# Jersey cow looking a little thin



## wberry85 (Feb 28, 2013)

You guys think she looks too thin? Everyone else with her is nice and fat. Should I feed grain or whats the best way to fatten her up? Spring grass is on the way.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

She is way too thin for me but I confess every dairy cow makes me want to feed them. Yes supplement her. I have always liked Calf Manna to boost an animal. Smells like licorice, everything with hooves loves it. But check the label if it's ok to consume the milk while feeding it. Alfalfa hay or pellets. And check her teeth. She current on deworming?


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## Rosepath (Feb 18, 2011)

She's pretty thin, are you milking her and letting the calf stay on 24/7? That will pull them down pretty quick. Also it looks like she's losing hair along her shoulders, maybe just the winter coat rubbing off, but might check for lice. She looks like a lovely cow, great udder, if mine I'd be feeding her grain to help her get back some weight, and besides calf manna, maybe soaked beet pulp, it helps them gain too.


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

wberry85, I think MO_cows and Rosepath have covered it all. I just want to say how good it is to see someone concerned with the condition of their cow and ask for advice as opposed to having other people suggest that the cow needs a little something extra!

What a lovely pasture you've got. Looks like spring has landed on your farm. We're still waiting!


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## wberry85 (Feb 28, 2013)

Thanks guys. I am not milking her. She gets to save that for the little one. I'll go ahead and get her some grain and see if we can put some weight back on her. I think the winter pasture combined with carrying the calf probably made her lose more weight than normal. All the other cows are fat as ticks.

Thanks again.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Yes, I agree, she is on the thin side but she's come through winter, has carried a calf, has a good udder and will bet she's milking off her back. There's no doubt she's doing the calf well. 

It look like you've got good grass coming away behind her? Grain feed her by all means and put her on the best grass you have. Also, have you drenched her? I personally see lice in that loss of hair and a broad spectrum drench might not go amiss for the internal and external parasites.

When you've finished with her, put her on a plane Jerseys are my preference. 

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I have no knowledge of GA winter pasture. Up north, late Fall pasture and early Spring pasture isn't much. A lactating cow needs high quality hay and possibly grain, too. Looks like she isn't getting that.
Make any feed changes slowly.
Will you be weaning the calf soon? Is she rebred? How old is she? These are all factors in decisions on feed requirements.


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## wberry85 (Feb 28, 2013)

We have good grass in that pasture and it stays green 10 months out of the year for the most part. I did supplement hay for February bc I noticed she was losing weight. Her weight was pretty healthy throughout the winter until the last 2 months of her gestation. I started giving hay trying to fatten her up but its only been a few weeks on extra hay. 

The calf was born yesterday morning and I'll be leaving it with mama. Shes around four years old. 

I have not wormed her recently. Could worms be a factor?


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## Rosepath (Feb 18, 2011)

To find out, take a sample of her manure (small bit in a baggy, not the whole cow pie, LOL) to your vet, they will check to see what might be there and suggest appropriate wormers.
Is your little cutie pie calf a heifer or a bull calf?


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

That is a real nice calf. I had assumed that the calf was a couple months old and supplying all that milk was dragging her down. For a just freshened cow to look so thin is a problem.
In hindsight, a late in gestation cow on late season grass pasture, should have gotten more hay, sooner. She didn't lose that weight overnight and won't gain it back right away, either.
Worms compete for nutrition and chew on internal organs, dragging down your cow and sometimes doing organ damage. If the worms are in the digestive tract and are shedding eggs, an exam of the manure will show eggs in a microscope. I prefer to assume that she has worms and treat with a good wormer, like ivermectrin. Be aware there are some that believe herbal methods work as wormers. I don't.


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## wberry85 (Feb 28, 2013)

Thank you guys. Got my list for the feed store ready. Hope she will be back in weight soon.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Just make changes in diet slow.


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## wberry85 (Feb 28, 2013)

Shes doing much better now with a little help from the grain twice a day. Calf is happy too.

She does have small scabs on her udder though. I figure its just from walking through briars but is this anything to be worried about? We milked her a bit the other day and everything else was fine.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I would treat scabs as if they might be staph. Spray with chlorhexadine.


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