Body condition: I need an honest opinion.

[mountainliving]

Hello, I need help determining if my 25 month old heifer is healthy or not.  Her first calf is due on Jan. 26th, 2015, (six days, we're excited!).  Since becoming pregnant she seems to have gone down hill.  She looks skinny to me but that might just be that she's just not as fat as she was before.  I haven't been able to find the average weight for a two yr. old heifer so I have nothing to compare to.  On Dec. 15, 2014 she measured at 414lbs., on Jan. 15, 2015 she was 486lbs. which is a 72lb gain or 2.32lb/day.  Right now she's getting hay at will and 7lbs of sweet feed a day.  She looks bonier today than she did ten days ago.  Is this because of her body getting ready for the birth?  She's such a sweet girl; I'd hate for her to suffer because of my lack of knowledge and experience.  I've added a link to some photos taken 10 days ago and today, (not sure if this is how it should be done.)  I'd appreciate any constructive feedback.

Thanks,
Wanda


www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=10842611020/a=14719638020_14719638020/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/ 

[RedRidge]

Yes she is thin but... she will look more boney than a few days ago because the calf has dropped.
That said, when was she wormed last. 7 lbs of grain is a lot for a dexter. What % protein is her grain

[Olga]

Hi Wanda. The picture from 11 months old shows a healthy animal with adequate fat cover. The newer pictures do show marked deterioration. The most obvious sign is the coat quality and color. I can't be sure of it, but the hair looks dull and disorganized in the newer pics. The black color has faded a lot, more than I would be willing to attribute to sun bleaching. With her due date so close now, there is nothing you can do to rapidly up her condition. You should be aware of dangers of too-heavy feeding in the last trimester of pregnancy, as all of those calories will go to the calf and could result in a larger than usual calf size and possible birth complications. At this point I would suggest not to make nutritional changes - save that for after the calf is born. I would make sure that the heifer has good quality loose minerals available free-choice at all times. Some of the widely available decent minerals in our area are Nutrena Right-Now Onyx minerals or Moormans Fall and Winter Beef minerals. If you want to go the fancy route, you could search out an specialty organic chelated minerals mix. If you have a salt block out - put it up, in order to increase consumption of the loose mineral mix. Ultimately, if there is no logical reason (good quality forage, good minerals) why your heifer might be losing condition or not thriving, I would advise finding a good cow vet. I have been working at a veterinary clinic for the last two months and have learned that they can run blood work on cows just like they can on dogs and cats. A simple blood draw could allow you to check your heifer's CBC (complete blood count) to find out if she has an elevated white blood cell count (infection), whether the infection is new or old, if your heifer is anemic, etc. A good fecal sample is also a good thing to check, you could collect it into a ziploc bag and drop it off for analysis. It could reveal what specific intestinal parasites are not responding to your worming program. Just a few ideas.

[mountainliving]

Hi Olga, thank you so much for this information. I've called a vet and arranged to drop off a fecal sample,(she was last wormed about 4 months ago with Safe-Guard(fenbendazole)). After reading your post I did some research on the mineral deficiencies and I think you're right. Her coat definitely has a rough, red look now. She has always had access to a trace mineral block but evidently that's not enough. I haven't been able to find the brands of loose minerals that you recommended locally. I'm basically limited to Tractor Supply or our local Farmer's Co-op. The brands they carry are: Tractor Supply-Purina, NutreBeef, Producer's Pride & Dumor, The Co-op - Formax. Just looking at the copper amounts they range anywhere from 650 ppm to 2,000 ppm. I have researched what to feed her and quite frankly there are so many conflicting opinions it's hard to know what's right. We have no ready pasture at this time. We have paddocks planted but they are not ready yet so we feed her hay and usually Purina 4-Sq. Stocker/Grower Supreme Cattle Feed(14% Protein). I switched to Sweet Feed about a month ago after reading that they need carbs instead of protein to increase body condition. We usually keep a 16% protein tub out also. With her being about six days from delivery what feeding regiment would you have her on if she was yours? One other question, assuming that lack of minerals is the problem, how soon after starting loose minerals can I expect to see an improvement? Weeks? Months?...Thank you so much for your time, hope you have a wonderful, day.

Wanda

[zephyrhillsusan]

I was thinking, too, that's an awful lot of grain for a Dexter. I know a lot of people don't feed their cows grain before calving for the very reason that it goes to the calf and makes it bigger. Whenever they start feeding, they build them up gradually.

I'm also wondering if she's filling up on the grain and not eating enough good quality hay. I checked the TSC Producer's Pride 12% protein all grain sweet feed, and it says for maintenance to feed 3-6 pounds a day for mature cattle; that, of course, is for regular-sized cattle. A Dexter would need proportionally less.

For several years I didn't feed our cows any grain at all. When I had one look a bit thin while lactating, the vet suggested 16% mare and foal, but this was to make up for the milk she was producing. The rule of thumb I've heard is 3 lbs. of dairy ration (the vet said the 16% mare and foal would work because no one carries dairy ration around here) for every gallon of milk produced. That cow regained condition on 4 lbs. a day, divided into two feedings. As I prepared to dry her off I cut her grain gradually over 2 weeks until she was getting none by the time I pulled her six-month old calf. Right now I'm feeding 4 lbs. a day (divided) to a cow that's nursing and eight-month old bull calf because I want to milk her; otherwise I'd cut her grain out because he doesn't "need" all that milk right now.

What area of the country are you in? We have TSC here, but they don't carry the highest quality minerals. We've gone to an independent feed store who gets his from a supplier that carries Crystalyx and Sweetlix. We use the Sweetlix 6% Copperhead which has added copper because our area is deficient. The cattle were looking rough, black ones looked reddish, and they shed out late. I'd say two months and I could tell a real difference. Now I mix the 6% Copperhead half and half with 6% Copperhead hi-Mag. They could be on the hi Mag by itself, but they don't like the taste and won't eat it. So I mix it half and half and figure at least they're getting some extra.

We've been learning and tweaking our feeding routine over a period of time. You're right that the choices are overwhelming and can get confusing. I was back and forth I don't know how many times between the feed store, the supplier and the company that produces it to finally find a combination of protein tub and minerals that would work. I ran it by our vet to get his approval before I ordered anything. And now I'm going to tweak it again when this protein tub is gone because I decided I don't want the one with urea in it, so they will get a lower protein, all natural one next time. Having cattle is a never-ending learning process!

[zephyrhillsusan]

If it's any help for comparison purposes, the Copperhead 6% has 1800 ppm of copper. The hi Mag one is the same, but the magnesium goes from 2% to 14%. I originally understood that they only needed it in the spring, but the vet said it would be better to keep them on it all the time.

[mountainliving]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the advice they gave me in Jan. I can not believe what a difference the loose minerals, and a better quality hay, have made in Sandy. As you can tell from my updated profile photo she has put on considerable weight, her coat is sleek and shiny, and is entirely black now. I turns out she wasn't pregnant after all which I guess is a good thing considering the poor shape she was in. We're hoping that she is pregnant now as she hasn't been in heat all summer. Just waiting on the pregnancy kit to arrive. Thanks again. The advice was a great help.

[zephyrhillsusan]

mountainliving, thank you so much for taking the time to update your post! That's really helpful to others who might be reading and following. Good luck and I hope she's preggers for you.

[cddexter]

a vet at WA state U told me salt blocks are so hard (to not melt in the rain) that the cows can lick their tongues raw and not get anywhere near enough salt. ALWAYS use loose salt and mineral to get the effect you want. On the side, sounds like your problem is solved. Next time, one more thing you might want to consider that wasn't brought up yet is hardware disease, where the cow eats a staple or nail or piece of wire which sticks in her gut and causes a low grade infection. This is an easy fix with a specially designed stainless steel magnet which the vet gets her to swallow. it collects all the loose bits of wire, etc, which eventually dissolve and they don't cause harm. If your property has been used for stock for a long time and/or you find bits of wire or nails lying around, it might be an idea to get a magnet regardless. Dead cheap insurance instead of a dead expensive cow. c.