Post by thystledown on Apr 25, 2018 19:46:19 GMT -5
I'm really worried that I am not managing the Guernsey well! She was in good shape when she freshened DEcember 28. Now she is soooo thin. Better hay isn't an option. Grass is slowly greening and beginning, so I turned her out with the beefers day before yesterday and she spent the day without feed in the dirty barn yard of her own accord. When I found her in the afternoon, I led her up to the hay ring (seriously couldn't she see it or follow the other cows?) and she ate hay there for awhile, then moved away when the others came up. I have put her back in her own yard again--no grass unfortunately. Just wanted her on it as it came in so I didn't have to worry about introduction when it came full on. Anyway, she is so precarious that now she's sluggish and tipsy again. I am ashamed of how she looks. Better hay is just not available. What we have is not horrid--better than what I got in TX most years. But she doesn't like 2 out of 3 bales. (this cow refused pelleted feed when I got her too--she's apparently willing to starve before eating anything new or different). I did increase the grain I was feeding her (18% dairy) but that just kicked up production of course. Scoured one of her calves (she has two big bull calves on her days only and I milk OAD). I found this post below on this topic. More in the whole thread of course, and I read lots of stuff on other sites too. Most recommend increasing fiber--better grass hay or oat straw. She won't eat oat straw. We bed her box stall with it. So what about the beef or horse feed instead of dairy feed and calf manna if I can find it at TSC? She does like alfalfa cubes I discovered yesterday--but that seems like more protein again. Our feed mill has horse and sheep, dairy and beef feeds. That's it other than what TSC carries. Or else whole oats or whole corn--which I can grind myself here at home. What should I do? Her production was up to almost 5 gal OAD til I cut back the dairy feed--that was a no-win cycle. Though she had more energy and acted better, but calves scoured. Did not do it long enough for weight gain. Really, she probably was kept on corn silage here in NY. But I don't have that either. So 9 lbs of beef or horse feed and 1 lb of calf manna and try to pick out the bales of timothy that she prefers as much as possible instead of the dairy feed? or what? Really am worried about her.
Claire
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Feb 24, 2012 at 7:31pm QuotelikePost Options Post by Claire on Feb 24, 2012 at 7:31pm
Every cow has slightly different nutritional requirements, so even with two cows eating identical feed and producing the same amount of milk one cow might stay fat and sassy and the other might need to have her grain boosted by a few pounds to keep any weight on.
I've found with my cow (she is ALWAYS thin, I am seriously thrilled when I can get her to a 2 or 2.5 body condition score) that going to a lower protein grain- from a 16% dairy to a 14% beef ration- helped put weight on her. I've also recently added a few pounds per day of beet pulp and alfalfa cubes and that seems to have helped a lot (though since you are feeding alfalfa hay the cubes would be redundant). Calf Manna also works wonders with weight gain while not increasing milk production- just 1-2 lbs per day. You can also try black oil sunflower seeds or a performance-type horse feed with fat.
Claire
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Feb 24, 2012 at 7:31pm QuotelikePost Options Post by Claire on Feb 24, 2012 at 7:31pm
Every cow has slightly different nutritional requirements, so even with two cows eating identical feed and producing the same amount of milk one cow might stay fat and sassy and the other might need to have her grain boosted by a few pounds to keep any weight on.
I've found with my cow (she is ALWAYS thin, I am seriously thrilled when I can get her to a 2 or 2.5 body condition score) that going to a lower protein grain- from a 16% dairy to a 14% beef ration- helped put weight on her. I've also recently added a few pounds per day of beet pulp and alfalfa cubes and that seems to have helped a lot (though since you are feeding alfalfa hay the cubes would be redundant). Calf Manna also works wonders with weight gain while not increasing milk production- just 1-2 lbs per day. You can also try black oil sunflower seeds or a performance-type horse feed with fat.