Heifer feed

[Mini Horses]

They didn't take care needed to get her growing right. Sorry. That puts you way behind for growth and catch up is hard.

What kind of hay do you have?

 

[Mini Horses]

A thought, you might add some beet pulp to her grain to help weight gain. Maybe replace 2# of feed with a couple scoops of beet pulp. It's always work to get a little weight on my animals.

Set a schedule to feed and work with training. Keep the feed schedule regular all the time. Habit...animals work better with consistent habit.

As you work her to walk, stand, set up, always use same commands. Soon they'll respond simply to verbals.

 

[farmerjan]

I have to agree that this heifer did not get fed like she should have while during the important growing phase. Agree that she is pot gutted... and hopefully the worming you did will help. At a year old she should weigh in the 600 lb range. We raise beef cattle and once calves are weaned, they are FED some 14-16% feed for at least 4-6 months before going out on straight pasture... we feed an average of 2-5 lbs per day because we want to supplement their hay , and we never turn them out on pasture alone until they are in the 500-600 lb range and at least 12-14 months. They NEED the added protein to grow and develop properly. Bloodlines don't mean diddly if they are not fed properly early on to achieve their potential.
@Mini Horses is spot on... she will play havoc trying to catch up at this point.
She should have 14-16% protein feed at least at this point. A good growing heifer should be getting 2-5% of her weight in grain at most... to keep her growing.. For a 500 lb heifer that would be about 15 lbs... maybe 20 lbs.... You get too much over that, and she is going to wind up with acidosis and you could founder her.
There is nothing wrong with "home bred" animals for show..... Had a couple kids that showed several of ours different years... and they placed solidly in the middle of their classes or better...
Too much grain fed to young developing heifers will also affect their udders, and most wind up with fatty udder syndrome and make lousy brood cows because it actually retards their milk production ability. There is a fine line between enough grain and too much.
My personal opinion is she does not show much show potential because she was not fed properly while younger... Maybe when she sheds out and the possible worm issue is resolved, she might come along.

 

[Wild Bug Ranch]

They didn't take care needed to get her growing right. Sorry. That puts you way behind for growth and catch up is hard.

What kind of hay do you have?

bc she got put on pasture back in march?

she’s on orchard alf

 

[Wild Bug Ranch]

A thought, you might add some beet pulp to her grain to help weight gain. Maybe replace 2# of feed with a couple scoops of beet pulp. It's always work to get a little weight on my animals.

Set a schedule to feed and work with training. Keep the feed schedule regular all the time. Habit...animals work better with consistent habit.

As you work her to walk, stand, set up, always use same commands. Soon they'll respond simply to verbals.

she gains weight good. 52lbs a week

i feed same time every morning at 7:30 and evening at 6:30. she gets walked every night, brushed, blown, everything is set schedule

 

[Wild Bug Ranch]

as of tuesday she weighed in 658lbs. she was on pasture and hay since march as they were gonna breed her since the kids chose another heifer. yet she still got worked with jsut not grain as she was headed to be a breeder.

she was on grain for a while before getting taken off. she gets about 20-25lbs of grain a day plus free choice hay

I have to agree that this heifer did not get fed like she should have while during the important growing phase. Agree that she is pot gutted... and hopefully the worming you did will help. At a year old she should weigh in the 600 lb range. We raise beef cattle and once calves are weaned, they are FED some 14-16% feed for at least 4-6 months before going out on straight pasture... we feed an average of 2-5 lbs per day because we want to supplement their hay , and we never turn them out on pasture alone until they are in the 500-600 lb range and at least 12-14 months. They NEED the added protein to grow and develop properly. Bloodlines don't mean diddly if they are not fed properly early on to achieve their potential.
@Mini Horses is spot on... she will play havoc trying to catch up at this point.
She should have 14-16% protein feed at least at this point. A good growing heifer should be getting 2-5% of her weight in grain at most... to keep her growing.. For a 500 lb heifer that would be about 15 lbs... maybe 20 lbs.... You get too much over that, and she is going to wind up with acidosis and you could founder her.
There is nothing wrong with "home bred" animals for show..... Had a couple kids that showed several of ours different years... and they placed solidly in the middle of their classes or better...
Too much grain fed to young developing heifers will also affect their udders, and most wind up with fatty udder syndrome and make lousy brood cows because it actually retards their milk production ability. There is a fine line between enough grain and too much.
My personal opinion is she does not show much show potential because she was not fed properly while younger... Maybe when she sheds out and the possible worm issue is resolved, she might come alon

 

[farmerjan]

Is the picture you posted current? Maybe it is the angle? She does not look like she weighs 600+ pounds. So maybe I am not seeing her correctly.

The reddish tinged dull hair makes me think she might be deficient in minerals? Copper comes to mind as it will show up in a reddish color in black haired animals. Do you feed free choice mineral? That could also affect how she digests her food. I realize that maine anjou I knew years ago were mostly a dark red with a fair amount of white on them... nowadays they are mostly black to conform to the prevailing "black is better" thing that makes them eligible for the CAB programs. But she could have some of the red from the breed's origins coming out in her. I am not at all familar with the different bloodlines, but do know that the full bloods still have more reds with white on them.

Also, where is Placerville? NY?... Maybe go in and edit your location for the state, with something more general like western, or eastern or the area of xxx state... OH, I just googled it,,, California? Sorry, I didn't realize.... if that is where it is... I never thought of CA.... but then I am on the eastern side of the country, so naturally I think more of areas around here. Nothing wrong with that... I just didn't think CA... That would explain the greener grass... we have had snow and freezing cold... as in frigid... temps the past few weeks..

I still think she was shortchanged by not getting fed any grain while doing her serious developing as a young growing heifer.. but maybe you can get her turned around. I am not big on alot of grain for any animal, but again, we are a commercial cow/calf operation, been doing this for quite a few years, and cattle are designed to eat and produce on grass... we do alot of rotational grazing and try to optimize our grass and to feed the best, most nutritious grass to the younger animals and to the cows with younger calves.... and we do not wean our calves very early, not until they are usually over 500 lbs... so that they have been growing good on the cows, then get some grain for the protein because our hay does not have the protein content needed for optimal growth so we supplement. Since we have it tested, we know what we are feeding and adjust to it. We also feed some corn silage and topdress with the grain so that they are getting the best that we can provide for optimal growth. We do not feed more than about 5-8 lbs per head per day, usually a 15-18% feed... on top of the silage to keep them in a growing state without worrying about them getting acidosis or foundering. Again, that is just our operation.

 

[Wild Bug Ranch]

Is the picture you posted current? Maybe it is the angle? She does not look like she weighs 600+ pounds. So maybe I am not seeing her correctly.

The reddish tinged dull hair makes me think she might be deficient in minerals? Copper comes to mind as it will show up in a reddish color in black haired animals. Do you feed free choice mineral? That could also affect how she digests her food. I realize that maine anjou I knew years ago were mostly a dark red with a fair amount of white on them... nowadays they are mostly black to conform to the prevailing "black is better" thing that makes them eligible for the CAB programs. But she could have some of the red from the breed's origins coming out in her. I am not at all familar with the different bloodlines, but do know that the full bloods still have more reds with white on them.

Also, where is Placerville? NY?... Maybe go in and edit your location for the state, with something more general like western, or eastern or the area of xxx state... OH, I just googled it,,, California? Sorry, I didn't realize.... if that is where it is... I never thought of CA.... but then I am on the eastern side of the country, so naturally I think more of areas around here. Nothing wrong with that... I just didn't think CA... That would explain the greener grass... we have had snow and freezing cold... as in frigid... temps the past few weeks..

I still think she was shortchanged by not getting fed any grain while doing her serious developing as a young growing heifer.. but maybe you can get her turned around. I am not big on alot of grain for any animal, but again, we are a commercial cow/calf operation, been doing this for quite a few years, and cattle are designed to eat and produce on grass... we do alot of rotational grazing and try to optimize our grass and to feed the best, most nutritious grass to the younger animals and to the cows with younger calves.... and we do not wean our calves very early, not until they are usually over 500 lbs... so that they have been growing good on the cows, then get some grain for the protein because our hay does not have the protein content needed for optimal growth so we supplement. Since we have it tested, we know what we are feeding and adjust to it. We also feed some corn silage and topdress with the grain so that they are getting the best that we can provide for optimal growth. We do not feed more than about 5-8 lbs per head per day, usually a 15-18% feed... on top of the silage to keep them in a growing state without worrying about them getting acidosis or foundering. Again, that is just our operation.

yes pictures were the day i weighed her which was tuesdays. she was 658lbs.

she gets free choice minerals and salt

and free choice hay and 2.5-3% of her body weight in grain.