Managing Timid Cows ?

[Stocker Steve]

We provide a lot of space to feed but some cows still get chased around.
I have one young cow, who does not have a lot of capacity, that got really thin this winter. I thought she might be sick :( so I corralled her. She ate like a horse and looked much better in a week.
Would you cull her in the fall or is there a better way to manage situations like this?

 

[M.Magis]

Guess it depends on how much time and/or space you have. I don’t have much extra of either, so anything that might cause me extra work is managed with a trailer ride.

 

[dun]

Separated with other timid cows or give her a ride

 

[Muddy]

Timid cows here get culled.

 

[TCRanch]

I have a couple cows that get pushed around when we feed but they've figured out when we're at the barnyard & where we live (I also keep cubes at the house); they'll slip away from the herd & get their own private feast. Spoiled? Yes. Smart? Yes. Do they raise great calves? Yes. Easy to handle? Yes. It works for me - and the timid ones.

 

[Ky hills]

I have had a few timid cows, as has been said I try to spread the feed out in enough troughs so they can all eat. At times some have still not ate with the others, I try to feed them in another location for a while. They seem to get over it after a while and blend in eventually.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I have a couple cows that get pushed around when we feed but they've figured out when we're at the barnyard & where we live (I also keep cubes at the house); they'll slip away from the herd & get their own private feast. Spoiled? Yes. Smart? Yes. Do they raise great calves? Yes. Easy to handle? Yes. It works for me - and the timid ones.

I like your style!

 

[TCRanch]

I have a couple cows that get pushed around when we feed but they've figured out when we're at the barnyard & where we live (I also keep cubes at the house); they'll slip away from the herd & get their own private feast. Spoiled? Yes. Smart? Yes. Do they raise great calves? Yes. Easy to handle? Yes. It works for me - and the timid ones.

I like your style!

My Funny Valentine (answers to Val), patiently waiting & softly mooing along the fence facing our garage. Love her!

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

She's a beauty.

 

[Stocker Steve]

This one totally changed in looks after a week in a separate pen. Really docile... Hard to trailer this one.

 

[TCRanch]

How old is she, Steve? I agree with Ky Hills, they usually get over it once they get older & have more status in the herd. I'd hate to see you trailer a good cow.

And thanks, TT. This pic was last Oct, right before weaning & she was a first calf heifer. Raised a whopper!

 

[Aaron]

Can't say I have ever had a cow that was so timid that she lost weight. More than likely die in the winter here if it ever happened. No shortage of feed, and lots of feeders, so cows always have ample space. If a cow has to be segregated by herself to eat properly, she can do that in the pen at the salesbarn.

 

[Stocker Steve]

She is four years old.
I think a larger put together herd is going to have more dominance issues.

 

[TCRanch]

She is four years old.
I think a larger put together herd is going to have more dominance issues.

I agree & it seems like the majority of fighting occurs among the younger cows. We keep our retained heifers in a separate pasture & will occasionally move an older or timid cow with them - if that's even an option in your operation.

 

[skyhightree1]

My kids have a heifer named jill that is very timid and when im feeding others grain she waits away from the herd to eat if they leave anything I started feeding the herd shes with a lot in the trough and then feeding her away from the others where her and small calves can eat in peace till the other fattys eat up all the feed then come over there to where she is but by that time shes got a good belly full.

 

[LauraleesFarm]

The thing about a pecking order is that it is always changing.

The timid cow this year will be the one cracking the others ribs next year.

Boss cow has a calf and the whole hierarchy can shift. Timid heifer comes into heat and gets bred and now she thinks she owns the place. It always works itself out.

If I have a timid type that is milking hard and raising a big calf I will give them a private feast sometimes. But not as a rule.