In order to achieve the maximum return on your investment, it is important that it is introduced at the correct time, fed at the right level and to the right type of animal.

Feeding the bull weaning

Feeding meals ad-lib for six to eight weeks prior to weaning is an option on farms where bulls are being sold post-weaning, especially if grass quality has been poor or milk supply limited and calves have gone a bit “hard” of themselves. When offered meals ad-lib, at six to seven month of age, a bull will consume between 3kg and 4kg per day – depending on the amount of grass available and the volume of milk from the mother. Over a six- to eight-week feeding period, the total level of meal consumed will be 120kg to 160kg per head.

At a price of €250/t, this equates to an investment of €30 to €40 per head. Assuming a conversion rate of 5:1 (eg 5kg of meal to 1kg of liveweight gain), this €30 to €40 investment will increase weaning weight by 25kg to 35kg. Where you are feeding good-quality bulls suitable for export or the top end of the domestic market, each kilogramme of liveweight is worth between €2.60/kg and €2.80/kg. Therefore, your additional 25kg to 35kg is worth €70 to €91 per head. Not a bad return on your investment.

Cons of ad-lib system

Where the ad-lib system falls down is where you have poorer-quality stock and where you are feeding meals for longer than the six- to eight-week period. The longer the creep feeder is in with the calves, the more meal they will eat per day. Also, while the good-quality muscular bulls will continue to develop muscle, the plainer calves will start to lay down fat – neither the export trade nor the domestic trade want fat weanlings.

Where you have poorer-quality bulls, the economics of feeding more than 1-2kg of meal per day are questionable

To put further pressure on the economics of feeding the plainer calves high levels of meal, each additional kilogramme of liveweight gain they achieve will only be worth €2.20/kg to €2.50/kg, or 30c/kg to 40c/kg less than the better-quality animals. Where you have poorer-quality bulls, the economics of feeding more than 1-2kg of meal per day are questionable. The additional fat cover will probably help the plainer calves sell. However, with meal prices at €250/t, it will be coming at a considerable cost. Long-term, your money would be better spent culling the cows producing the poor-quality calves and buying better-quality replacements.

Avoid over-feeding

While there may be a return from supplementing top-quality bulls at this stage of the year when energy levels are decreasing in the grass, it is important not to over-feed weanlings.

Most weanling buyers prefer weanlings that have been weaned correctly and supplemented with meal as this allows them to continue meal feeding for a short period after sale. This ensures the weanlings’ energy intake remains high and keeps them settled, helping them acclimatise to the new farm.

However, in recent years weanling buyers have preferred calves that are eating concentrates, but not overly pushed on meal. In some cases, lighter calves that are visibly soft and fat from too much concentrate supplementation can be met with less buyer activity and prices can be affected by 10-20c/kg in some cases.

Figures based on meal prices at €250/t at current live cattle prices based on MartWatch figures

Read Part two of this article tomorrow on www.farmersjournal.ie as our special series on weanlings continues

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