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Barnyard Buddies:  Pregnant Heifer Questions  |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 31 2010 : 06:45:25 AM
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Ok, most of y'all know about my 2 1/2 year old heifer Mazie. She is pregnant with her very 1st calf and due in a few months. I only feed hay. They are grass fed but in winter they get all the hay they could possible eat. But now I am getting worried that she isn't getting all the nutrition she needs for a growing calf. Let me also say that I have gotten 2 round bales of hay in the past 2 1/2 weeks and between 2 heifers it's almost all gone right now. The past few days I have been throwing a few extra flakes to them. SO are they eating too much hay? Or do I need to supplement with something lese? I really do not want to feed any grain. I am going to butcher the other heifer when Mazie has her calf. And I want just grass fed beef. I know I am being a little confusing but just want to know if it's ok to just grass and hay feed a pregnant cow. I know there are several people that do just grass feed their cows and they all look very healthy and have healthy calves. So maybe I am just worrying for nothing and she'll be fine. She is huge right now. They also have a salt block. I need to get a bag of loose minerals too. I'll do that today when I go to town.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4826 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - Dec 31 2010 : 07:16:15 AM
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Kris, I'll ask my farmgirl cousin Michele, (Windy Pines), to answer this for you. She's a lifetime farmer, dairy & beef, so she'll be able to help you on this. She's been super busy, so I'll let her know you need some answers quick!
Dawn in IL |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Dec 31 2010 : 08:26:54 AM
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Thanks Dawn.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4533 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4533 Posts |
Posted - Dec 31 2010 : 11:27:18 AM
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Hi Kris, I got Dawns email, so I will try to help out.
You can do whatever you feel is right. But....hay quality is probely your first question. She should do just fine on a hay diet if it is good quality. I do also feed loose salt, and minerals to all my cows. They will take what they need. I usually have a block of salt around too. But a cow can lick that constantly, and never get enough off of it. They recommend feeding loose salt, free choice. I feed loose trace mineral salt with selinum, and a beef mineral mix.
As long as your heifer is in good shape, I would not worry. You don't want her to be too fat before calving.
My heifer will be calving April 5. I do give her a scoop of grain, once a day. Mostly just to tame her down, get her used to coming in the barn for it. Then I rub her all over, get her used to my hands. I feed corn, soybean, oats, molasses, and Ruma mix, which is vit. and minerals for dairy animals. Helps when it comes time to breed them back. when I wean beef calves, they all get grain too. Just a little treat. But they never forget it. And that is a big help if someone gets out, just grab that grain bucket, and they will follow you anywhere! I will increase the amount of grain to my dairy heifer, as she gets closer to calving. I had my cow freshen once, without giving her grain ahead of time, and she just didn't have a whole lot of milk to start with. So I have had better luck with giving them some before they freshen,not alot though, as I don't want alot of edema. There are alot of opinions out there, and you just need to do what you feel is right. If it don't work, then try something differnet. best wishes
Michele |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Dec 31 2010 : 2:44:21 PM
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Thanks, Michele. I guess the hay I have been getting in the round bales are not as good a quality as the squares. I have about 55 square bales left and can get more right up the road for the same price as picking it up out of the field. And I will get some loose minerals too. It's just hard to keep that dry. They do love it though. Mazie is a red angus mix. I was going to try to milk her some. I raised her from a few hours old so she is very friendly. And she loves apples. All I have to do is show her an apple and she comes running. Thank you for all this information. You are right about not wanting a fat cow at birth.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Dec 31 2010 : 5:58:48 PM
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hi kris, well i guess you know this farmgirls has an opinion.lol well i bet aunt jenny might chime in too. she is very smart. i am going to rest a bit. been so very cold here. last night 8 tonight 2 degrees. cold and snow on the ground. so when i recoup i will come on here. i am a dead solid no grain girl. but i do use alfalfa pellet beet pellet molasses loose mineral with selenium kelp DE. you know how i do. i think there has been a lot of nutrition talk on KFC lately. 4 cows have died from ketosis. so i have been studying a lot about this. i believe molasses is one of the answers for it. i give belle a lot. she loves it. its good your mama cow loves apples. it helps when you know their food of choice. i have been trying to learn all the OTHER foods they can eat that are not a grain. sweet potatoes yams etc. more varied diet. i appreciate dawn and michelles help too. i was wondering what the dairy suppliment they are using is. the extra mineral one. the ruma mix who makes it? we are looking for one now. thanks girls happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4533 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4533 Posts |
Posted - Jan 01 2011 : 04:00:48 AM
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The Ruma mix I get from the feed store. It is just vit, and min. for cows. When it comes time to breed back, it helps if they have all the vitamins they need to be reproductive. I would guess it is a brand name, but don't really know.
Michele |
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Barnyard Buddies: Pregnant Heifer Questions |
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Pregnant Heifer Questions
