Post by renees on Dec 28, 2011 19:16:45 GMT -5
We bought a bred Jersey heifer last summer and she has been out on 6,000 acres with our beef cattle since then. There is plenty of dry grass to feed on out there, and the pastures are fed alfalfa right now too since we haven't had a lot of rain here in CA.
She was bred June 18th, so her due date should be the end of March. I feel like this is all the sudden right around the corner! We are planning on bringing her in in 2 weeks. She will be stalled at night and in a small but well irrigated pasture during the day. The pasture isn't mature enough or large enough to leave her on 24/7 but it will be carefully maintained and provide her with good grazing.
What else should I feed her? We have access to green chop silage (entire young corn stalk with ears), alfalfa, oat hay, corn, and wheat all for very inexpensive or free (grown on our family ranch). Can I make a diet for her out of this or do I need to buy grain from the feed store? Obviously we want to go the most economical route, but I want her to be healthy. Other types of hay aren't an option, the price on grass hay is outrageous where we live, and nothing else is grown besides oat and alfalfa. Right now she needs to gain a little weight, so her new diet needs to have that factored in. I would've liked to bring her in sooner, but it wasn't possible. Any help is hugely appreciated, especially with the amount of each feed she'll need! She's a very small heifer, I'm 5'4" and her back comes just above my elbow.
One other question, our milking stanchion is being built right now; what should I be doing to train her for hand milking? She was a 4H project, so she is as tame and sweet as she could possibly be and she leads like a dream. I assume I should start getting her in the stanchion, rubbing her all over, and handling her udder. Anything else?
She was bred June 18th, so her due date should be the end of March. I feel like this is all the sudden right around the corner! We are planning on bringing her in in 2 weeks. She will be stalled at night and in a small but well irrigated pasture during the day. The pasture isn't mature enough or large enough to leave her on 24/7 but it will be carefully maintained and provide her with good grazing.
What else should I feed her? We have access to green chop silage (entire young corn stalk with ears), alfalfa, oat hay, corn, and wheat all for very inexpensive or free (grown on our family ranch). Can I make a diet for her out of this or do I need to buy grain from the feed store? Obviously we want to go the most economical route, but I want her to be healthy. Other types of hay aren't an option, the price on grass hay is outrageous where we live, and nothing else is grown besides oat and alfalfa. Right now she needs to gain a little weight, so her new diet needs to have that factored in. I would've liked to bring her in sooner, but it wasn't possible. Any help is hugely appreciated, especially with the amount of each feed she'll need! She's a very small heifer, I'm 5'4" and her back comes just above my elbow.
One other question, our milking stanchion is being built right now; what should I be doing to train her for hand milking? She was a 4H project, so she is as tame and sweet as she could possibly be and she leads like a dream. I assume I should start getting her in the stanchion, rubbing her all over, and handling her udder. Anything else?