I’m in the process of weaning my calves at the minute. I usually operate the same routine – bring in eight to 10 cows and calves at a time, put the cows and calves in adjacent pens. Cows are fed straw and calves get good-quality bale silage and a couple of kilos of meal.

After two days of being apart, I sometimes let the calves back in to empty out the cows for one last time. This all depends on how I feel the cows have bagged up. Allowing the calves back to their mothers can, I feel, help reduce the instance of mastitis.

I weaned a batch of bulls last week and after a couple of days in adjacent pens, I allowed the calves back out to grass. They have access back into the shed from the paddock they are in, which means they can still get back to see their mother and this reduces the stress on them.

Light sleeper

In fairness the bulls weaned fairly easily. When they got the chance to go to grass, they didn’t seem to bothered about leaving the cows behind. However, I have a batch of heifer calves in at the minute and let’s just say, you wouldn’t want to be a light sleeper with them.

All these calves have been getting meal for the past few weeks to satisfy the terms and conditions of the BEEP S scheme, but now that they are off the cows the amount will be gradually increased.

Normally bulls would be built up to around 4kg before they are housed in October and are grazed on top-quality after-grass. Heifers on the other hand normally only get 1kg and after-grass as they are normally not sold until the following April or May.

Year ahead

This year, however, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. First thing I need to figure out is what heifers I intend to keep for bulling. These could be grazed separate and assuming they are on target to meet their bulling weight in January, 1kg of meal would do them fine.

I’ll mull it over for another while before I make any final decisions

The remainder, however, I would need to put a little more thought into. I may be better off selling at least some of them, instead of wintering them all, as I would normally do.

Firstly, the BEAM scheme is in the back of my head and the 5% nitrogen reduction, and secondly the unknowns of what Brexit will bring on 1 January.

I’ll mull it over for another while before I make any final decisions but an extra kilo of meal per head may not be the worst investment.

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