Heifer won't eat with the others??

[EIEIO]

Right now I'm feeding all my replacement heifers a 2 pound per head mixture of range cubes and grain. They have plenty of trough space however one of them won't ever belly up to it and eat with the others. I started keeping back a bit yesterday and feeding her on her own as she just stands by where the mineral is at and watches the others eat.

She looks fine and I see her at the hay bales and eating the little bit of grass we still got left but by not consuming the extra feed the others are I'm afraid she won't be ready to breed when the rest of the herd is.

I also noticed on the tip of her head betweed her ears she has a bald spot so I'm assuming she is getting bullied around and that is why she is shy of the trough.

Guess my question is would you cull such a heifer or just let her be and see what kinda calf she has? She has a good temperment and don't get spooked by me or the dog, just shy when it comes to feed time. Like I said she looks good but is just not getting the "extra" feed the others are.

I got to go to the sale barn this week anyway so it won't be a big deal to take her along for the ride.

J

 

[randiliana]

How long has she been doing this? If they are freshly weaned, sometimes, the odd one will take a little longer to get onto feed. Some of them never seem to. It is possible that she is getting bullied by the others, and that could be why she doesn't come up for feed too. If that is the case, you could try to separate her from the rest, and maybe put a friend in with her (pick one that is not very aggressive) and try feeding her that way. If she has a friend that is onto the feed, but doesn't have to compete that may be all it takes to get her going.

Also, how much do you think she weighs, how old is she, and what breed is she and when do you plan to breed them?

 

[EIEIO]

She's been weaned since at least back in October and I bought her and another 24 in mid November and she has just began having the problem within the last few weeks. I really don't feel like the added work of keeping her seperate as there is enough to do around here.

She is in the 800 pound range if I'd have to guess (and I'm terrible at guessing weight) and will be bred right around the first part of June so we will have them begin calving around next March.

She is a Brangus and should be right at about a year old now.

J

 

[randiliana]

She's been weaned since at least back in October and I bought her and another 24 in mid November and she has just began having the problem within the last few weeks. I really don't feel like the added work of keeping her seperate as there is enough to do around here.

She is in the 800 pound range if I'd have to guess (and I'm terrible at guessing weight) and will be bred right around the first part of June so we will have them begin calving around next March.

She is a Brangus and should be right at about a year old now.

J

Is it possible that she is sick? I would have a close look at her, to see if her nose was fevered looking or if she looked depressed. Going off feed can be an indication of illness.

I can understand that, and if she has just gone off feed, then I probably wouldn't worry about separating her unless she were sick.

I know very little about Brangus cattle, so I am not sure what weight they need to be at for breeding, but if she is in the 800 lb range, then I would think that she is over that minimum. I know our british animals hit puberty at around 650 lbs. Plus, by June, even if she is just on hay, she will be heavier. As long as she isn't sick anyways. Hopefully someone with more experience about Brangus will step in here ;-)

 

[EIEIO]

She is eating hay and grass fine as well as any feed I give her away from the other heifers. She could be bred almost anytime now but due to me wanting to not start my calving season till next March I'm holding off breeding till June. 700 pounds would be the lightest weight I'd guess her at, got several others well over 800 pounds. Soon as the grass comes back on good I'll start cutting back on the feed but due to a sorry hay crop last year I felt the need for extra supplimentation.

This is also my first time with heifers. I've never even kept one of my own back till now. Have always bought bred back pairs in the past so this is all going to be a new experience for me.

J

 

[Frankie]

We bought a registered Angus heifer in late October. We didn't plan to buy her, but they couldn't get a bid and we wound up with her. She was very thin so we put her with some yearling bulls that were eating a bull developer ration. She smoothed out pretty good. When we sold the bulls, she was in the last trimester of the pregnancy so we put her with the other cows eating cottonseed cubes. She wouldn't eat. She'd just stand and watch. We thought she just didn't want to compete, but when we poured her some cubes on the ground, off by herself, she'd just smell of them and walk off. Finally, some of the calves found her pile of cubes and started eating them. That got her attention and she started eating, finally getting up to the trough with the big girls. I think she had never seen that sort of feed before.

She's calved now and we're feeding her the bull feed again. She looks bad, but raising a nice 6I6 bull calf.

Have you tried to feed the heifer by herself, just to see if she'll eat that feed?

 

[TR]

I have one like that. She's not as pushy as the others, and will either wait until they're finished and miss out, or go out to grass while the others are eating. She's also the lightest one of the bunch, so like you, I would really appreciate her eating when she's supposed to. I ended up just keeping out a 2 in 1, 13.5% protein range meal for them all, so she can sneak in when the others aren't there, and when I feed cubes, I'll pour some in the bunk, then some in little piles in the grass in the pen. That way, she can either eat at the piles unmolested, or if the bigger, older cows want the piles, she can sneak up to the bunk with her sisters. Trick is to put out one or two more piles than there are cows..... ;-) Actually, I brought in a weanling heifer, and now that she's not at the bottom of the pecking order anymore, she's gotten braver and will push in. Being one step up in the order has done wonders for her confidence.

 

[backhoeboogie]

That is frustrating and it will continue. I would consider parting ways with her if she is not an outstanding animal. She will always tend to be submissive and on bottom of the pecking order because of it.

I am about to part ways with a cow that is just the opposite. She shoved a 5 month steer through a barbed wire fence today. She wants her own private feed trough, then decides to try the others and runs through any cow/calf in her way.

 

[Susie David]

Got to agree with Backhoe...she'll always be at the bottom of the pecking order, even the calves will push her around when they learn the order.
Have a little horned herf heifer that takes it from all the cows but has learned that when she puts her horns down they back off a bit, unfortunately she still takes it in the side and rump. We feed in three bunks so she doesn't have a problem finding groceries. DMc

 

[EIEIO]

Thanks for the replies.

The heifer is nothing spectacular but still she is about a good a looking heifer as any in the herd and I'd kinda like to see what kind of mama she is going to be.

Don't know if my line of thinking is flawed or not but feel like there is always going to be 1 or 2 cows at the bottom of the pecking order, least that is how it is with my cows so I figure the heifers will be the same way.

These last few days I've just kept her back some range cubes and grain and given her them when the others are all at the bunks. I may go ahead and get another bunk even though there is plenty of space now just to make it even easier for her to find a spot to eat at plus another bunk will come in handy one day I'm sure.

Thanks again,

J

 

[dun]

I may go ahead and get another bunk even though there is plenty of space now just to make it even easier for her to find a spot to eat at plus another bunk will come in handy one day I'm sure.

Thanks again,

J

Good idea, they sure won;t be any cheaper in the future. We have more than adequate bunk space and most of the cows race through the feed and crawd around each feeder in turn. The shyest one then goes up and vacuums the feeders that the others have finished. Since we're only feeding maybe a handfull or 2 per head I'm sure she's getting as much as the others.

dun