Winter has well and truly arrived. According to the rain gauge, we have received over four inches of rain here in Mayo in the last 10 days. That, coupled with thunder, lightning and gusts of arctic air, is making life quite unpleasant for any stock still out.

Just before the weather turned for the worse, I housed the heaviest 10 heifer weanlings and any of the remaining bulls that are now over 400kg to reduce the risk of soil damage. The heifers inside are getting a kilo of meal/day and the bulls are getting 4kg/day to keep them moving. They are all getting 73 DMD baled silage ad lib. I may cut out the meal to the strong heifers as soon as they are settled in, as hopefully they’ll be heading out early to grass again in spring and will benefit from some compensatory growth.

The lightest weanlings that are still outdoors have up to a fortnight’s grass ahead of them now that the bigger ones have been housed. They are getting 2kg to keep them thriving now that the dry matter of grass has dropped. They’ll be squeezed into the sheds early in the New Year.

A couple of years ago when the second slatted shed was finally finished, I was quite sure it would be a long time before I’d be caught for shed space again. However, improved grassland management has allowed for a much higher stocking rate on the farm and all winter housing is once again filled to capacity.

It’s hard to believe how fast the second half of the year has flown by after the drudgery of last spring.

The first bit of preparation for the next year’s breeding season has already started. The strongest of the weanling heifers that are suitable for breeding have been given their first course of BVD and lepto vaccinations. They will get a booster shot in a few weeks’ time, as will any cows that have calved by then so that they’ll be ready for the planned start of breeding in mid February.

Calving is going very well; thankfully I haven’t had to leave a hand on a cow yet. The cows are in an ideal body condition score of 2.5 – 3 which really seems to help. The calves are hardy and lively right from birth.

Fluke

The results of the faecal samples that were taken to test for liver and rumen fluke have come back with some not so welcome news. The samples from the weanlings all came back with high readings for rumen fluke which was not something that I was expecting as we had very little flooding this year. They have now all been dosed with a product containing oxyclozanide - the only flukacide effective against rumen fluke.

The samples taken from the cows only showed low readings for rumen fluke. They’re not showing any clinical signs like pine or scour so I’m not going to bother treating them. They won’t have picked up any new infection since they were housed. The results for liver fluke levels were more encouraging, with no traces of fluke showing up in any stock that were already treated which shows that the dose was 100% effective.

The farm passed a Bord Bia inspection last week and has been given quality assured status for another 18 months. Quality assurance is now essential if selling in spec stock to the factory. At 12c/kg, the bonus is too much to forego for the bit of paperwork involved - it’s a pity the bonus is not available on lamb too.

Unlike Gerald Potterton, I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoy this time of year, except maybe for the commercial side of it. It’s a great chance to catch up with friends and family. Last weekend my siblings and cousins that are overseas all arrived home for the holidays. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.