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Heavy rain over the weekend and Monday will see more cattle moving off the land and into sheds this week.
While the cattle should be ideally housed on a dry day, this is not an option for farmers under pressure to protect ground from heavy poaching.
Where cattle are being housed quickly in wet conditions, minimise stress as much as possible. Do not try to double up on jobs such as dosing or weaning.
Allow animals to settle in sheds for a few days before carrying out routine management jobs. Drier weather is forecast later this week. Tasks such as clipping and dosing can be carried out then.
Grouping cattle
Where possible, group stores as evenly as possible in size. This will cut down bullying and aggression as cattle reestablish a social hierarchy within each group.
The same applies with cows and calves. Pen mature cows together, with first-calved heifers and thinner, older cows grouped separately to reduce bullying at the feed face.
Make sure calves have access to a creep area, ideally with a straw bed for lying. Calves should also have access to feed and water from within the creep pen.
Airflow
Leave shed doors open once cattle are housed to make sure there is as much fresh air flowing as possible. This is critical when housing big numbers of cattle at the same time during wet weather.
Diet
Once cattle are indoors, offer them good silage with a high dry matter. This will help with rumen function as animals adapt to the sudden change in diet.
It is also worthwhile feeding 1kg/day of concentrate in the morning and evening over the first week of housing. This will help farmers observe cattle coming forward to feed.
Healthy cattle should be quick to come forward for meal. Animals which are off-colour and in the early stages of illness will be dull, lethargic and slow to come forward.
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