, I can assure you that the SPCA and the animal rights folks won't be as worried and concerned about malnutrition and sickness as the cow with a BCS of 1. She still will have reproductive problems; both calving and breeding back in time for the next calving season. She will also eat more when she is in cold weather, or in times when she is in need of energy. This cow has a body fat content of 11.3%.

If any of mine looked like that this time of year, even here in E. Texas, I'd be finding out why. A couple of them did this time last year after the worst summer drought in 60 years--I shipped 'em. They would have never made it thru winter.
But--what do I know? Others here have more experience raising cattle than I have in my 62 years so