Post by buxombeefcowdairy on Jun 6, 2008 15:35:07 GMT -5
Heather,
This cow is indeed on the too-thin side. However, she appears otherwise healthy. The photos are not really adequate to give a thorough evaluation of her conformation, but she appears to have sound feet and legs. Her fore-udder is not attached very strongly. I can't see her udder from the rear, so I can't comment on her rear udder attachment/suspensory ligament. As she gets older, her udder will hang lower to the ground, but I think she'll be just fine for at least several more years.
This New Zealand AI bull has a couple of daughters' photos that illustrate a strong fore-udder attachment. (The bull himself is a very good udder improver.) Notice that the udder makes a horizontal line toward the cow's navel, rather than hanging down like a basketball in a net:
www.licnz.com/main.cfm?bull_id=301031&id=4&breed=Jersey&sire_team2=1
When you look at the udder from the back, you want the suspensory ligament to be very obvious. It makes the udder shape from the rear a W, rather than a U.
What I find VERY important are these three issues- she has a fabulous temperament, she has not had mastitis problems, and she is fertile. These are going to be the most important considerations for whether a Family Cow fits well into her new role. You want to enjoy your time milking her (temperament) and not have to spend a lot of time and money diagnosing and treating health problems (healthy). A cow that is difficult to get bred can also cause a lot of frustration and be a drain on the pocketbook.
This cow seems to have most of what it takes to be a fabulous Family Cow. It is quite possible that with better feed, she will gain condition and look a lot better, but I see that as her main problem. It should be a problem that you can deal with, if you have a good source of quality hay. Simply increasing her grain, adding some calf-manna, and providing her with good quality pasture and some alfalfa hay at milking time might be all she needs.
I would give this cow a try.
For a little more info on structural scoring, ideals and problems, look at this website. It does a good job of illustrating the rear-udder suspensory ligament cleft, along with lots of other info:
195.153.22.85/hyb/privateweb/docs/April2008.pdf
You can always breed this cow to improve fleshing ability and udder attachment in a replacement female.
This cow is indeed on the too-thin side. However, she appears otherwise healthy. The photos are not really adequate to give a thorough evaluation of her conformation, but she appears to have sound feet and legs. Her fore-udder is not attached very strongly. I can't see her udder from the rear, so I can't comment on her rear udder attachment/suspensory ligament. As she gets older, her udder will hang lower to the ground, but I think she'll be just fine for at least several more years.
This New Zealand AI bull has a couple of daughters' photos that illustrate a strong fore-udder attachment. (The bull himself is a very good udder improver.) Notice that the udder makes a horizontal line toward the cow's navel, rather than hanging down like a basketball in a net:
www.licnz.com/main.cfm?bull_id=301031&id=4&breed=Jersey&sire_team2=1
When you look at the udder from the back, you want the suspensory ligament to be very obvious. It makes the udder shape from the rear a W, rather than a U.
What I find VERY important are these three issues- she has a fabulous temperament, she has not had mastitis problems, and she is fertile. These are going to be the most important considerations for whether a Family Cow fits well into her new role. You want to enjoy your time milking her (temperament) and not have to spend a lot of time and money diagnosing and treating health problems (healthy). A cow that is difficult to get bred can also cause a lot of frustration and be a drain on the pocketbook.
This cow seems to have most of what it takes to be a fabulous Family Cow. It is quite possible that with better feed, she will gain condition and look a lot better, but I see that as her main problem. It should be a problem that you can deal with, if you have a good source of quality hay. Simply increasing her grain, adding some calf-manna, and providing her with good quality pasture and some alfalfa hay at milking time might be all she needs.
I would give this cow a try.
For a little more info on structural scoring, ideals and problems, look at this website. It does a good job of illustrating the rear-udder suspensory ligament cleft, along with lots of other info:
195.153.22.85/hyb/privateweb/docs/April2008.pdf
You can always breed this cow to improve fleshing ability and udder attachment in a replacement female.