Dumb cow questions

[violetsky888]

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[WildRoseBeef]

He looks fine to me.

 

[violetsky888]

So there is no relationship between being extra hairy and bad health. I was kind of worried because my calf is starting to look like a poodle. As you can see in the before picture he "looked" healthy.

 

[california cowgirl]

Some breeds can get pretty hairy. Heck some of our Herefords look like they could have their hair braided and are curly too. Some are not but he looks bright eyed and not sickly and standing next to the other calf about the same size. He is bellied but that is from being an orphan and even bottle babies can get that. Some probiotics in his loose feed like Fast Tracks can give them some good bacteria for digestion and worming him if he has not been wormed can help. If his poop looks normal like the others and he acts like the other one and only has curly hair then it is just his winter coat coming in. We have neighbors with that breed and they can get really thick curly hair. Some are not as hairy and some look really curly and hairy. I would say he is fine.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

So there is no relationship between being extra hairy and bad health. I was kind of worried because my calf is starting to look like a poodle. As you can see in the before picture he "looked" healthy.

Depends. At this time of year it's impossible to tell because it's getting on to winter (already have snow on the ground up here, BTW). As Cali. Cowgirl said, there are breeds that can get pretty hairy, Galloway and Highland come to mind when she mentioned that. I've had winters where we get steers that look so hairy they look more like walking fluff balls than actual bovines lol, and that's because the winters up here aren't to be taken lightly, and the animals know it.

 

[violetsky888]

I guess I should of mentioned I'm in Alabama. I love shaggy breeds of cows but I don't think I've seen a beef breed get a noticeably wooly coat here, though there are a surprising number of highlanders for sale. I often wonder how they manage during the long hot steamy summer.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

I've heard that Galloways can be raised up around and down where you are, as the people who own them say they slick off nicely for the summer and do quite well in the summer. I would like to see a Galloway breeder come on here and tell you that as they are far more informed of the breed than I, but that's from what I know.

 

[california cowgirl]

He does look a little pot bellied and seedy but he does not look sickly. Does that make sense but you said he would not take a bottle and so weaned early and seems to be alright. I have had orphans look pretty seedy and then come spring of their yearling year get way better looking. The hair can be the breed and the length of daylight tells them to grow hair not the temperature at least with horses that is true. I see our mountain cattle come home hairy from the mountains and then some from the valley on irrigated pasture too but some of that is late summer and wormy but also they are getting winter hair too. If he eats and poops normal like the other calve and eyes seem bright and nose seems fine like the other calf and they lay and chew their cud and do the same routine and nothing seems way different other than his hair then I would say they are both fine.