Over weight Brahma

john in wa

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I bought this cow this spring she was nice and healthy when i bought her. i have had her out on grass and clover pasture all summer. i am wanting to breed her but am worried i have let her get to fat. her back has become flat and she has rolls above her tail and on her side. and has this nice waddle when she walks. what is the best way to put her on a diet? i am thinking about locking her up and only letting her out a few hours aday to graze. or putting her on grass hay till she looses some weight. what do you think. thanks
 

Imissmygirls

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Lock her up and find some first cutting grass hay to give her. No grain. She won't be happy but she still needs roughage on a regular basis throughout the day to keep the stomach working.
You have experienced what lush pasture can do and it's not good for older heifers. Extra weight at this time can lead to breeding problems.
 

jhm47

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You've got a very nice problem to have. Most people have the opposite problem, and it costs them many $$$ to correct it. In fact, I would say that you don't even have a problem. If you are planning to breed the heifer, go ahead. She most likely will breed just fine. With winter coming on, you are far ahead of the game. You have a heifer in good condition that will not need grain, and she can get by just fine on lower quality hay. After she calves, the so called "problem" will resolve itself as she nurses the calf.
 

WildRoseBeef

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Have you palpated her i.e. felt along her ribs and hooks and pins and tailhead? That is, if she'll let you...

I agree with JHM, you have a smaller problem with her than if she was too thin. He summed it up pretty well, right up to the point about her being ready for the winter and to raise a calf.
 

john in wa

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palpated? no dont even know what i would be feeling for? this is only my second year with cows. so i guess i would be kind of newbie when it comes to cows. what would i be feeling for? I have seen where people say its bad to breed over weight cows. that it can cause problems when they calf. and yes she will let me once i get a rope on her. she will even let me pick up her feet. and she loves to have her hump scratched. thanks
 

jhm47

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Are you planning to have her bred artificially? If so, the tech that does the job should be able to palpate her reproductive organs and see if there are any abnormalities. Otherwise, you could spend the big $ and have a vet do it. I am not sure what benefit you would get by doing this, other than seeing if she's open and ready to breed. Any AI technician that does any number of cows should be able to tell you all you'll need to know.
 

WildRoseBeef

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john in wa said:
palpated? no dont even know what i would be feeling for? this is only my second year with cows. so i guess i would be kind of newbie when it comes to cows. what would i be feeling for? I have seen where people say its bad to breed over weight cows. that it can cause problems when they calf. and yes she will let me once i get a rope on her. she will even let me pick up her feet. and she loves to have her hump scratched. thanks
In Body Condition Scoring, you have to feel for amount of fat cover on the ribs and on the hooks and pins on her right side. Using the flat of your hand, "massage" the rib cage to see if you can feel the ribs and how defined they are to your touch and palpating. Same thing with over her spine over her hips and the hooks and pins and tail head. I have it better described here: BCS of Cows

Once you have palpated her to see how much fat cover, you can score her accordingly. Better yet you can compare my guess to your score. My guess is that she is a 4.75 to a 5, which is indeed too fat. Keep in mind the breed differences between the pics on my page and your heifer. As a heifer she may have calving problems and won't give as much milk as she would be if she were in better condition. Her reproductive organs may also be compromised with the amount of fat in and on her, and you could have problems getting her bred. But I'm not going without saying it's not worth a try, but not without getting her checked by an AI tech to determine if she can be bred or not.
 

john in wa

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thanks for the link. i would agree with the 4.75 to 5 score. the pics i posted just dont show the fat rolls on this girl. i think i will just let her go till winter and see if she dont drop some weight as soon as the pasture is gone. the irrigation goes off oct 15th. so in about a month or a month in a half the pasture will be gone and ill be feeding hay. then i will pull her out by her self so i feed the others with out her butting in. thanks again
 

WildRoseBeef

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Good thinking. She's probably one of the ones at the top of the pecking order, which explains why she's like she is.

Give her lower quality forage, no grain or supplements (just mineral, like all animals need) to help get her weight down. Fat cows or heifers tend to eat less anyway because they don't need as much energy as thin cows/heifers, which goes to show you they don't need extra supplementation in the winter like I mentioned.

Your welcome and good luck with her!
 

chickenzoo

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I wonder if you could use a grazing muzzle like the do one horses?
 
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