Auction cow - Update 4/17 - Half the Results are In!
Apr 3, 2015 20:56:24 GMT -5
jean, Jenn, and 4 more like this
Post by milkmaid on Apr 3, 2015 20:56:24 GMT -5
The tattoo is an R-vshield-2. Bangs tattoo. Means she was vaccinated in 2002 or 2012. Looking at the cow I'd say 2012, makes her a 3 or 4 year old, and going off the udder I'd guess 4 on her second lactation. She has a notch in the left ear that might be a BVD-PI test. Given that it's long since healed I would assume she passed.
She's a meh cow. Jersey cross with Holstein in the woodpile somewhere. OK coat, she's at least lost her winter hair, body condition 2.5 - 2.75/5? She probably needs to be a on a good mineral program and dewormed. The udder is actually not too bad - looks like a nice level floor with decent teats from the side view. She's not recently fresh. She's definitely not been in the best management situation given the amount of manure on her. The manure in the last picture looks normal, she doesn't have any rumen fill in the view from above but looks hydrated and alert in the head shot.
I don't see any obvious red flags but I also don't see anything about this cow that would have sent her to the sale. She likely milks well enough to cover her daily cost on the dairy even with three quarters - unless the dairy sold out because of the low milk prices these days (and it's possible - the management wasn't real great where ever she came from) - but I'd worry just a little about her reason for getting culled. I'd have a vet check done, BLV, Johnes, and ask for a 48 hour hold on her - sometimes LDA and pneumonia cows get shipped at diagnosis and I'd want to know this one was eating before I took her home.
And then quarantine! Minimum 14 days in a separate pen with no nose-to-nose contact, no transfer of feed or water buckets between her and your others, milk her last, wash boots and hands after. There's a lot this cow could bring home. I don't know how much trouble you've had finding a cow, but weigh your risks and benefits carefully before you make your decision.
She's a meh cow. Jersey cross with Holstein in the woodpile somewhere. OK coat, she's at least lost her winter hair, body condition 2.5 - 2.75/5? She probably needs to be a on a good mineral program and dewormed. The udder is actually not too bad - looks like a nice level floor with decent teats from the side view. She's not recently fresh. She's definitely not been in the best management situation given the amount of manure on her. The manure in the last picture looks normal, she doesn't have any rumen fill in the view from above but looks hydrated and alert in the head shot.
I don't see any obvious red flags but I also don't see anything about this cow that would have sent her to the sale. She likely milks well enough to cover her daily cost on the dairy even with three quarters - unless the dairy sold out because of the low milk prices these days (and it's possible - the management wasn't real great where ever she came from) - but I'd worry just a little about her reason for getting culled. I'd have a vet check done, BLV, Johnes, and ask for a 48 hour hold on her - sometimes LDA and pneumonia cows get shipped at diagnosis and I'd want to know this one was eating before I took her home.
And then quarantine! Minimum 14 days in a separate pen with no nose-to-nose contact, no transfer of feed or water buckets between her and your others, milk her last, wash boots and hands after. There's a lot this cow could bring home. I don't know how much trouble you've had finding a cow, but weigh your risks and benefits carefully before you make your decision.