Feeding the heifer weanling
Feeding heifers meal ad-lib should be avoided. Like plainer-quality bulls, heifers will start to lay down fat as opposed to muscle. Obviously, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, exceptionally well-muscled heifers will keep growing. However, where heifers are creep-fed meals ad-lib for six to eight weeks prior to sale, they will start to get over-fat. This will not only reduce the rate at which they will convert meal to liveweight, but will also leave them unsuitable for both the export and domestic markets. Neither live exporters nor Irish farmers want to buy heifers with lumps of fat around the tail head.
If you have good-quality heifers, meals should be introduced at 1kg per day for the first two to three weeks and then increased up to 2kg per day until selling. On this regime, you will feed a total of 60-70kg of meal per head, costing €15 to €18 per head. At a conversion rate of 5:1, this will increase weaning weights by 12-14kg. At €2.40/kg ,this will be worth from €28 to €34 per head.
Again, as was the case with the plainer quality bulls, the economics of feeding high levels of meals to poorer-quality heifers are questionable. With poorer conversion rates and a lower liveweight value, the plainer heifers should only be fed the minimum required to have them in good condition for weaning.
Only feed 1-2kg per day if not selling
Where weanlings are going to be retained on the farm, whether bulls or heifers, there is very little merit in feeding above 1-2kg per head per day at weaning. The only place where there is merit in the ad-lib creep feeding bulls that are remaining on farm is where they are going into the shed to be finished at 14 to 16 months of age on ad-lib meal.
Instead of feeding a high level of meal, farmers who are not selling weanlings should apply nitrogen in early August in order to build up a grass bank that will allow weanlings to remain out on grass until late November.
Figures based on meal prices at €250/t at current live cattle prices based on MartWatch figures.
Read more
Part one: feeding the bull weanling
Full coverage: weanlings
Feeding the heifer weanling
Feeding heifers meal ad-lib should be avoided. Like plainer-quality bulls, heifers will start to lay down fat as opposed to muscle. Obviously, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, exceptionally well-muscled heifers will keep growing. However, where heifers are creep-fed meals ad-lib for six to eight weeks prior to sale, they will start to get over-fat. This will not only reduce the rate at which they will convert meal to liveweight, but will also leave them unsuitable for both the export and domestic markets. Neither live exporters nor Irish farmers want to buy heifers with lumps of fat around the tail head.
If you have good-quality heifers, meals should be introduced at 1kg per day for the first two to three weeks and then increased up to 2kg per day until selling. On this regime, you will feed a total of 60-70kg of meal per head, costing €15 to €18 per head. At a conversion rate of 5:1, this will increase weaning weights by 12-14kg. At €2.40/kg ,this will be worth from €28 to €34 per head.
Again, as was the case with the plainer quality bulls, the economics of feeding high levels of meals to poorer-quality heifers are questionable. With poorer conversion rates and a lower liveweight value, the plainer heifers should only be fed the minimum required to have them in good condition for weaning.
Only feed 1-2kg per day if not selling
Where weanlings are going to be retained on the farm, whether bulls or heifers, there is very little merit in feeding above 1-2kg per head per day at weaning. The only place where there is merit in the ad-lib creep feeding bulls that are remaining on farm is where they are going into the shed to be finished at 14 to 16 months of age on ad-lib meal.
Instead of feeding a high level of meal, farmers who are not selling weanlings should apply nitrogen in early August in order to build up a grass bank that will allow weanlings to remain out on grass until late November.
Figures based on meal prices at €250/t at current live cattle prices based on MartWatch figures.
Read more
Part one: feeding the bull weanling
Full coverage: weanlings
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