Clipping Heifers to improve health and appetite

[cowdoc1973]

Hello,
I am a Dairy farmer located just east of Fargo, ND. My nutritionist is advising me to body clip my first calf heifers. They are housed in freestall barns (same temperature inside as out less the wind chill). His reccommendation is as follows:

It is quite common for guys raising show heifers to clip show heifers in the winter all over their bodies to keep them eating well. Say what you want about the show dogs, but they do understand animal welfare. Clipping commercial heifers makes sense too for the same reason

Do you northerners really do this? (I moved here this fall from Kentucky?)

Appreciate your insights on this reccomendation.

Thank You

 

[ZNT]

We like to body clip all of our show calves in early spring if we are planning on showing them in the summer.  It is a similar philosophy of keeping the cattle cooler to improve gains, but also to get the shedding process over and work on new hair instead of old hair.  We are in Texas, and summer can only be a couple weeks away for us, as soon as we get done with this ice and snow.

We also completely believe in shearing cows in the spring time for the same reason.  By taking off the winter coat, you are able to avoid that difficult time where the weather warms up significantly, but the hair has not shed on its own.  I know what your temps are in ND right now, so I would probably hold off until around May if you choose to do this.  Shivering can burn a lot of calories versus the calorie intake you gain by shearing them.

 

[ROMAX]

If your dairy heifers were in a tie stall type barn that is very warm I would say go for it,i clip lots of cows in this scenario for barn tours,but as far as a freestall I would not as it is usually cooler even without the wind.Wait and see what the weather in March or April is.

 

[DakotaCow]

We are located just west of Fargo and i can tell you that as of now " he wrong". Who does your nutrition work?