Post by kristins on Aug 20, 2006 8:09:20 GMT -5
I have been sick worrying about Lois, my first Jersey cow. I have wanted to get her off the 14% beef booster for a while but have been busy and tired (I'm pregnant w/3 under 7). A main ingredient in the booster is cotton seed meal and hulls and I don't like all the pesticides in that stuff. So after reading, researching, etc, I decided to switch her to a whole grain/alfalfa ration. I have already been feeding her 3 quarts of alfalfa to boost her cream content and make up some for our poor pasture. She has been getting 5 qts/7.5 lbs of the booster w/kelp and flax added.
Last Sunday, we mixed up a can of whole peas (I couldn't find split or ground), oats, and cracked corn. We mixed it so the top is nearly 100% of the beef booster. I started feeding the new mix on Monday morning (5 qts grain/2 qts alfalfa). We OAD milk and she gets grain/alfalfa in the a.m. and a bit of alfalfa pellets in the p.m. I always add the alfalfa separately so I know exactly how much she is getting.
Tuesday a.m. she seemed reluctant to come to the stanchion but did slowly come and eat. By Wednesday afternoon, it was plain she was not feeling well. I figured it was most likely the whole peas (there were only maybe 2-3% peas in the new mix so far) and switched her back to all beef booster on Thursday a.m.
Then I thought that she needs to work out the peas so giving her more grain might just impact her rumen so I decreased the grain, kept the alfalfa the same to give her roughage and less grain to work out. She was grazing a bit and eating some hay, but not her normal amount. Poops all looked normal and she was drinking and peeing, chewing her cud, etc. She was grunting a bit though and her nose was warm and dry.
Of course, my thought is "I'm killing my poor cow!!" As of yesterday, she was still obviously not feeling great and would not finish her beef booster/alfalfa mix. And this a.m. she just would not eat and would not let us milk her.
So we did an experiment. I got a quart of plain, whole oats. She gobbled it. Then I got a 1/2 quart of alfalfa pellets. She sniffed, tasted and spit it out. She gobbled the next quart of plain beef booster.
So it was the Alfalfa Pellets!!!! I was mixing them in with her grain ration so she couldn't separate them and let us know. It wasn't until I decreased the grain to 1 qt (3 qts alfalfa) that it became more obvious!
The poor dear!! So I mixed just beef booster with additional oats and she ate heartily! I haven't seen her eat that way in nearly a week! I was poisoning my cow! What a trooper!
The brand I get is Faithway Feed Co. 17% dehydrated alfalfa pellets. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Do the pellets vary by season as the fresh stuff might? I had just opened a new bag of 4 I bought week before last.
I am so thankful to have figured this out. I'm going to see if I can find a source for alfalfa hay instead. I can get organic pellets but they are VERY expensive!
Anyway, it is an interesting turn of events. I would have posted with questions but have been worried sick, researching, losing sleep, etc. and just haven't had time.
Thanks all for listening.
Kristin
Last Sunday, we mixed up a can of whole peas (I couldn't find split or ground), oats, and cracked corn. We mixed it so the top is nearly 100% of the beef booster. I started feeding the new mix on Monday morning (5 qts grain/2 qts alfalfa). We OAD milk and she gets grain/alfalfa in the a.m. and a bit of alfalfa pellets in the p.m. I always add the alfalfa separately so I know exactly how much she is getting.
Tuesday a.m. she seemed reluctant to come to the stanchion but did slowly come and eat. By Wednesday afternoon, it was plain she was not feeling well. I figured it was most likely the whole peas (there were only maybe 2-3% peas in the new mix so far) and switched her back to all beef booster on Thursday a.m.
Then I thought that she needs to work out the peas so giving her more grain might just impact her rumen so I decreased the grain, kept the alfalfa the same to give her roughage and less grain to work out. She was grazing a bit and eating some hay, but not her normal amount. Poops all looked normal and she was drinking and peeing, chewing her cud, etc. She was grunting a bit though and her nose was warm and dry.
Of course, my thought is "I'm killing my poor cow!!" As of yesterday, she was still obviously not feeling great and would not finish her beef booster/alfalfa mix. And this a.m. she just would not eat and would not let us milk her.
So we did an experiment. I got a quart of plain, whole oats. She gobbled it. Then I got a 1/2 quart of alfalfa pellets. She sniffed, tasted and spit it out. She gobbled the next quart of plain beef booster.
So it was the Alfalfa Pellets!!!! I was mixing them in with her grain ration so she couldn't separate them and let us know. It wasn't until I decreased the grain to 1 qt (3 qts alfalfa) that it became more obvious!
The poor dear!! So I mixed just beef booster with additional oats and she ate heartily! I haven't seen her eat that way in nearly a week! I was poisoning my cow! What a trooper!
The brand I get is Faithway Feed Co. 17% dehydrated alfalfa pellets. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Do the pellets vary by season as the fresh stuff might? I had just opened a new bag of 4 I bought week before last.
I am so thankful to have figured this out. I'm going to see if I can find a source for alfalfa hay instead. I can get organic pellets but they are VERY expensive!
Anyway, it is an interesting turn of events. I would have posted with questions but have been worried sick, researching, losing sleep, etc. and just haven't had time.
Thanks all for listening.
Kristin