rockridgecattle
Well-known member
So i was out taking pics yesterday, got cold hands and feed I decided to walk home. Hubby was still feeding. On my little journey i tripped over a frozen pile and thought..."I need a picture of that!"... I think i need a life.
Any how, since i was not happy with what i saw, i went on a poop hunt. I was looking for a decent proper poop pile. It was difficult to find. I was not surprises in how hard it was to find, but it was disappointing. Not surprised due to the quality of our hay because of the harsh haying season.
Poop can tell us alot about how our cows are digesting what they are being fed. Too much or too little protien or fibre.
I think our cows right now are ok. The winter has not been harsh so they have not had to tap into their reserves too much. However the harshes part of our winter is coming. January is known for being really cold and feb can go either cold or stormy. This can reduce their back fat quickly if they do not have the protien they need. Added to the weather is the next 6 months when the most is expected from our cows. They are entering the last trimester, where the unborn calf grows the most, expected to keep condition, building quality colostrum, calve, have a healthy and raring to go calf, produce milk to raise that calf, and get ready for re breeding in June and July.
Feed tests are the best way to understand what is being fed. I mean just cause hay looks nice and green does not mean it has any feed value. We are still waiting on our test results so we have to rely on what is being dumped on the ground to give part of the picture of how they are doing.
We are all cattle producers and see it every day, but what can it tell us....
This picture tells alot. It is dense, hard, and can trip up any farmer who is not watching where she is going due to it's frozen nature.
This picture tells me too much fibre. I can knock dehydration off my list because i know they all come home for water at least 2x a day. And when they come home, in the morning, they all come home. Plus, since the field is littered with this type of poop, I know that the whole herd can not be dehydrated. As well, since the majority of the herd is like this, I can surmise it's not just the pecked cow who is crapping this way. Pecked cows, or the low on the totem pole cows get the scraps. There are always some, and they would need to be watched that they stay in condition. Some of the bottom dwellers might include soon to be second calvers and maybe an older cow which got knocked down by a younger cow.
The next two pictures took alot of hunting to find. They are not perfect piles but they show some promise. It means the fibre to protien ration meaning the TDN is near the right mark. They are getting more from the feed. These piles since they are so far and few, might be from the older boss cows. They are at the top of the pecking order and get the best food.
I can not believe I sunk so low and just talked poop. Hopefully it can help some newbies to identify some problems that could occur in their herds. I dunno how much feed back this thread will generate, but comments welcome....as always And at the very least a good chuckle at the image of RR falling off her rocker!
Any how, since i was not happy with what i saw, i went on a poop hunt. I was looking for a decent proper poop pile. It was difficult to find. I was not surprises in how hard it was to find, but it was disappointing. Not surprised due to the quality of our hay because of the harsh haying season.
Poop can tell us alot about how our cows are digesting what they are being fed. Too much or too little protien or fibre.
I think our cows right now are ok. The winter has not been harsh so they have not had to tap into their reserves too much. However the harshes part of our winter is coming. January is known for being really cold and feb can go either cold or stormy. This can reduce their back fat quickly if they do not have the protien they need. Added to the weather is the next 6 months when the most is expected from our cows. They are entering the last trimester, where the unborn calf grows the most, expected to keep condition, building quality colostrum, calve, have a healthy and raring to go calf, produce milk to raise that calf, and get ready for re breeding in June and July.
Feed tests are the best way to understand what is being fed. I mean just cause hay looks nice and green does not mean it has any feed value. We are still waiting on our test results so we have to rely on what is being dumped on the ground to give part of the picture of how they are doing.
We are all cattle producers and see it every day, but what can it tell us....
This picture tells alot. It is dense, hard, and can trip up any farmer who is not watching where she is going due to it's frozen nature.
This picture tells me too much fibre. I can knock dehydration off my list because i know they all come home for water at least 2x a day. And when they come home, in the morning, they all come home. Plus, since the field is littered with this type of poop, I know that the whole herd can not be dehydrated. As well, since the majority of the herd is like this, I can surmise it's not just the pecked cow who is crapping this way. Pecked cows, or the low on the totem pole cows get the scraps. There are always some, and they would need to be watched that they stay in condition. Some of the bottom dwellers might include soon to be second calvers and maybe an older cow which got knocked down by a younger cow.
The next two pictures took alot of hunting to find. They are not perfect piles but they show some promise. It means the fibre to protien ration meaning the TDN is near the right mark. They are getting more from the feed. These piles since they are so far and few, might be from the older boss cows. They are at the top of the pecking order and get the best food.
I can not believe I sunk so low and just talked poop. Hopefully it can help some newbies to identify some problems that could occur in their herds. I dunno how much feed back this thread will generate, but comments welcome....as always
And at the very least a good chuckle at the image of RR falling off her rocker!
