Tiny little Hereford

[Britgoes2market]

We have raised probably 20 bottle calves over the years and have never had a Hereford, but we purchased a sweet little calf last Spring and I'm in love. We named her Annie, however, feeding her like we have always done our bottle calves-she is TINY for being a year old in two weeks.....I'm curious if anyone has had a bottle Hereford? I'm slightly curious if she is a mini, or if Herefords needed more milk than the average Angus bottle calf and I stunted her growth? Unless her size is normal? I've heard they were a fast growing cow.....at year I'm guessing she weighs closer to 500-600 pounds.

 

[Finnie]

Can you post a picture of her? Next to something for size comparison. I think only @farmerjan would be able to imagine what a 500-600 pound cow looks like. I’m sure she knows exactly which ones of her cows are in that weight range.

 

[Britgoes2market]

This photo was taken maybe 3 weeks ago?

 

[Britgoes2market]

This was yesterday after I gave her a bath. You can see her size based on my fence. She is so tiny. It's been an extra muddy year this year, and gave me a hug as I was brushing the manure off of her.

 

[farmerjan]

She looks like she is either some sort of "mini" or is stunted in growth. Has she ever been wormed? She has a wormy look to her... at a year a beef animal should not have the "bony look" to her hips and pins... and she looks a little pot gutted. That is a tell tale sign often of being wormy.
No matter the breed, all baby calves pretty much get fed the same amount if from full sized parents... Whether hereford, angus, holstein, whatever... bottle feeding is about the same except for the mini breeds that naturally will eat a bit less because their milk stomach and then their whole developing digestive tract cannot handle the larger quantity of feed.
I feed 1 bottle, 2 qts, to a baby calf twice a day and offer a sweet textured type feed from a few days on... also a little handful of a soft type of hay, 3rd cutting orchard grass or something like that... sometimes I will go to a 3 qt bottle for exceptionally large calves... had a couple of 100 lb plus holstein bull calves that needed more especially in the cold weather... but it took about 2-3 weeks to get them up to a 3 qt bottle so they did not scour. I did start out the jersey calves on about a 3/4 bottle for at least 2 weeks so they did not get too much and scour.
By 8-10 weeks they should be eating feed pretty good and by 12 weeks all are weaned if not before.

I also would say that you would be very lucky if she hits 600 lbs... I would say more in the 4-450 range. Which is way too small for a yearling, of normal beef breeds. We want at least 5-600 lbs at yearling size.... and they should be well rounded out.
If you have a good relationship with a vet you can take a fecal sample in to get checked for worms... she might not be wormy, but I would be more inclined to think she is. Problem is, at this age, she will not "catch up" in her growth and will always be very small. What are your plans for her? I would not breed her... as her pelvis would be very small and most likely unable to have a calf normally... C-sections are way too expensive and not the type of thing you want to promote in future generations.

I am not criticizing your raising of her or anything like that. I think you got a calf that did not have the potential to grow properly and she could not live up to "normal expectations" because she has issues.

 

[Britgoes2market]

Oh I appreciate your feedback very much-I didn't take anything you said as critical!

We raised her the same as we have with our Angus cross bottle calves (Alfalfa hay, corn and oats), and her size has me stumped which was why I reached out. I've never seen this before.

We have not wormed her this Spring yet, so I'm sure she has worms. Before anyone reached out via this format someone else had mentioned she may have been sick before we purchased her which could ad to her "stunted" growth if she isn't a mini.

I called the vet yesterday who said that she could in fact still grow, but they didn't have eyes on her, just communicated over the phone. We purchased her from a gentleman who purchased her from an auction, so she has a lot of unknown variables that I think aided in her small growth before she made it to us. Which was also a valuable lesson haha. We always purchased direct from farmer-I melted at her face.

Currently, we don't have plans for her. We DID plan to breed her. I doubt I could sell her as I don't have much information on her. She may have to go in the freezer if I can't find someone who would want to take a risk on a big ol' pet.

 

[farmerjan]

She looks too small framed and her legs are too "delicate" in structure to be a full sized hereford calf. I think she has mini in her bloodline or is just straight out a stunted calf from poor genetics.
Protein is very necessary for a growing calf also... Hay is NOT enough for them... they either need to get the added nutrition from milk which they get being on a cow for 6-9 months in natural settings.... or they need protein in a balanced grain mixture once weaned off a bottle. I see way too many holstein calves that get a pot gut from eating more and more hay as their bodies are trying to extract enough nutrition to grow and they cannot get it from straight hay. That is why when a person grafts a holstein calf on a beef cow that lost it's calf, they grow and look so much better than most that are raised on bottles and then weaned and fed... they are getting the nutrition they need from the milk even if in decreased amounts.... and their bodies/bones grow better. Dairies that raise their own calves feed A LOT of feed to get the optimal growth... most people do not realize the cost of actually raising calves up.

 

[farmerjan]

We do not routinely worm our mature cattle... but every one of the feeder calves gets wormed when weaned off the cows. This year we had a group of cows look poor, did some fecals and some had high worm loads... we wormed everyone in that group and will be worming everything this year when they go to pasture for the summer. There seems to be a higher worm load this year and I think that the lack of the "used to be normal" cold snowier winters, has contributed to more worm eggs surviving, and the cattle being more "wormy" this year. We are seeing more incidences of respiratory problems also this year.

 

[farmerjan]

Oats are a good feed for calves due to the higher fiber content, but usually top out at 10-12% protein... corn is lucky to be 8% protein... growing calves need a higher protein of 14% or so to better utilize the feed in growing frame and bones. Alfalfa hay can supply the added protein, but they can easily founder on it so must be fed carefully. There is a lot of stalk that calves cannot eat in alfalfa unless it is 3rd or 4th cutting and more leafy. That is why most dairies around here chop at least their 1st cutting and often 2nd cutting alfalfa as haylage... great feed and ensiling it, makes it much more palatable and digestible for cattle.