New Cow- advice needed

[Deleted]

Hello All;

I am new here. I'm in my early twenties, recently graduated college with my BS in Animal Science. I was raised around horses (we have 10) and a small family farm. I got into dairy cows during my freshman year of college and greatly enjoy fitting, showing, milking, etc. I currently work with a show string of dairy animals on a weekly basis and during the summer months; show quite frequently. I am no stranger to dairy cows but i have never personally owned one so the ownership part is a bit new to me.

all the dairy cows i have ever been around are fed a corn sileage ration with occasional hay.

To make a long story short; i am retiring a registered jersey cow to my family's farm after New Years. She was the first cow i ever showed and won anything with and she has a special place in my heart. She is coming 6 years old and comes from a very well-bred cow family. She lightly prolapsed a year ago in her last calving and they decided not to breed her back. She's never had mastitis. I am paying her beef price to bring her home (which is giving me a bit of a heart attack at the price ) because I just cant stand the thought of her going to McDonald's. They are drying her off in the next week or two. She is in excellent shape and has been well looked after.

She is a very low-key, easy going cow. Loves attention, very personable. I have a small paddock with a nice run-in shed that will be her new home. In the summer we have a 3-4 acre pasture for her to roam in and feast out of. She has been on a primarily corn silage/grain ration diet with the occasional flakes of hay fed after night milkings.

We do not have access to corn silage so she will have to be on a hay/grain diet. We feed high quality first cutting hay at our farm (we have horses).

Any suggestions as to what to feed her for grain? I'd like to feed her a molassey type grain mixed with some kind of pellet? How much to feed her?

We live in New England and winter has just shown its ugly face about 3 days ago so she will need the molasses sugar to help her keep warm and healthy this winter. Would she still be on a 16% dairy ration even though she is a retired dry cow or should i consider feeding something else? all suggestions will be considered so please help me out

I can also feed her beet pulp if you think it would be a good idea for her.

Alfalfa pellets or soaked alfalfa cubes? Do you think its necessary?

I have access to three different feed sources. I have a nearby family owned grain store that sells Blue Seal brand and other assorted grains. I also have access to an Agway store. I also have access to a Tractor Supply. I'd like to stick with feed that is bagged as it is easier for me to get, store, and feed but i'd also like to refrain from running to 2-3 different stores a week to get what i need.

As for her main forage; she'll be getting high quality 1st cut hay AM & PM. It is grown in town and it is nice stuff. As noted above: i can also feed beet pulp and alfalfa cube/pellet if you think i should do so.

I'm going to put her on ProBios for a week or two when she comes here to help her in her transition. She has been a high quality production jersey cow her whole life and she's never spent a day outside; so this will be new for her.

I also heard that Kelp is a good choice to feed her. We feed our horses a brand of Kelp called SOURCE. It comes in huge buckets and it is a nutritional suppliment. I will have to check to see if we can feed it to a cow but this might be an easy source of kelp for her and a great addition to her daily diet.

our horses are also fed a small scoop of Blue Seal Sunshine Pellets with their PM feed. It is a high quality vitamin/mineral pellet. I can also do this for her if you think it would be a good idea. The Sunshine Pellet is not a strictly equine feed.

I am planning on putting a mineral salt block in her pasture. any other sources of minerals i should consider that are low maintenance??

She is going to retire and live out her days here but I am trying to keep her care low maintenance. The more low maintenance the better it is for us to tend to her.

I'm also not sure what routine vaccines dry/retired cows need but any suggestions? We use a primarily equine vet but we can also arrange to have a bovine vet care for her when needed

Like i said winter is here; the days are cold and the nights are colder. I'd like to make her transition a pleasant one and i'd like to support her immune system in the process. She is going to be living a very happy life

Anything else you'd like to add; please do!

Thanks for the help!

[Jessika]

I wouldn't let them dry her off! A lot of Jersey cows can milk for YEARS without calving. You could just keep on milking her as well as having a pet. Otherwise once she is dried off---she'll become quite fat on just hay alone! Keep out free choice loose minerals, salt, and water.
But really....if she is sound otherwise I'd keep her in milk.
Jessika

[Deleted]

I dont have the means to keep her in milk and she is aleady starting to dry herself off. She is quite "smart" and has learned to dry herself off when she normally would be dried off for her rest before calving.

I dont have any means to milk her so she is just coming home to a ell deserved rest.

[buxombeefcowdairy]

A dry cow should not need more than good hay to keep in good condition.

You will, of course, need to transition her over to a hay diet, and make sure she has the means to keep warm.

My advice to you specifically, since you DO have a BS in Animal Science, is to go look at her current ration, and find out what she is getting right now in terms of caloric intake/energy, protein, etc. Find out or estimate what she weighs, and from her current ration and her future ration (you may need to send in a hay sample) , and read the information on a nice, molassesey bagged grain from the more convenient feed store, and get fairly close to her current ration. From there, you will be able to cut back ssslllloooowwwllllyyyy on the grain, as her nutritional needs obviously change when she is dry.

As far as the mineral supplements go, again you are looking at a dry cow who should be able to get most of her needs met from high quality hay. You can add some kelp, some salt and perhaps buy one bag of mineral supplement designed for local cattle, and put a bit of that in her grain at first, and leave it out free choice later. Many of the grain mixes already have a vitamin/mineral supplement added, so be sure you aren't over-supplementing her. Some of these supplements can be toxic if they get too much, like selenium- especially in an area with lots of selenium in the soils.

Another good option for keeping a cow warm is a blanket. I have a Schneiders Euro-cut horse blanket (made for high withered, narrow-built horses) on my cow. I had to have the blanket wash/repair service shorten the front drop so my cow didn't step on it, but I've had it for three seasons, and it makes a huge difference since my cow does not have a barn or shelter.

The final bit of advice is that your cow would probably be happiest with another cow, steer, calf or other bovine. A gentle, retired/slow, mellow horse that doesn't boss her too much might substitute, but she'd be happiest in a herd, even if it is a herd of two. Perhaps someone has another dry cow, or a beef steer or heifer that she could be with, that you could 'board'.

[Deleted]

we have an aged horse who gets attached to anything he comes in contact with (and he doesnt eat very fast) and also some aged low-key ponies so in spring-time; when things mellow out she will have some friends. During her transition; i'd like to keep it relatively stress-free for her. ....and the horses (most of them have never seen a cow in their life). The horses are kept in pastures just a few feet away so she can still socialize and visit and shes not entirely secluded.

The farm will be putting her on a more normal, hay filled diet before she comes home with me so the transition from feed source to feed source wont be so bad.

We also have PLENTY of extra/spare horse and pony blankets around so i'm sure we have something that will fit her if need be. I have a feeling (even though its in the 20's, 30's and 40's outside right now) that she will be coming home with a summer hair coat on her since she is kept in a nice toasty warm barn all winter. She will likely need a blanket/sheet on her until she develops her winter hair.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help! I will be making phone calls this week to the feed stores to get a list of feeds to chose from.

[DanMa]

Do you have some kind of shelter or lean to that she can get into to be out of the prevailing wind? If not, you may decide to keep the blanket on her even after she gets her winter hair. Especially those nights when the temp gets into the teens and below.

Means to milk: all it takes is a bucket, your two hands and a stool. If she is starting to dry off, that's OK milk her regularly anyway. At least once/day the same time. Each cow is different, but I get more than enough for my needs & a calf with grass hay (about 25% legumes) & a 1 # coffe can of Coarse 16 daily.

Watch her for health, weight etc because of the feeding transition. Above put it so well, this needs to be done slooooowwwlllly !

[Lannie]

Also, molasses and sugar don't keep her warm - digesting hay keeps her warm. Make sure she always has good hay available, especially now, in her first winter outside. If you blanket her, she might not develop a good winter coat. I never blanket my horses and we have 20 below zero temps frequently each winter, as well as lots of snow. They have a barn they can access at will, so they can get out of the wind, as do my cows, and no one ever wears a blanket. Once a blanket has flattened their hair down, it's not as good an insulator anymore.

I realize THIS winter she doesn't have a winter coat yet, so you'll need to use the blanket, but make sure to take it off of her on any sunny day, even if it's cold, so she can be stimulated to grow that extra hair in. I'd just blanket her at night and take it off during the day, unless it's blowing, cold, snowy, and icky. Cows can take a lot of cold if they have have a bellyful of hay to digest. Next winter you likely won't need to blanket her at all, as long as she has a place to get out of the wind.

~Lannie

[Deleted]

Thanks for all the help:

I've seen jerseys on a straight hay diet and they tend to turn a lot more dairy looking. Lose their fat and they tend to look skinny. Show jerseys are kept on high hay diet to keep them looking leaner. No matter how good hay might be; it never contains all of the necessary nutrients needed so a little bit of some high quality grain will even that out. I want to keep her fatter and happy and healthier so she is going to be on 12% Tractor Supply All-Stock Sweet Feed and first cut hay 2x daily with 1 small coffee can of beet pulp 2x daily. I also purchased a large canister of Probios to put her on daily when she arrives. She will be undergoing a pretty dramatic diet change in the next 2-3 weeks and i want to keep her rumen and digestive tract healthy. I also ordered SeaLife for Animals to put her on to ensure she's getting everything she needs in terms of vitamins/minerals. All of our horses are on a kelp/seaweed suppliment and I firmly believe in this stuff.

As for the blanket issue: i'm going to put one of my light-weight pony sheets on her for a week or two when she arrives. Its not heavy weight so she'll have to grow some hair but it will keep the wind and weather off of her until she gets the chance to grow some hair. She will have a nice run-in shed to go in and we can even put a door on it and lock her in if the weather gets horribly bad.

We won't be milking her so I'm letting the farm dry her off. I have no interest in milking her everyday; i do that enough elsewhere and i already have enough chores to do everyday .

The farm will be putting her on a more "normal" diet with more and more hay in the next week or so to reduce the dramatic change before she comes home.

Looking forward to retiring this lady to our farm. I work with dairy cattle all of the time and i know they rarely get to live out their days but it makes me feel good to be able to do this for the cow that started it all for me. She will be really loved

[midwifejoyce]

Hi, Read the entire thread so far and to echo others suggestions, I would give her free access to hay all the time. She needs that to stay warm not just twice a day. I hope you enjoy her. As a side note, even if you have a horse that loves everybody, many cows do not like horses. Either way she will be fine and learn to adjust but I would get her a bovine friend if you are able.
~Joyce

[Jenn]

Unless she gets too old to chew, free choice good grass hay should be all she needs as a retired cow.

I think the beet pulp during extreme cold weather would be good. Energy is the limiting factor in winter....and it's easy to store.

She won't be having babies or giving milk anymore and will get fat all on her own in a hurry. You don't want to "kill her with kindness", so to speak.

-Jenn