I just purchased for very little money, a first-calf heifer jersey who had a really rough time calving a week ago. She is pretty thin and still walks a little slow and halting, but appears better with that everyday. My question is, what would you feed her to help her regain her health? I will be hand milking once a day--the calf will get the rest. Thanks in advance!

-- Lynn Royal (CAVEWOMAN48@hotmail.com), March 26, 2000

Answers

Are you giving her any dairy ration at all? We were told by the vet that after calving to give our Jersey lots of grain or else she wouldn't have enough to produce milk. Then she would take what she needed from her reserves and not have enough for her body. My parents had a Guernsey when I was very little and they gave her oats and mineral supplements. She eventually died when calving. Our second cow died from many mysterious diseases after calving. The Jersey we have now got sick because we weren't feeding her enough grain and she kept producing more milk than her system could handle. We increased her grain to almost 15 lbs. a day, which she probably din't need:) And then after she improved in health and didn't seem so draggy, we slowly lowered the amount down to 10 lbs. Hope this helps

-- AbigailF. (treeoflife@sws.nb.ca), March 27, 2000.

I second the dairy ration.Is she drinking enough water ?If not and its cold out she might like it a little warm.Do you have good hay ? My cows like treats too ,old bread ,rolls,oranges,just about anything even donuts!I give egg yolks to the calves raw.Good luck!

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), March 27, 2000.

We feed our Jersey a combination of 2/3 beef feed, and 1/3 sweet goat feed. We also give her compressed alfalfa cubes as 'cow candy', and the occasional scoop of dried shredded beet pulp. This keeps her in beautiful condition.

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), March 27, 2000.

I read somewhere tht cows need to have a lot of good quality hay. I like your feeding combination, Connie! Anabelle always drank and drank after we milked her and after she nursed her calf! Patty may be right in saying that she's not getting enough water. Hope she gets better soon!

-- AbigailF. (treeoflife@sws.nb.ca), March 30, 2000.

HI, I would definetly give her a commercial 18%protien, .68-.70 net energy lactation dairy grain mix. She will be in a negative energy balance for up to 80 days(depending on the cow). This is a very critical time in the cows life. She also needs the best possible hay fed free choice and plenty of clean fresh water. After she has been bred back is the time that you could save on feed cost. Good luck and I wish your friend well. I am the feedman on a large dairy and have expierence with herd health as well. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

-- charlie blow (mifarmboy@aol.com), March 31, 2000.

Lynn; Charlie is feeding for a dairy whose main goal is maximum milk production. 16-18% protein feed will not necessarily help a dibilitated heifer regain her strength. A more proper feed ration would be in the neighborhood of 12-14% feed with a fat content of 3+%. There is twice the calorie value in fat than either protien or carbohydrate. Your emaciated heifer needs body reserves more than you need milk at this point. A higher fat ratio in her feed will accomodate that. Lower protein levels will slow her milk production to let her store energy. Later, when she has regained her strength, you can elevate the protien levels and increase her milk production. Always feed only the best long stem hay money can buy in your area. Alfalfa is best, but any good leafy legume hay will suffice. Long fiber is necessary for rumen produced heat. Feed hay,free choice and buy a steer calf to feed her leftovers to. A beef breed steer will grow like crazy on good hay stubble. Win, Win. Also, make sure to worm her with Ivomec. She doesn't need any internal competition for her available nutrition intake. Make sure she has a variety of mineralized salt, free choice. She needs salt to ensure adequate water intake. Good Luck. Randy Henry(JaRaCo)

-- Randy Henry (JaRaCo) (JaRaCoRanch@aol.com), March 31, 2000.