It’s been a very difficult week in terms of grazing especially towards the northwest of the country. Grass growth has been strong on a lot of farms over the past month, especially where nitrogen went out in early September.
It’s always a challenge at this time of year in terms of juggling the management to suit the conditions. The juggling ended with cows housed and weaned on many suckler farms.
This has brought with it challenges in terms of weanling health. Weaning is always best completed in dry weather, which decreases some of the stress on weanlings. Once weaning is complete, calves can be turned back out.
Heavy cattle should be housed if excessive damage is being done. If these finishing cattle are grazing in very wet conditions, they will probably thrive better inside on silage and meal at this stage.
Cows with young calves should be kept outside unless creep areas are ready with ample straw. Don’t forget about your closing plan for paddocks. Choose some of the driest fields to close off first and don’t be tempted to go back in again and graze. This will be the early grazing for weanlings in spring 2020. Make a plan and stick to it.
In short
Avoid abrupt weaning, it can lead to health issues in calves.
Try and house cattle on a dry day if at all possible. Housing wet cattle can lead to a lot of sweating and stale air in a shed. Open doors for a few days to allow air circulate in the shed.
Keep weanlings out if you can. There is plenty of grass on most farms to keep them out for another four to six weeks.
Feeding meal will be easier in weaned calves and in current weather conditions calves should be offered 1-2kg/day depending on breed and type.
Watch out for tetany in cows still sucking large calves. Take precautions against it by offering some form of magnesium in the diet.
Avoid poaching if at all possible and if cows have to be held outside, use a back-fence to avoid animals tracking across large areas.
Move troughs on to roadways or hardcore areas during wet conditions to avoid excessive poaching around troughs.
It’s been a very difficult week in terms of grazing especially towards the northwest of the country. Grass growth has been strong on a lot of farms over the past month, especially where nitrogen went out in early September.
It’s always a challenge at this time of year in terms of juggling the management to suit the conditions. The juggling ended with cows housed and weaned on many suckler farms.
This has brought with it challenges in terms of weanling health. Weaning is always best completed in dry weather, which decreases some of the stress on weanlings. Once weaning is complete, calves can be turned back out.
Heavy cattle should be housed if excessive damage is being done. If these finishing cattle are grazing in very wet conditions, they will probably thrive better inside on silage and meal at this stage.
Cows with young calves should be kept outside unless creep areas are ready with ample straw. Don’t forget about your closing plan for paddocks. Choose some of the driest fields to close off first and don’t be tempted to go back in again and graze. This will be the early grazing for weanlings in spring 2020. Make a plan and stick to it.
In short
Avoid abrupt weaning, it can lead to health issues in calves.
Try and house cattle on a dry day if at all possible. Housing wet cattle can lead to a lot of sweating and stale air in a shed. Open doors for a few days to allow air circulate in the shed.
Keep weanlings out if you can. There is plenty of grass on most farms to keep them out for another four to six weeks.
Feeding meal will be easier in weaned calves and in current weather conditions calves should be offered 1-2kg/day depending on breed and type.
Watch out for tetany in cows still sucking large calves. Take precautions against it by offering some form of magnesium in the diet.
Avoid poaching if at all possible and if cows have to be held outside, use a back-fence to avoid animals tracking across large areas.
Move troughs on to roadways or hardcore areas during wet conditions to avoid excessive poaching around troughs.
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