With all cattle now settled into their housing for the winter, it’s time to get on top of any health issues that they may be carrying from the grazing season. The breeding heifers have been housed for about a month now, while the cows and calves have been inside for three weeks.

Calves still have access to fields around the sheds during the day for grazing. Even with the cold nights this week, I’ve noticed the calves are tending to stay outside at night time also. This is breaking the bond between cow and calf and cows are showing very strong signs when in heat.

Parasite treatment

Liver fluke, rumen fluke, worms and lice are the parasites top of the agenda this time of year and if not treated will result in problems further down the line. The first thing I do when housing the cattle is treat all animals for lice. My next step is to take dung samples to find out exactly what parasites are present. The results from dung samples taken to date on the breeding heifers show no issues with liver fluke or the various worm types.

Rumen fluke has been identified, which is a regular occurrence in the last few samples tested. I have been taking samples the last number of years and I find it a great help in planning my dosing strategy. Firstly, it proves that my summer dosing strategy has got rid of any worm burden present and secondly, it means I can target the correct treatment at the relevant animals. Based on the test results, the heifers have now been treated with a product containing oxyclozanide.

I have signed up to a research project with Teagasc who are going to test herds for the presence of liver fluke. Once I get the results from this test, I will decide on a treatment plan for the cows. The only treatment any cows have received so far is for lice, while I have used a pouron for worms on first calvers.

Weighing autumn calves

The autumn calves were also weighed during the week. To date, the bulls are averaging 1.2kg per day since birth and heifers are averaging 1.1kg. However, it is clear that calves from first calved cows are not gaining as much weight as calves from the older cows. To combat this, the younger cows have been grouped together in one pen and I am starting to feed them 2kg of meal per day.

I have sent the silage for testing and will decide whether or not to offer meal to all the cows based on these results. In previous years I have fed 1kg of meal per day to all cows until they are settled back in calf. I am hoping that this year, having cut the silage earlier, that I have made better quality silage. If that is the case, I will offer some meal directly to the calves rather than meal to the entire herd of cows.

Testing, dosing, measuring and feeding is all in a week's work down on the farm!