All breeding females were scanned in September, with 70 cows and 25 heifers confirmed in-calf. One cow has since aborted (with no disease detected) to leave 69 cows now settled in-calf from 70 cows put to the bull.
The results show that in spring 2019, all cows and replacement heifers should calve within 12 weeks, with over 80% due in the first six weeks.
One area that will need improvement in 2019 is the proportion of heifers holding to fixed-time AI. In 2018, from 30 heifers selected, just 10 held.
Of the remaining 20 heifers, six were bred to AI at observed repeats and nine were served by a sweeper bull. That leaves five animals that did not go in calf.
In hindsight, there was too much reliance placed on compensatory growth in these animals, which did not materialise due to the late spring in 2018.
The heifer calves born in spring 2018 and due to be bred in summer 2019 are being managed to ensure they meet the target of being 65% of their mature weight.
This will see heifers at 380kg to 400kg at mating next summer. Heifer calves averaged 281kg on 15 October.
Therefore, to meet these breeding targets by mid-May, weight gains of approximately 0.5kg/day are required. Heifers are currently on ad-lib silage and 1.5kg/day of a 16% growing blend.
Six heifers not selected for breeding and the five which did not scan in-calf are currently being fed to be finished in the spring time.
They are currently receiving 3kg/day of a mix consisting of 80% rolled barley and 20% rolled beans.
Spring-calving cows and in-calf heifers
Sixty-nine cows are due to commence calving in March 2019. The target is to have these cows calve down in a body condition score (BCS) of 2.5. If cows are too fat (above BCS 3.0) or too thin (below BCS 2.5), there is an increased risk of difficult calving and poorer subsequent fertility.
All cows at Abbey Farm were body condition scored at weaning and were subsequently divided into three groups for management.
Each group is having silage intakes tailored to either increase, maintain or decrease BSC to the target 2.5 by January. Cows are being monitored weekly to ensure they are on target.
In-calf heifers are being offered silage on an ad-lib basis to meet their continued growing requirements.
Cows were body condition scored at weaning and divided into three groups for winter feed management. Groups are based on cows at the ideal body condition, cows that need to gain condition and vice versa.
At housing, cows and in-calf heifers were treated to control external parasites, such as lice. In early January, in-calf cows and heifers will be treated to cover both liver and rumen fluke using an oxyclozanide-based product.
Heifers were treated for stomach and lungworm pre-housing. Primary and booster vaccines to cover BVD, IBR and leptospirosis will also be administered in January.
A vaccine is also used pre-calving to help minimise the risk of calf scour. Pre-calving minerals will be introduced from January.
New approach to weaning in 2018
Traditionally at Abbey Farm, spring-calving cows had their calves weaned indoors during December. However, this year calves were weaned earlier and the process was completed before housing.
Prior to weaning, cows had been sorted into two groups, one with male calves and the other with heifer calves. This was carried out just after breeding had finished in early August.
All calves were encouraged to forward creep graze to aid breaking the cow and calf bond well in advance of weaning. Creep feed was also offered to the batch of male calves.
Weaning was achieved by removing cows in three batches from each group over a two-week period, with calves remaining in the same environment.
As cows were removed, they were housed. Housing facilities were thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and limed to minimise the risk of mastitis.
The cows received straw for up to five days, before moving on to a silage and straw combination and finally silage only.
Phased weaning required some extra labour and one cow required treatment for mastitis. But, overall, the weaning process worked very well, with little stress on calves and no performance setback during this period.
There were no pneumonia incidences during the weaning process and subsequent incidences since housing have been much lower than previous years.
Before weaning, all calves were vaccinated to cover the main pneumonia-causing viruses and treated with a doramectin-based pour-on to reduce all worm burdens risks.
Calf performance to weaning
All cows and calves were weighed at weaning. From birth until 200 days of age, all calves averaged 1.3kg/day of daily liveweight gain. Male calves averaged 1.44kg/day, with heifers averaging 1.16kg/day of daily gain corrected to 200 days The suckler cow target is to wean 50% of her own body weight at 200 days. The excellent liveweight gains while suckling the cow at grass has resulted in a weaning percentage of 45% across all calves (heifers 39% and bull calves 51%). The average cow weight at weaning was 676kg.
All male progeny from the suckler herd are finished as young bulls. The target is to achieve an average carcase weight of 380kg by 14 months, with fat cover typically achieving a score of 3.0. To meet this target, daily carcase gain needs to average 0.9 kg/day over the lifetime of the animal.
On a liveweight basis, bulls need to reach a minimum of 300kg by 200 days if they are to meet their target slaughter weight.
There were 38 bull calves weaned this autumn and due to be finished in 2019. The grouped averaged 328kg at 200 days of age.
They will be next weighed at the end of December and this will be repeated at least every four weeks to monitor performance.
The young bulls are currently receiving high-quality silage (D-value 73%), along with a high-energy beef blend.
The blend is being fed at a rate of 7kg/day split over two feeds and will be gradually increased to a maximum of 8kg/day. The 38 bulls are housed in four groups based on weight and will remain in these groups until slaughter.
All breeding females were scanned in September, with 70 cows and 25 heifers confirmed in-calf. One cow has since aborted (with no disease detected) to leave 69 cows now settled in-calf from 70 cows put to the bull.
The results show that in spring 2019, all cows and replacement heifers should calve within 12 weeks, with over 80% due in the first six weeks.
One area that will need improvement in 2019 is the proportion of heifers holding to fixed-time AI. In 2018, from 30 heifers selected, just 10 held.
Of the remaining 20 heifers, six were bred to AI at observed repeats and nine were served by a sweeper bull. That leaves five animals that did not go in calf.
In hindsight, there was too much reliance placed on compensatory growth in these animals, which did not materialise due to the late spring in 2018.
The heifer calves born in spring 2018 and due to be bred in summer 2019 are being managed to ensure they meet the target of being 65% of their mature weight.
This will see heifers at 380kg to 400kg at mating next summer. Heifer calves averaged 281kg on 15 October.
Therefore, to meet these breeding targets by mid-May, weight gains of approximately 0.5kg/day are required. Heifers are currently on ad-lib silage and 1.5kg/day of a 16% growing blend.
Six heifers not selected for breeding and the five which did not scan in-calf are currently being fed to be finished in the spring time.
They are currently receiving 3kg/day of a mix consisting of 80% rolled barley and 20% rolled beans.
Spring-calving cows and in-calf heifers
Sixty-nine cows are due to commence calving in March 2019. The target is to have these cows calve down in a body condition score (BCS) of 2.5. If cows are too fat (above BCS 3.0) or too thin (below BCS 2.5), there is an increased risk of difficult calving and poorer subsequent fertility.
All cows at Abbey Farm were body condition scored at weaning and were subsequently divided into three groups for management.
Each group is having silage intakes tailored to either increase, maintain or decrease BSC to the target 2.5 by January. Cows are being monitored weekly to ensure they are on target.
In-calf heifers are being offered silage on an ad-lib basis to meet their continued growing requirements.
Cows were body condition scored at weaning and divided into three groups for winter feed management. Groups are based on cows at the ideal body condition, cows that need to gain condition and vice versa.
At housing, cows and in-calf heifers were treated to control external parasites, such as lice. In early January, in-calf cows and heifers will be treated to cover both liver and rumen fluke using an oxyclozanide-based product.
Heifers were treated for stomach and lungworm pre-housing. Primary and booster vaccines to cover BVD, IBR and leptospirosis will also be administered in January.
A vaccine is also used pre-calving to help minimise the risk of calf scour. Pre-calving minerals will be introduced from January.
New approach to weaning in 2018
Traditionally at Abbey Farm, spring-calving cows had their calves weaned indoors during December. However, this year calves were weaned earlier and the process was completed before housing.
Prior to weaning, cows had been sorted into two groups, one with male calves and the other with heifer calves. This was carried out just after breeding had finished in early August.
All calves were encouraged to forward creep graze to aid breaking the cow and calf bond well in advance of weaning. Creep feed was also offered to the batch of male calves.
Weaning was achieved by removing cows in three batches from each group over a two-week period, with calves remaining in the same environment.
As cows were removed, they were housed. Housing facilities were thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and limed to minimise the risk of mastitis.
The cows received straw for up to five days, before moving on to a silage and straw combination and finally silage only.
Phased weaning required some extra labour and one cow required treatment for mastitis. But, overall, the weaning process worked very well, with little stress on calves and no performance setback during this period.
There were no pneumonia incidences during the weaning process and subsequent incidences since housing have been much lower than previous years.
Before weaning, all calves were vaccinated to cover the main pneumonia-causing viruses and treated with a doramectin-based pour-on to reduce all worm burdens risks.
Calf performance to weaning
All cows and calves were weighed at weaning. From birth until 200 days of age, all calves averaged 1.3kg/day of daily liveweight gain. Male calves averaged 1.44kg/day, with heifers averaging 1.16kg/day of daily gain corrected to 200 days The suckler cow target is to wean 50% of her own body weight at 200 days. The excellent liveweight gains while suckling the cow at grass has resulted in a weaning percentage of 45% across all calves (heifers 39% and bull calves 51%). The average cow weight at weaning was 676kg.
All male progeny from the suckler herd are finished as young bulls. The target is to achieve an average carcase weight of 380kg by 14 months, with fat cover typically achieving a score of 3.0. To meet this target, daily carcase gain needs to average 0.9 kg/day over the lifetime of the animal.
On a liveweight basis, bulls need to reach a minimum of 300kg by 200 days if they are to meet their target slaughter weight.
There were 38 bull calves weaned this autumn and due to be finished in 2019. The grouped averaged 328kg at 200 days of age.
They will be next weighed at the end of December and this will be repeated at least every four weeks to monitor performance.
The young bulls are currently receiving high-quality silage (D-value 73%), along with a high-energy beef blend.
The blend is being fed at a rate of 7kg/day split over two feeds and will be gradually increased to a maximum of 8kg/day. The 38 bulls are housed in four groups based on weight and will remain in these groups until slaughter.
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