The problem with bulls is they cannot, or at least should not, be mixed once they settle into a group. This is doubly true when they are housed on slats. With the cold east wind and rain, we were looking at some of the young cattle outside that should be in. We theoretically have space, but with just a few late finishers, occupying pens designed to hold up to 25, we are going to have to wait a week or two yet before everything is housed.

This year, with land in such good condition up until very recently and with the slurry spreading extension, we have the tanks completely empty. I am going to re-use a slurry additive that we first tried a few years ago to improve the effectiveness of the slurry when it’s applied to land. I have no doubt that, from previous experience, it reduces the smell and makes agitation easier – the hope is that it will also reduce the toxicity of the slurry to earthworms by converting the ammonia to organic protein, much the same process as composting. We will monitor the performance as closely as we can when we start spreading again in the new year.

Meanwhile, we have never remotely had as much excellent hay as this year. We are incorporating it (at about 5%-6% of dry matter) in the diet feeder with the high level of normal concentrates to the finishing bulls, but it is nearer to 20% in the case of this year’s weanlings. I don’t think I have ever seen young cattle as contented and thriving.

Meanwhile, I have been following the Irish Farmers Journal coverage of resistance in cattle to some anthelmintics with intense interest. This year we have had a few instances where the response to the old-fashioned Zanil for rumen fluke has been remarkable. None of the modern drugs claim to have the same effectiveness as Zanil and I have no doubt that the incidence of rumen fluke is increasing in some parts of the country.

Earlier this year, I had two young bulls with visible, rapid weight loss and both eventually died. We got full veterinary examination and treatment for them, but the visible weight loss continued. It looked like acute BVD or an incredibly heavy worm burden, but both came up negative on tests.

While some mortality is inevitable, I find unexplained lack of thrive leading to mortality difficult to take. Hopefully, there will be no more instances like those two store bulls, but one wonders if the full diagnostic capacity of the State is being applied as rigorously as it might be.

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Home Farm: preparing for winter