Are milk cows supposed to be this skinny?

[formergothardite]

tothelastditch.com/

We haven't discussed this guy in a long time, but he is the young fundie guy who wrote about how slavery was wonderful because he saw a gravestone that said the slave buried there was much loved. That proves, of course, that all the bad things written about slavery is just liberal propaganda. :roll:

But looking at his latest post about his cows, the very last picture is of a girl milking a cow and it looks skinny to me. All the cows around here are way fatter than that, but I thought I would ask the wise Free Jingerians if it is healthy for milk cows to be that skinny or if this was another case of fundies neglecting their animals.

[debrand]

The only milk cows that I've seen close up were a herd of Dexters. Those cows were more meaty but Dexters are also a sturdy breed. I don't know if they compare to the breed of cows that tothelastditch owns.

[MaroonMandy]

Yeah....she's pretty skinny. Some of the cattle around here look like that, but we also live in a desert, are in the middle of an extreme drought and the area was ravaged by fires last year. It looks like his cows have plenty of green grass to eat though.

If she just calved and is feeding the baby and being milked it could take a toll on her body too.

[StarrieEyedKat]

I know next to nothing about cows, but I don't think you're supposed to be able to count their ribs... :(

[donks]

She's a little thin.

A milk cow is generally thinner-looking than a breed of cow used for meat-more angular.

Maybe she just calved? Still a bit thin-if she were mine I'd put lots of hay in front of her as well as a bucket of good feed with Calf Manna as a supplement.

I certainly wouldn't expect her to produce milk for my family as well as a calf.

[bellamonster04]

I'm no expert on cattle but I do live around many farms and see cows often. The only cow I have ever seen that looked nearly that skinny was a very ill cow who was not eating enough to maintain a healthy weight. :(

[debrand]

Yeah....she's pretty skinny. Some of the cattle around here look like that, but we also live in a desert, are in the middle of an extreme drought and the area was ravaged by fires last year. It looks like his cows have plenty of green grass to eat though.

If she just calved and is feeding the baby and being milked it could take a toll on her body too.

This might sound like a stupid question but don't most people wean the cow from the mom and bottle feed it themselves?

[BelieveinScience]

Yeah....she's pretty skinny. Some of the cattle around here look like that, but we also live in a desert, are in the middle of an extreme drought and the area was ravaged by fires last year. It looks like his cows have plenty of green grass to eat though.

If she just calved and is feeding the baby and being milked it could take a toll on her body too.

Still she shouldn't be that skinny. That girl is easily a Body condition score 1 or 2 (also known as the category of if you startle them causing their heart rate to go up and they'll drop dead). I'd lean more towards a BCS of one based on that picture. Ideal is 5 or 6 after giving birth most cows drop down to 3 or 4(typically 4)

[BelieveinScience]

This might sound like a stupid question but don't most people wean the cow from the mom and bottle feed it themselves?

In dairy operations YES they indeed take the baby away its one of the biggest issues I have with the dairy industry.

[formergothardite]

I was just shocked when I saw it because she is so skinny. She looks like one of the cows rescued on those animal cops shows.

[MaroonMandy]

If it's a milking operation they may pull the calf off the get the milk and sell it, but these people don't have that kind of operation. We have beef cattle, but keep the calves on their moms as long as possible. Her milk is better for the calf than a powdered supplement.

And honestly, bottle feeding is a huge pain in the ass. You have to get up all hours of the night, boil water, mix the milk and walk to the barn to feed (at least that's what we do). Letting mom feed her baby is a lot easier on everyone as long as mom as healthy.

[BelieveinScience]

She's a little thin.

A milk cow is generally thinner-looking than a breed of cow used for meat-more angular.

Maybe she just calved? Still a bit thin-if she were mine I'd put lots of hay in front of her as well as a bucket of good feed with Calf Manna as a supplement.

I certainly wouldn't expect her to produce milk for my family as well as a calf.

Even if you take into account that shes a dairy cow vs a meat cow shes still looks like a BCS one or two which isnt good at all.

http://www.uaex.edu/other_Areas/Publications/PDF/FSA-4008.pdf

[MaroonMandy]

Still she shouldn't be that skinny. That girl is easily a Body condition score 1 or 2 (also known as the category of if you startle them causing their heart rate to go up and they'll drop dead). I'd lean more towards a BCS of one based on that picture. Ideal is 5 or 6 after giving birth most cows drop down to 3 or 4(typically 4)

I know. I'm just saying that all of those things combined are going to have an even more dramatic effect.

[geniebelle6901]

That one cow looked too skinny to milk. In my neck of the woods, farmers around here will go to auction and buy skinny cows at a cheap price. They put them out to pastur , have a vet visit & they fatten up quickly, once they have fattened up. Then they are auctioned off again and the original buyer makes a huge profit. This disgusts me in a way because no animal should be allowed to get skinny like that in the first place! I wish we had an SPCA around here to monitor these auctions. Our humane society is a joke....very long story.

[Third]

She's skinny and I cannot tell from the picture if her coat is shiny or not.

[BelieveinScience]

If it's a milking operation they may pull the calf off the get the milk and sell it, but these people don't have that kind of operation. We have beef cattle, but keep the calves on their moms as long as possible. Her milk is better for the calf than a powdered supplement.

And honestly, bottle feeding is a huge pain in the ass. You have to get up all hours of the night, boil water, mix the milk and walk to the barn to feed (at least that's what we do). Letting mom feed her baby is a lot easier on everyone as long as mom as healthy.

They automatic bottle feeders you can buy and I've heard dairy producers say they only feed the calves 2 or 3x a day so they don't even go and feed them in the middle of the night.

What breeds of cattle do you raise? I love Herefords and Simmentals :)

[BelieveinScience]

I know. I'm just saying that all of those things combined are going to have an even more dramatic effect.

If you look at the pics of the other cows/bulls a lot of those guys look on the skinnier side too (not like her but still), I'd be inclined to think a lot of it has to do with not enough feed or they aren't feeding the cows a proper diet.

[donks]

Even if you take into account that shes a dairy cow vs a meat cow shes still looks like a BCS one or two which isnt good at all.

http://www.uaex.edu/other_Areas/Publica ... A-4008.pdf

Exactly.

She needs lots of feed. I'd probably have the vet out to check her over if she were mine.

[formergothardite]

This is why I love Free Jinger. There is such a diverse amount of posters that you can ask about pretty much anything and get an answer.

Why do fundies neglect their animals so much? This guy doesn't seem to be poor, all the other animals look better fed, why couldn't they feed that poor milk cow more?

[PennySycamore]

Another thing that gets to me (besides the skinny cow being milked) is the picture of "happy cow" that will be sent to the slaughterhouse in a couple of months.

[MaroonMandy]

They automatic bottle feeders you can buy and I've heard dairy producers say they only feed the calves 2 or 3x a day so they don't even go and feed them in the middle of the night.

What breeds of cattle do you raise? I love Herefords and Simmentals :)

I would kill for an automatic feeder, but we only have to do one or two a year so it's not really worth the investment. We bottle feed, then switch to a bucket which is easier. We can just hang it on the fence and be done.

We have Herefords and in the last few years have been putting Brahman bulls on them. The little crossbred calves are so cute! They have coloring like the Herefords but floppy Brahman ears.

[superzsa]

So, honestly, this post makes me laugh a little.

The writer does say that he mismanaged the pasture rotations (did you read the post?) and the cows have parasites, which is a new problem for him that he's never encountered. In case you wonder about cows & parasites let me explain:

Cow & Parasites = skinny

p.s. I'm not saying that this guy is anything great. Just that I wouldn't be too concerned about the cow. If she gets too skinny, she'll stop producing milk. I promise.

[donks]

This is why I love Free Jinger. There is such a diverse amount of posters that you can ask about pretty much anything and get an answer.

Why do fundies neglect their animals so much? This guy doesn't seem to be poor, all the other animals look better fed, why couldn't they feed that poor milk cow more?

They also don't seem to believe in having the vet out when needed.

[kb2]

So, honestly, this post makes me laugh a little.

The writer does say that he mismanaged the pasture rotations (did you read the post?) and the cows have parasites, which is a new problem for him that he's never encountered. In case you wonder about cows & parasites let me explain:

Cow & Parasites = skinny

p.s. I'm not saying that this guy is anything great. Just that I wouldn't be too concerned about the cow. If she gets too skinny, she'll stop producing milk. I promise.

First, milk production will stop. Then, organs will start failing. NBD. No need to reverse starvation before that happens or anything.

ETA: Also, would consuming milk from a cow with parasites be safe? Seems icky.

[HOTW]

The guy doesn't know shit about parasites it's jot about them being on the pasture long enough to catch hen but off the pasture long enough they die without a host ! Putting cows on loads of fresh grass can upset their digestive system

And then using part of anrecipe from polyface farmse without understanding thenreasons they use it as part of ansupplement recipe is stupid. Unless you know what you are doing don't change recipes!

Then henadmits to leaving the cOws on pasture for months at a time he has just destroyed all the good of rotational grazing! The cOw Is thin and I bet they De not giving her any hey tohelp withthe probable upset from too much grass at once, and not getting rid of anparasite load you know is there is dumb. She also loos young Probably her first freshening. Also who knows what type of protein the hay was if it was pod hay they were feeding that can q count for pod condition the feeders all look pretty decent but that jersey needs some

Condition if they expect her to keep producing.

L