Simi Hair Coats ?

[Stocker Steve]

I have a group of open heifers on pasture and good mineral that are either simi x angus or herf x angus wf. Most of the simi angus have a rough red tinged hair coat. The wf are shiny and slick. Considering Multi Min, or moving away from high maintenance simi genetics. Any tips here?

 

[talltimber]

None from me. I have a set of angus/angus cross yearlings on fescue/clover/wsg that are as hairy as any I"ve had. Fall calves. Three rounds of shots, wormed three times, good mineral

 

[Stocker Steve]

Maybe I need tall fescue?

 

[Bright Raven]

I have Simmi and Simangus. They are slick as moles. The pasture is very mixed with tons of clover.

 

[Aaron]

I have a group of open heifers on pasture and good mineral that are either simi x angus or herf x angus wf. Most of the simi angus have a rough red tinged hair coat. The wf are shiny and slick. Considering Multi Min, or moving away from high maintenance simi genetics. Any tips here?

Focus on what is making or costing you money and quit worrying about aesthetics. If your real concerned, do a blood serum test and see if anything is really lacking. Last one I did said Cal and Mag was just slightly below acceptable range and that was on a shelled out cow that was at death's door. She has since recovered.

 

[talltimber]

Maybe I need tall fescue?

If my post was ambiguous I apologize. You don't need tall fescue if your calves are hairy like mine. Maybe you do if you're in hills to where nothing will hold it together like fescue will due to erosion or droughty slopes. Otherwise I wouldn't be thinking about fescue at all.

I have some cows with a little sim in them that are slick on fescue pasture that was wormed using injectable in the spring. I have some open/bred hopefully spring hfrs that was wormed in the spring with Longrange. They are hairy as the yearlings.

Who knows, maybe just one of those mysteries we will never figure out? I have a hard time thinking they are short of anything. They are regularly consuming Purina mineral, hi mag fly, I add a, d, and e vitamin supp to it myself. I don't think it's the mineral. I think it's the fescue, but can't make sense of why cows are slick and hfrs and calves are not.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I see better hair coats when there is a lot of legume in the pasture, but obviously there are other factors.

How would one get the most benefit from a blood serum test?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I have PB Simmentals, some are shiny slick, some are still hairy. Go figure. I have never been able to put a reason for some not shedding out as nicely as others. Of course, unlike most of you, we are just getting our "summer" weather.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I have PB Simmentals, some are shiny slick, some are still hairy. Go figure. I have never been able to put a reason for some not shedding out as nicely as others. Of course, unlike most of you, we are just getting our "summer" weather.

Seems to be a correlation with growth rate.
Faster growing/bigger heifers here tend to have poorer hair.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/drovers/fe ... 69279.html I remember reading something about this a few years ago on char.cattle...not so much high maintenance, just different maintenance...

 

[Stocker Steve]

Good article. I rely on rechoice mineral so I am sure there is a wide range of intake between different animals.