Got a Fat Cow?

A reader writes:

I am 15 and showing a Jersey born in Sept. of 2008. She stayed with her mother until about she was 6-months old, and now she is in a field with a Holstein steer, grazing 24/7.

The two shows I have taken her to, the judges said that she was too fat. How much should she weigh? Do I need to keep her up and give her feed or just get her up at night to keep her from grazing? She isn’t extremely overweight; you can see her ribs pretty well. Do you have any suggestions?

Ellen

Hi Ellen,

I am happy to see that you have an interest in dairy animals,me too.

From my experience your heifer should weigh in the 500 lb range at a year old, 750 at 16 months, and 900-1000lbs at 2 years. Being on her mother for 6 months, she put on more size before weaning, and more fat.

You didn’t say what kind of grain mix she is getting, or how much. I normally wean our heifers at 50-60 days, and give them 3lbs of ground shell corn twice a day. Don’t cut back on the pasture at all, but you can cut back on the grain a pound or so a day, until it starts getting cold.

Make sure she has access to free choice mineral and salt at all times, as well as a good supply of fresh water. Also, do you have any materials to learn how to score body condition? If not you can call your local extension agent, or your vet and they should be able to get you that info. Check back at www.thedairydude.com, our webmaster is working on getting that information posted.

Good luck at the shows. Email a picture if you can!

Wayne
The Dairy Dude