as said start her on feed very slowly.an slowly increase it till she is eating 10 to 12lbs of feed at a milking.if she is milking as heavy as you say.she is milking herself to death.she needs a 16% dairy feed.
Just bought skinny milk cow. Help with feed pls
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Imissmygirls
Lonley for cows
I don't know.... Guernseys aren't known for body fat. And a 5 yr old?
Yes, she could use some condition, but since she was only on pasture and hay, gradually adding grain should give you what you want. The fact that her hair is glossy and she is bright says a lot for her health.
One thing: if her milk production rises as you give grain, she may just be that dairy and not put on much weight!
Make sure she has all the good hay ( preferably an alfalfa mix) she wants in front of her. How long has she been grazed? Some grazers just want to graze and it will take a long time to switch her over.
I just did the math and fresh March , bred back in 60-90 days now 30 days preg puts her right where she should be in the lactation.
Did you get her at a dispersal sale? Any special reason they sold her?
Yes, she could use some condition, but since she was only on pasture and hay, gradually adding grain should give you what you want. The fact that her hair is glossy and she is bright says a lot for her health.
One thing: if her milk production rises as you give grain, she may just be that dairy and not put on much weight!
Make sure she has all the good hay ( preferably an alfalfa mix) she wants in front of her. How long has she been grazed? Some grazers just want to graze and it will take a long time to switch her over.
I just did the math and fresh March , bred back in 60-90 days now 30 days preg puts her right where she should be in the lactation.
Did you get her at a dispersal sale? Any special reason they sold her?
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freetodream
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She was getting some grain at the dairy but it was just rolled barley. I'm not sure how much.
The man that owned her raises dairy heifers and then after they calve and he gets them started milking good he leases them to the dairy. This cow actually belonged to his teenage son and so he wanted some money to buy a car so they offered her to me. So no reason to sell her related to the cow just a good deal for me and it worked for his boy too.
She's eating hay pretty well she likes the premium alfalfa I got today much better. She's eaten probably about 25lbs of hay today and scarfs the grain as well so her appetite is good I think. About how much hay can I expect her to eat or does it just depend?
Any particular dairy mix you all recommend? I was looking and purina alone has at least 8 different formulas for lactating cows! I feel a little lost. Some have up to 44% protein but I can't see that more would necessarily be better? Any guidance?
She milks really well she gave me 30lbs just tonight! So it will be a challenge to have her gain weight I imagine. She's the nicest cow to be around though, loves to be scratched and comes right up to you, leads really well and I milk her just tied to the fence with a feed bucket in front of her. She's just really nice to be around and a lovely temperament for me to start out with. Thanks again for the help and suggestions.
Kjersti
The man that owned her raises dairy heifers and then after they calve and he gets them started milking good he leases them to the dairy. This cow actually belonged to his teenage son and so he wanted some money to buy a car so they offered her to me. So no reason to sell her related to the cow just a good deal for me and it worked for his boy too.
She's eating hay pretty well she likes the premium alfalfa I got today much better. She's eaten probably about 25lbs of hay today and scarfs the grain as well so her appetite is good I think. About how much hay can I expect her to eat or does it just depend?
Any particular dairy mix you all recommend? I was looking and purina alone has at least 8 different formulas for lactating cows! I feel a little lost. Some have up to 44% protein but I can't see that more would necessarily be better? Any guidance?
She milks really well she gave me 30lbs just tonight! So it will be a challenge to have her gain weight I imagine. She's the nicest cow to be around though, loves to be scratched and comes right up to you, leads really well and I milk her just tied to the fence with a feed bucket in front of her. She's just really nice to be around and a lovely temperament for me to start out with. Thanks again for the help and suggestions.
Kjersti
She is leaning to the lean side, but I have seen much worse out there. One thing to remember is that he may have been feeding her hay, but if it is grown in nutrient depleted soil she will be missing essential nutrients in her diet. Same goes for the hay and grain you buy to feed. Sprouting your grains will help build her up faster as will adding kelp to the diet.
Farmer Kitty
True BYH Addict
We have our customed mixed so I can't recommend any specific one. I would wonder about the 44% protein ones though. They sound like a premix-ones that you mix corn etc with. Percent wise, I would aim for, 18-20%. If she is giving more milk than you can use you could try a 16%. You asked about beet pulp. Some do use it with cattle. It's safe for them.freetodream said:
kstaven has a good point about possibly being nutrient deficient. He is a mainly grass fed operation (from what I understand) and his kelp recommendation would be like me recommending loose minerals. I would suggest that you do one or the other even with a good grain mix. I'd also have a salt block out for her. My preference is the trace mineral salt blocks.
You asked about a wormer. We use Eprinex the pour on. There are many out there just make sure they are okay for lactating cattle. You can worm anytime, whether lactating or dry.
Fly control. A fly spray is fine, just double check the labeling but, I believe, most are fine for cattle. We use a pour on that lasts up to 2weeks here. Then I don't have to worry about breathing the spray and it's coverage lasts longer of the cows.
Imissmygirls
Lonley for cows
30 lbs a milking just gave it away. She is DAIRY and born to milk. Many Guernseys look downright anemic and frail when healthy and the older they get the more frail they look.
Sounds like you got an old 4H project animal. They are probably happy to have her in a good home.
I think you may have problems putting weight on her. Hopefully you have good pasture to let her graze to her heart's content. Otherwise,I'd give her as much hay as she wants plus follow Kitty's suggestions for grain. No use cutting back on grain because genetically she will milk it off.
Sure hope you have use for 50-60 lbs of milk a day!
Sounds like you got an old 4H project animal. They are probably happy to have her in a good home.
I think you may have problems putting weight on her. Hopefully you have good pasture to let her graze to her heart's content. Otherwise,I'd give her as much hay as she wants plus follow Kitty's suggestions for grain. No use cutting back on grain because genetically she will milk it off.
Sure hope you have use for 50-60 lbs of milk a day!
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freetodream
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Thank you all for your suggestions I really appreciate it. It is alot of milk but between our family, my parents, and my sisters family; and then some feeder pigs and eventually some bottle calves we should be able to use it lol. And if we still have extra there's always the cow share option but we'll see.
So when we let her dry off for the next calf do guernsey's gain weight and look better? i'd bet that's the time to pack pounds on her so that she would have a bit extra padding for the next lactation is that correct? Is a litlle longer dry off period say 90 days instead of 60 advantageous to let her rest a bit more or does it really matter?
And if this is fairly normal for a heavily milking guernsey to look like this, does it not impair their fertility or ability to hold a pregnancy? If i understand it right they're just bred to milk heavily and the more feed they get they just put it out as milk instead of body fat?
We actually just moved and while we have a 4acre pasture it needs rested for a few weeks since the last people let their horses overgraze it and didn't divide and rotate or anything. So we'll work on that. We also have a 10acre alfalfa field that will be ready to cut again in about 2 weeks. Right now she's getting free choice premium alfalfa. So between the two she can have all the pasture and hay she wants and then we'll follow kitty's instructions on grain and see where it gets us.
I do have one more question though; Although the consistency of her poop is normal I'm seeing alot of undigested grain kernels in it particularly oats. Is that normal or is something about her digestion off? Feeding too much? Not used to it?
Thanks again everyone,
Kjersti
So when we let her dry off for the next calf do guernsey's gain weight and look better? i'd bet that's the time to pack pounds on her so that she would have a bit extra padding for the next lactation is that correct? Is a litlle longer dry off period say 90 days instead of 60 advantageous to let her rest a bit more or does it really matter?
And if this is fairly normal for a heavily milking guernsey to look like this, does it not impair their fertility or ability to hold a pregnancy? If i understand it right they're just bred to milk heavily and the more feed they get they just put it out as milk instead of body fat?
We actually just moved and while we have a 4acre pasture it needs rested for a few weeks since the last people let their horses overgraze it and didn't divide and rotate or anything. So we'll work on that. We also have a 10acre alfalfa field that will be ready to cut again in about 2 weeks. Right now she's getting free choice premium alfalfa. So between the two she can have all the pasture and hay she wants and then we'll follow kitty's instructions on grain and see where it gets us.
I do have one more question though; Although the consistency of her poop is normal I'm seeing alot of undigested grain kernels in it particularly oats. Is that normal or is something about her digestion off? Feeding too much? Not used to it?
Thanks again everyone,
Kjersti
jhm47
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It's normal for quite a few undigested kernels to come through in her poop. This is especially true if the kernels are not rolled or ground. Even then you will find a few.
Be sure to cut your alfalfa before it gets too mature. alfalfa needs to be cut when in the bud stage or even earlier in order to make the best quality hay. When you begin to see blossoms, it's way too late. The hay will still be useable, but not top quality "premium dairy" hay.
Be sure to cut your alfalfa before it gets too mature. alfalfa needs to be cut when in the bud stage or even earlier in order to make the best quality hay. When you begin to see blossoms, it's way too late. The hay will still be useable, but not top quality "premium dairy" hay.
Imissmygirls
Lonley for cows
Packing on the pounds as you put it, is not exactly a good thing for the dry period. It's a fine line and you don't want her fat at calving-- that leads to other problems!
If you want to give her a 90 day dry period ( assuming you can dry her off- some heavy milkers don't dry off easily!) you can turn her out into good pasture and she should put the weight on naturally during that period. Most dairies don't give much grain at all during the dry period for health reasons. I 'll let Kitty and wynedot chime in on dry cow feeds. We always just gave good hay or grass, then eased them into grain when freshening.
Remember all ration changes should be gradual.
Re: the diff between horses and cows: cows have 4 stomachs and chew their regurgitated cud to digest it. They REQUIRE roughage to keep their systems moving along.
If you want to give her a 90 day dry period ( assuming you can dry her off- some heavy milkers don't dry off easily!) you can turn her out into good pasture and she should put the weight on naturally during that period. Most dairies don't give much grain at all during the dry period for health reasons. I 'll let Kitty and wynedot chime in on dry cow feeds. We always just gave good hay or grass, then eased them into grain when freshening.
Remember all ration changes should be gradual.
Re: the diff between horses and cows: cows have 4 stomachs and chew their regurgitated cud to digest it. They REQUIRE roughage to keep their systems moving along.
