Except for a few late calvers that joined the autumn milkers, Harold Kingston chose the select all function and dried off the last of the spring herd last weekend.
The same as I had done with all the other bunches, I put them back out to clean up the last paddock grazed. With the weather turning, though, they were housed last Monday 12 December. The spring calves had one more paddock left in the rotation but they were housed too. Grazing 2016 has had a memorable extended finish after a spring I definitely want to forget.
The bonus extra two weeks means it is only now that I can properly organise the various groups into their correct winter accommodation and diets. There is a slatted unit on one rented block where the young stock are grazed. For ease of feeding I decided to bring home the yearlings and put dry cows in the rented shed. The trailer was full in both directions on most trips. These cows are all of at least a condition score of three so silage alone will be sufficient.
Condition
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Anything less than that are getting 2kg crimped wheat and soya bean meal. In two weeks I will reassess condition again. A cow will always lose condition after calving as yield ramps up quickly in the first six weeks. Full intake can take up to 12 weeks no matter how much fresh spring grass or ration is offered. I have seen where condition at calving is the difference between a cow going back in calf or not. These few kilos gained in the dry period can make this the best value ration of the year.
The salmonella vaccine is expensive but worth it as a new infection can spread so quickly
The cows have all got a white drench to reduce the worm and fluke burden after drying along with a salmonella vaccine. I vaccinate the herd in July every year but all those in calf for the spring get this booster. In extreme cases it causes abortions and dreadful scours. I have also seen calves with poor circulation to the tail and ears. A broken tail causes fewer problems than trying to keep tags in papery ears.
The salmonella vaccine is expensive but worth it as a new infection can spread so quickly. An animal sheds bacteria in its dung within a week of infection so it rarely stops at just one casualty. One disease I’m glad to have seen the back of.
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The same as I had done with all the other bunches, I put them back out to clean up the last paddock grazed. With the weather turning, though, they were housed last Monday 12 December. The spring calves had one more paddock left in the rotation but they were housed too. Grazing 2016 has had a memorable extended finish after a spring I definitely want to forget.
The bonus extra two weeks means it is only now that I can properly organise the various groups into their correct winter accommodation and diets. There is a slatted unit on one rented block where the young stock are grazed. For ease of feeding I decided to bring home the yearlings and put dry cows in the rented shed. The trailer was full in both directions on most trips. These cows are all of at least a condition score of three so silage alone will be sufficient.
Condition
Anything less than that are getting 2kg crimped wheat and soya bean meal. In two weeks I will reassess condition again. A cow will always lose condition after calving as yield ramps up quickly in the first six weeks. Full intake can take up to 12 weeks no matter how much fresh spring grass or ration is offered. I have seen where condition at calving is the difference between a cow going back in calf or not. These few kilos gained in the dry period can make this the best value ration of the year.
The salmonella vaccine is expensive but worth it as a new infection can spread so quickly
The cows have all got a white drench to reduce the worm and fluke burden after drying along with a salmonella vaccine. I vaccinate the herd in July every year but all those in calf for the spring get this booster. In extreme cases it causes abortions and dreadful scours. I have also seen calves with poor circulation to the tail and ears. A broken tail causes fewer problems than trying to keep tags in papery ears.
The salmonella vaccine is expensive but worth it as a new infection can spread so quickly. An animal sheds bacteria in its dung within a week of infection so it rarely stops at just one casualty. One disease I’m glad to have seen the back of.
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