It has been a great year for suckling calves, with most farmers reporting well over 1kg of weight gain daily. The trick now is to keep this going to weaning and beyond.
Although two-thirds of a calf’s pre-weaning weight gain comes from milk, from the age of 200 days onwards 75% of their intake will be solid feed. This is due to both declining cow milk yields and the development of the calf’s ability and tendency to graze properly.
Creep feeding meals represents a means to bridge the nutritional gap stemming from this reduction in milk production and keep calves growing fast. Though it will also help where grass is scarce or of poor quality, it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to relax grassland management.
The variation in milk production potential across the Irish suckler cow herd is stark. Calves under many beefy, terminal-type cows will be getting thirsty at this point, while milky dams can keep calves satisfied right up to weaning.
Cow type
Cow type should have a big bearing on the decision to creep feed or not. If there is milk in a herd and sale date is not imminent, letting calves creep forward into fresh grass will suffice provided sward quality is optimum. Raise the electric fence at a point such that calves are free to creep ahead.
Creep feeding also acts as a means to smoothen the weaning process. What causes illness around weaning is stressors. By minimising these we reduce our risks. There are many – the stress of separation from the cow, potential bad weather stressors, handling stress and nutritional stress.
We can reduce the impact of all of these via management and timing. Creep feeding can reduce both separation- and nutrition-based stress – potentially reducing any growth checks at weaning.
Given their low requirement for maintenance, young animals are extremely feed-efficient – expect a feed conversion ratio of 5:1, versus 10:1 in mature bullocks, when offering creep feed. This makes creep feeding a worthwhile exercise in the majority of cases, from a cost-of-gain point of view.
Preferred method
My preferred method of creep feeding is a conventional trough and calves creeping under a wire ahead of cows. Creep gates work very well for letting calves creep ahead too, though the obvious downside is that replicates are needed in a rotational grazing scenario.
Ensure gate settings are such that cows will not try to get through.
While ad-lib creep feeders have benefits from a labour point of view, big calves can gorge themselves, there are safety risks around refilling them, they can lead to poaching in fields and they can be difficult to move.
Rising a wire with a couple of horse temporary fence posts so that calves creep ahead will get them used to being away from cows, get them into the best grass possible and make feeding easier and safer. It will also allow the farmer assume full control of the feeding process – keeping an eye on how much is being consumed and whether all calves are eating.
Start animals off on 0.5kg each daily and gradually build to the levels outlined in Table 1, based on calf type, over 7-10 days. Feeding plainer quality stock too hard will lead to over fatness and reduced feed efficiency. Heavily muscled bulls and heifers can be offered 4kg and 3kg respectively. Export-quality stock can go to 4kg and 3kg respectively. In weanling calves, ad-lib feeding equates to around 4-5kg per head, so an ad-lib feeder might make the most sense here. Supplement for around four to six weeks pre-weaning.
Heifer and bull calves should be split up before creep feeding commences. Depending on target market, both groups may not need supplementation. For example, certain types of heifers can flesh up quickly with supplementation, which may discourage potential customers.
Also, weight and genetics are much greater influencers of puberty than age, so there is a risk of teenage pregnancies if bull and heifer calves are left run together right up to weaning.
If animals are slow to eat, there could be a number of reasons. If your cows are still well in their milk and grass is good underfoot you may find that initial interest in the meal is poor. Should this happen, remove the leftovers and top up again. Consider feeding slightly less, without dropping feeding rates by more than 0.5kg per head at one time.
If they go off feed after a few days/weeks of feeding, then they may have developed acidosis via a combination of the rapidly digestible concentrates and leafy, low dry matter grass. With acidosis, look for a lack of rumination (chewing the cud), scuttery dung with bubbles, abdominal kicking and rapid breathing.
Slow eating may also be down to the ration palatability. When introducing creep, we should ideally begin with a high-spec ration until calves are eating-up well and then move to a more basic three-/four-way mix – eg rolled barley, maize meal, soya bean, citrus pulp, to save costs. Keep feed fresh – calves will be extremely picky.
Be careful where you dispose of leftover meals – if cows get a sniff they will inevitably look for more and may try to get under an electric fence, through a creep gate or into an ad lib creep feeder.
DO
Allow calves creep forward into the best grass whether feeding or not.Divide heifers and bulls before feeding.Introduce meals four to five weeks pre-weaning.Consider using a high-spec ration to start and switch to a simpler feed when all calves are eating up.Introduce feed when calves are hungry.Start animals off on 0.5kg each.Be wary of animals when filling troughs.DON’T
Use creep feeding as an excuse for bad grass.Assume creep feeding alone will lead to successful weaning.Increase feeding rates too quickly.Feed non-export quality heifers ad-lib.Allow uneaten meals build up.Throw waste meals where cows can reach.What’s in a good creep feed?
>84% dry matter.15-17% crude protein.>0.93 UFL.<6% oil.<11% fibre.Cereals like barley, maize and wheat.High-quality protein products like soya bean meal and by-product sources like distillers or maize gluten.Palatability is crucial, molasses and pulps will help in this regard.Avoid feeds with significant amounts of fillers like palm kernel, sunflower meal and wheat feed or rapeseed meal.Prices of good-quality rations are ranging from €220/t in the east to €300/t in the northwest.Tullamore Farm – to creep or not to creep?
Adam Woods and Ciarán Lenehan debate whether or not to supplement the spring-2017 bull calves on Tullamore Farm, who will be finished as under-16-month bulls next May/June
Adam Woods – YES
By the time a calf is 6.5 months of age, 75% of its feed requirement should be met by grass or concentrates rather than milk. At this stage, a calf will convert feed more efficiently than at any other time in its life, so creep feeding to maximise weaning weights will be very cost-effective.
Weaning weights could potentially be increased by around 25kg.Lowers the weaning check through less stress from weaning – familiarise the calves to a different feed and will also reduce pneumonia occurrence through reduced stress. Efficient feed conversion ration – 4-5kg creep can provide 1kg gain.The clock is always ticking in an under-16-month system and there is no room for days not thriving and putting on weight. To hit targets, these bulls need to put on 1.35kg/day from birth to slaughter. Weaning is an area where liveweight gains can drop and throw you off target.
Weaning is a stressful time for the suckled calf as not only does it lose the comfort of being with its mother, but it also loses a source of nutrients – milk. Supplying creep feed before weaning can help smooth the transition, and the extra source of nutrients can compensate for the reduction in milk yield as lactation progresses. When there is less stress at weaning, there is a reduced incidence of pneumonia. Larger calves will also be less prone to disease. A further advantage of creep feeding is the weaning check is reduced because the calf is familiar with concentrate feed and rumen microbes are adapted for a change of diet.
Ciarán Lenehan – NO
While there is no doubt that we would get a response to supplementary concentrates, I don’t see it as necessary. The fact is that our calves are ahead of target for an under-16-month bull system. At this point, the majority of the nutrition going into calves is coming from grazed grass. Farm manager Ger O’Dwyer has maintained good quality in our swards in what was a difficult year for keeping stem at bay.
For some time now, calves have been creeping under the electric fences ahead of cows and getting the pick of the very best material on offer – no doubt a big contributor to their growth rates (1.3kg from birth). They’ll continue to do so up to weaning and then be given the best new swards to graze after.
OK, liveweight gains might come back a bit, but I would be confident that they’ll still be growing in excess of 1kg daily, provided they stay healthy and the weather is kind. Given the fact that Tullamore Farm is a one-man show, giving Ger another job that is arguably unnecessary is a no-no for me.
If we were selling live and wanted to “warm up” animals to look their best in the ring, I would be saying to feed. Likewise if we had a less-milky cow I would be in with the creep feeder, as these types will be beginning to dry up at this point. While feeding can also help break the bond and smoothen the weaning process, stress-free weaning can be done without it. Wean calves, let them graze for three to four weeks having moved cows to the opposite end of the farm and then house calves for feeding in late October.
It has been a great year for suckling calves, with most farmers reporting well over 1kg of weight gain daily. The trick now is to keep this going to weaning and beyond.
Although two-thirds of a calf’s pre-weaning weight gain comes from milk, from the age of 200 days onwards 75% of their intake will be solid feed. This is due to both declining cow milk yields and the development of the calf’s ability and tendency to graze properly.
Creep feeding meals represents a means to bridge the nutritional gap stemming from this reduction in milk production and keep calves growing fast. Though it will also help where grass is scarce or of poor quality, it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to relax grassland management.
The variation in milk production potential across the Irish suckler cow herd is stark. Calves under many beefy, terminal-type cows will be getting thirsty at this point, while milky dams can keep calves satisfied right up to weaning.
Cow type
Cow type should have a big bearing on the decision to creep feed or not. If there is milk in a herd and sale date is not imminent, letting calves creep forward into fresh grass will suffice provided sward quality is optimum. Raise the electric fence at a point such that calves are free to creep ahead.
Creep feeding also acts as a means to smoothen the weaning process. What causes illness around weaning is stressors. By minimising these we reduce our risks. There are many – the stress of separation from the cow, potential bad weather stressors, handling stress and nutritional stress.
We can reduce the impact of all of these via management and timing. Creep feeding can reduce both separation- and nutrition-based stress – potentially reducing any growth checks at weaning.
Given their low requirement for maintenance, young animals are extremely feed-efficient – expect a feed conversion ratio of 5:1, versus 10:1 in mature bullocks, when offering creep feed. This makes creep feeding a worthwhile exercise in the majority of cases, from a cost-of-gain point of view.
Preferred method
My preferred method of creep feeding is a conventional trough and calves creeping under a wire ahead of cows. Creep gates work very well for letting calves creep ahead too, though the obvious downside is that replicates are needed in a rotational grazing scenario.
Ensure gate settings are such that cows will not try to get through.
While ad-lib creep feeders have benefits from a labour point of view, big calves can gorge themselves, there are safety risks around refilling them, they can lead to poaching in fields and they can be difficult to move.
Rising a wire with a couple of horse temporary fence posts so that calves creep ahead will get them used to being away from cows, get them into the best grass possible and make feeding easier and safer. It will also allow the farmer assume full control of the feeding process – keeping an eye on how much is being consumed and whether all calves are eating.
Start animals off on 0.5kg each daily and gradually build to the levels outlined in Table 1, based on calf type, over 7-10 days. Feeding plainer quality stock too hard will lead to over fatness and reduced feed efficiency. Heavily muscled bulls and heifers can be offered 4kg and 3kg respectively. Export-quality stock can go to 4kg and 3kg respectively. In weanling calves, ad-lib feeding equates to around 4-5kg per head, so an ad-lib feeder might make the most sense here. Supplement for around four to six weeks pre-weaning.
Heifer and bull calves should be split up before creep feeding commences. Depending on target market, both groups may not need supplementation. For example, certain types of heifers can flesh up quickly with supplementation, which may discourage potential customers.
Also, weight and genetics are much greater influencers of puberty than age, so there is a risk of teenage pregnancies if bull and heifer calves are left run together right up to weaning.
If animals are slow to eat, there could be a number of reasons. If your cows are still well in their milk and grass is good underfoot you may find that initial interest in the meal is poor. Should this happen, remove the leftovers and top up again. Consider feeding slightly less, without dropping feeding rates by more than 0.5kg per head at one time.
If they go off feed after a few days/weeks of feeding, then they may have developed acidosis via a combination of the rapidly digestible concentrates and leafy, low dry matter grass. With acidosis, look for a lack of rumination (chewing the cud), scuttery dung with bubbles, abdominal kicking and rapid breathing.
Slow eating may also be down to the ration palatability. When introducing creep, we should ideally begin with a high-spec ration until calves are eating-up well and then move to a more basic three-/four-way mix – eg rolled barley, maize meal, soya bean, citrus pulp, to save costs. Keep feed fresh – calves will be extremely picky.
Be careful where you dispose of leftover meals – if cows get a sniff they will inevitably look for more and may try to get under an electric fence, through a creep gate or into an ad lib creep feeder.
DO
Allow calves creep forward into the best grass whether feeding or not.Divide heifers and bulls before feeding.Introduce meals four to five weeks pre-weaning.Consider using a high-spec ration to start and switch to a simpler feed when all calves are eating up.Introduce feed when calves are hungry.Start animals off on 0.5kg each.Be wary of animals when filling troughs.DON’T
Use creep feeding as an excuse for bad grass.Assume creep feeding alone will lead to successful weaning.Increase feeding rates too quickly.Feed non-export quality heifers ad-lib.Allow uneaten meals build up.Throw waste meals where cows can reach.What’s in a good creep feed?
>84% dry matter.15-17% crude protein.>0.93 UFL.<6% oil.<11% fibre.Cereals like barley, maize and wheat.High-quality protein products like soya bean meal and by-product sources like distillers or maize gluten.Palatability is crucial, molasses and pulps will help in this regard.Avoid feeds with significant amounts of fillers like palm kernel, sunflower meal and wheat feed or rapeseed meal.Prices of good-quality rations are ranging from €220/t in the east to €300/t in the northwest.Tullamore Farm – to creep or not to creep?
Adam Woods and Ciarán Lenehan debate whether or not to supplement the spring-2017 bull calves on Tullamore Farm, who will be finished as under-16-month bulls next May/June
Adam Woods – YES
By the time a calf is 6.5 months of age, 75% of its feed requirement should be met by grass or concentrates rather than milk. At this stage, a calf will convert feed more efficiently than at any other time in its life, so creep feeding to maximise weaning weights will be very cost-effective.
Weaning weights could potentially be increased by around 25kg.Lowers the weaning check through less stress from weaning – familiarise the calves to a different feed and will also reduce pneumonia occurrence through reduced stress. Efficient feed conversion ration – 4-5kg creep can provide 1kg gain.The clock is always ticking in an under-16-month system and there is no room for days not thriving and putting on weight. To hit targets, these bulls need to put on 1.35kg/day from birth to slaughter. Weaning is an area where liveweight gains can drop and throw you off target.
Weaning is a stressful time for the suckled calf as not only does it lose the comfort of being with its mother, but it also loses a source of nutrients – milk. Supplying creep feed before weaning can help smooth the transition, and the extra source of nutrients can compensate for the reduction in milk yield as lactation progresses. When there is less stress at weaning, there is a reduced incidence of pneumonia. Larger calves will also be less prone to disease. A further advantage of creep feeding is the weaning check is reduced because the calf is familiar with concentrate feed and rumen microbes are adapted for a change of diet.
Ciarán Lenehan – NO
While there is no doubt that we would get a response to supplementary concentrates, I don’t see it as necessary. The fact is that our calves are ahead of target for an under-16-month bull system. At this point, the majority of the nutrition going into calves is coming from grazed grass. Farm manager Ger O’Dwyer has maintained good quality in our swards in what was a difficult year for keeping stem at bay.
For some time now, calves have been creeping under the electric fences ahead of cows and getting the pick of the very best material on offer – no doubt a big contributor to their growth rates (1.3kg from birth). They’ll continue to do so up to weaning and then be given the best new swards to graze after.
OK, liveweight gains might come back a bit, but I would be confident that they’ll still be growing in excess of 1kg daily, provided they stay healthy and the weather is kind. Given the fact that Tullamore Farm is a one-man show, giving Ger another job that is arguably unnecessary is a no-no for me.
If we were selling live and wanted to “warm up” animals to look their best in the ring, I would be saying to feed. Likewise if we had a less-milky cow I would be in with the creep feeder, as these types will be beginning to dry up at this point. While feeding can also help break the bond and smoothen the weaning process, stress-free weaning can be done without it. Wean calves, let them graze for three to four weeks having moved cows to the opposite end of the farm and then house calves for feeding in late October.
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