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Cows that calve during the day are preferable to those calving late at night and during the early hours of the morning.
Feeding silage late in the evening can help to reduce the number of cows that calve late at night, although it is not an exact science.
Farmers that use this method find it works best when started around two weeks before the onset of calving.
Offer those cows coming close to calving fresh silage between 6pm and 9pm, whenever fits best with your routine.
The idea is that cows will eat late fresh silage late into the night, then lie and ruminate. The next morning, push in any uneaten silage.
The passage way should be clear of silage by lunchtime. The key is that once the passage is clear, do not give cows any silage until evening.
Cows will be in a fasted state by the time the next allocation of silage is offered during the evening, meaning they are pre-occupied with eating at night.
As mentioned earlier, it isn’t an exact science and there will still be some cows that calve overnight. But farmers that follow this method have found more cows calve in the morning as opposed to overnight.
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