Age and weight

[OwnedByTheCow]

My cow is 6 months old and 450 pounds. She is a Holstein but my mom says she is too skinny but is 450 a good weight for her?
I feed her Barnyard basics sweet feed 2 pounds twice a day.

 

[dun]

A dairy calf/cow is always going to look skinny, they aren;t bred for meat. At 6 mnths I would like to see some fat in the brisket. 450 at 6 months does seem a little light to me for a Holstein. But we never weighed Holsteins at weaning.

 

[OwnedByTheCow]

 

[regolith]

She's okay. According to my farm notebook dairy heifers should be 30% of their mature weight at six months old.
Now the last group I raised were well ahead of that target & usually are. At nine months they were 20% above the target weight - that 10 - 20% above is a good goal to aim for
It's difficult to describe appropriate condition because they are adolescents - they can suddenly get leggy and look awful for a while as they approach a year old. But ideally I like mine to look like 'mini-cows' from about four months old on, well-rounded across the hip bones and rump, and with good frames because that's one of the first indicators of underfeeding as they can still look fat but they don't grow bone as they should.
Regular weighing helps monitor whether they're being fed right. As I don't weigh mine at home, I focus on good feeding combined with close observation so that I pick out any that aren't thriving before they get stunted.

From the target liveweight guidelines, percent of mature weight: 3 months 18%, 6 months 30%, 9 months 40% 12 months 50% 15 months 60% 18 months 73% 22 months (7 months pregnant) 90%
Treat the target weight as a MINIMUM and around 10% above is good... that means she should be 100% of her mature (at five years old) weight just before calving but will lose the weight of the calf and fluids the next day.

 

[chippie]

Your heifer is a good weight. Like dun said, a dairy cow will always appear to be skinny. When she is milking, she will turn her energy into making milk, not making meat. One thing though, you don't want to get her fat (which is possible). If a heifer gets fat and deposits the fat in her udder, she will not be a good producer. Once fat gets in the udder, it is very hard to get rid of it.

I won't comment on her weight because I don't know how tall she is. I've seen some Holsteins that are on the smaller side.

What is the protein percentage of your feed and what are the ingredients? As she grows, you may need to increase the amount of feed that you are giving her unless she is on good pasture or good hay 24/7. Forage -- good grass and good quality hay is very important for a dairy cow. A cow's digestive system is geared for it.

She looks like she is thriving. You are doing a good job with her.

 

[OwnedByTheCow]

Thanks, she'll be a lifer at my house.