assistance please

[sporder]

have a hereford heifer which is about 7 months preg. how do you know when she is getting to fat in terms of eating too much. i have read that its best for them to lose a little condition before calving. the heifer in question looks bloated on both sides but the others are more on one side. does anyone have any pics or links the show what a fat cow looks like.

 

[dun]

She shouldn;t be loosing conditon in the last months before calving but she shouldn;t be putting on a lot of weight either. I want heifers in a minimum of a BCS of 6, 6.5 is better.
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/beef/as1026w.htm

 

[LoveMoo11]

You want her in good condition, but you don't want her too fat or she may have trouble calving. Too skinny and she probably isn't getting the nutrition she needs to grow and care for the calf. You will know if she is too fat-look for fatty pins, hooks, and tailhead, they should be discernible but not soft. The gut isn't always the best indicator.

 

[cypressfarms]

have a hereford heifer which is about 7 months preg. how do you know when she is getting to fat in terms of eating too much. i have read that its best for them to lose a little condition before calving. the heifer in question looks bloated on both sides but the others are more on one side. does anyone have any pics or links the show what a fat cow looks like.

What is she eating? If you have this heifer on a high grain/feed regiment, then yes she could possibly become "too fat", but I use that term loosely. Precisely why I don't like to feed, and let mother nature take care of those things. Do you know what type bull and it's birthweight (Epd's)? Hopefully she'll spit it out and go back to eating. The advantage to having "healthy" heifers at birth, is that it's easier for them to cycle back quicker since they have fat stored away to use.

Good luck.