shrinking back a cow to be flushed

We have a cow that want to flush next year she went open over last winter and is WAY TOO FAT.our embrologist told us to lock her in a dry lot and give her nothing but minerals and first cutting hay.how much hay should i give her should i put a round bale with her or just give her a few flakes from a square bale a day whats your oponions

Ttt

Well I guess it really depends on how long you intend to leave her shut up, but I would personally just stick a first cutting round bale in with her! That should shrink her back without shocking her system to much.

If your donor is THAT fat, a round bale of hay will blow her out of the water -- she will finish like a fat steer ina feed lot!

We had some cows come to us many years ago that had not calved in three years -- they were BBQ ready if ya know what I mean! hehehe

The guy said he didn't want to flush them till fall, and asked that I just take care of them for him till then, and get them in shape to flush.

For the next 30 days -- here is what we did - Salt, Mineral, Water -- and NO more than 10 pounds of grass hay a day -- period!

The first few days they act like they are going to die -- bellow all the time, then the rumen starts to shrink, and they are actually happy and chewing thier cuds. It takes several weeks to really see the difference, then it starts to come off like crazy. After about 30 days, slowly start them back up again to about 25-30 pounds, and they level out and start cycling again.

Those cows had not produced a good egg in 4 years, and the first flush thereafter they averaged over 100 good ones apiece. He wwas exstatic, and they did good several times more. FAT IS NOT YOUR FRIEND here -- trust me on that. We bred them back for spring calves and they all calved first service! End of story!

Good luck -- suck her up and get it off if she is that fat -- it makes a HUGE difference!

Terry

Forgot to mention she is also bred and thank you cowboy I was hoping you would respond

Guys, I may get alot of eggs here, but I just re-read my earlier post and saw that I had hit the zero button twice -- WOW -- 100 eggs apiece -- I don't think so !!!

They did average over 10 though, and did it three times, so it works.

Her being bred might make it a little tuffer to get it off, as they seem to be the easier keepers when they are pregnant! Take it easy on her, it might be easier to do after she calves, but till then, just maintain her -- she for sure does not need to gain from here on!

Good luck -- Terry

Cowboy I was getting ready to ship a few donors to Nebraska if you were throwing 100 embryos a flush  .

I agree with him totally, just went and helped some neighbors setup a heifer they have been showing, they have been laying the feed to her.....First flush....6 eggs....one good one....

Good luck with her!