Every year, we see issues arise around weight gains in weanlings on farms. This can be due to a number of reasons. Inadequate nutrition, parasite problems, disease, inadequate lying space and feeding space are all common causes of poor performance.
Weanlings should have a target liveweight gain over the winter months of 0.6kg to 0.7kg/day.
That means for a 100-day winter weaning, animals should be turning out 60kg to 70kg heavier than they were housed. For a 150-day winter they should be 90kg to 100kg heavier.
These weight gains are recommended to maximise compensatory growth at grass next spring.
Research has shown that animals may become stunted and unable to gain compensatory growth during the following grazing season if weight gains are below 0.5kg/day.
With difficult market conditions and cashflow tight on many beef farms, some farmers could be looking at reduced meal feeding to weanlings.
Reducing feeding levels could be a false economy with lost weight having to be put on at another time.
Nutrition
Diet and nutrition are important. Weanlings are some of the most efficient animals on a beef farm at converting meal to liveweight gain so it makes sense to supplement them. Table 1 outlines the silage quality targets that you should be aiming for to get maximum performance from animals without incurring high meal costs.
The first step is to get your silage quality tested. Most feed companies now provide this service and Teagasc also provides this service. Typical costs are in the region of €30 to €40 per sample.
Table 2 outlines the feeding rates required depending on silage quality.
Aim for a simple ration with a good energy source such as maize or barley, a good protein source such as soya bean meal or rapeseed meal and a fibre source such as soya hulls or beet pulp.
Animal health
Weanlings can undergo a lot of stress around housing and settling into their new environment.
Changing from outdoors to indoors, a change in diet from grass to silage and meal, castration, weaning, inadequate feeding space, inadequate lying space and some could have fluke and worm burdens. This all adds to the stress factor and sometimes results in animals becoming sick on some farms.
If vaccination and dosing are taking place, ideally this will have been completed before housing.
However, if not already completed, it should be carried out as early as possible in the housing period.
Faecal samples will determine the level of dosing required and housing dates will determine the product to be used.
One of the things to look at is the environment that the weaning is in. Is lying space adequate? Is feeding space adequate? Is there adequate ventilation in the shed.
A quick fix to ventilation issues can sometimes be achieved through taking off some side sheets or raising roof sheets.
Lice treatment is important and can be a cause of poor weight gain on some farms. Clipping will help and on some farms two treatments over the winter months will be required.
Tullamore Farm weanling management
Weanlings were housed on Tullamore Farm over the past four weeks. Bull calves were housed first on 28 October with heifer calves housed on 12 November. Weight gains were good up to this point, with bull calves averaging 380kg on 27 October and heifer calves averaging 340kg on 25 November.
All weanlings have been housed on slats in sheds with good ventilation. Prior to weaning in October, calves got a booster shot for RSV and PI3 and also an IBR vaccination.
They were also dosed for worms with an Avermectin-based product two weeks prior to housing. This dose had residual activity of four to six weeks which should mean that all calves are clear of worms.
Fluke has not been an issue on the farm for the past number of years, but all groups of animals will be faecal sampled in the coming weeks to determine whether a dose is required.
Heifer calves have started on 2kg ration/day along with ad-lib silage
Weanlings are being fed first-cut silage which tested well at 42% dry matter, 14% protein, 76.9 DMD and 11.7 ME (Mj/kg).
Heifer calves have started on 2kg ration/day along with ad-lib silage.
This will be reduced to 1.5kg/day for December and 1kg/day in January when concentrates will stop being fed in advance of turnout in February if weather conditions allow.
Bull calves are on 3kg of meal along with ad-lib silage.
They will be stepped up to 5kg/head/day in January and progress to ad-lib feeding to be slaughtered under 16 months in June/July 2020.
The current ration being used on Tullamore Farm is 30% barley, 30% soya hulls, 20% maize meal and 12.5% soya bean meal and is costing €250/t delivered.
Weanlings will be weighed in mid-December to determine growth rate and whether any tweaks in management are required.
In short
If steers and heifers are going back to grass next spring, a target liveweight gain of 0.6kg to 0.7kg/day is sufficient.Daily meal feeding levels should be dictated by silage quality and the type of animals being fed. Where silage quality is good, less meal will be required.Once animals are housed, concentrates should be front-loaded for the first four to five weeks in the shed. This will ease the transition from grass to the indoor diet of silage and meal.Keep rations simple and make sure that ration is fresh, free from dust and palatable.Make sure there is adequate feeding and lying space for all weanlings in the shed.Have a good health plan in place in relation to vaccination and dosing for parasites.A lying space required: 2m2 to 2.5m2 per head.Feeding space required: 400mm to 500mm per head.
Every year, we see issues arise around weight gains in weanlings on farms. This can be due to a number of reasons. Inadequate nutrition, parasite problems, disease, inadequate lying space and feeding space are all common causes of poor performance.
Weanlings should have a target liveweight gain over the winter months of 0.6kg to 0.7kg/day.
That means for a 100-day winter weaning, animals should be turning out 60kg to 70kg heavier than they were housed. For a 150-day winter they should be 90kg to 100kg heavier.
These weight gains are recommended to maximise compensatory growth at grass next spring.
Research has shown that animals may become stunted and unable to gain compensatory growth during the following grazing season if weight gains are below 0.5kg/day.
With difficult market conditions and cashflow tight on many beef farms, some farmers could be looking at reduced meal feeding to weanlings.
Reducing feeding levels could be a false economy with lost weight having to be put on at another time.
Nutrition
Diet and nutrition are important. Weanlings are some of the most efficient animals on a beef farm at converting meal to liveweight gain so it makes sense to supplement them. Table 1 outlines the silage quality targets that you should be aiming for to get maximum performance from animals without incurring high meal costs.
The first step is to get your silage quality tested. Most feed companies now provide this service and Teagasc also provides this service. Typical costs are in the region of €30 to €40 per sample.
Table 2 outlines the feeding rates required depending on silage quality.
Aim for a simple ration with a good energy source such as maize or barley, a good protein source such as soya bean meal or rapeseed meal and a fibre source such as soya hulls or beet pulp.
Animal health
Weanlings can undergo a lot of stress around housing and settling into their new environment.
Changing from outdoors to indoors, a change in diet from grass to silage and meal, castration, weaning, inadequate feeding space, inadequate lying space and some could have fluke and worm burdens. This all adds to the stress factor and sometimes results in animals becoming sick on some farms.
If vaccination and dosing are taking place, ideally this will have been completed before housing.
However, if not already completed, it should be carried out as early as possible in the housing period.
Faecal samples will determine the level of dosing required and housing dates will determine the product to be used.
One of the things to look at is the environment that the weaning is in. Is lying space adequate? Is feeding space adequate? Is there adequate ventilation in the shed.
A quick fix to ventilation issues can sometimes be achieved through taking off some side sheets or raising roof sheets.
Lice treatment is important and can be a cause of poor weight gain on some farms. Clipping will help and on some farms two treatments over the winter months will be required.
Tullamore Farm weanling management
Weanlings were housed on Tullamore Farm over the past four weeks. Bull calves were housed first on 28 October with heifer calves housed on 12 November. Weight gains were good up to this point, with bull calves averaging 380kg on 27 October and heifer calves averaging 340kg on 25 November.
All weanlings have been housed on slats in sheds with good ventilation. Prior to weaning in October, calves got a booster shot for RSV and PI3 and also an IBR vaccination.
They were also dosed for worms with an Avermectin-based product two weeks prior to housing. This dose had residual activity of four to six weeks which should mean that all calves are clear of worms.
Fluke has not been an issue on the farm for the past number of years, but all groups of animals will be faecal sampled in the coming weeks to determine whether a dose is required.
Heifer calves have started on 2kg ration/day along with ad-lib silage
Weanlings are being fed first-cut silage which tested well at 42% dry matter, 14% protein, 76.9 DMD and 11.7 ME (Mj/kg).
Heifer calves have started on 2kg ration/day along with ad-lib silage.
This will be reduced to 1.5kg/day for December and 1kg/day in January when concentrates will stop being fed in advance of turnout in February if weather conditions allow.
Bull calves are on 3kg of meal along with ad-lib silage.
They will be stepped up to 5kg/head/day in January and progress to ad-lib feeding to be slaughtered under 16 months in June/July 2020.
The current ration being used on Tullamore Farm is 30% barley, 30% soya hulls, 20% maize meal and 12.5% soya bean meal and is costing €250/t delivered.
Weanlings will be weighed in mid-December to determine growth rate and whether any tweaks in management are required.
In short
If steers and heifers are going back to grass next spring, a target liveweight gain of 0.6kg to 0.7kg/day is sufficient.Daily meal feeding levels should be dictated by silage quality and the type of animals being fed. Where silage quality is good, less meal will be required.Once animals are housed, concentrates should be front-loaded for the first four to five weeks in the shed. This will ease the transition from grass to the indoor diet of silage and meal.Keep rations simple and make sure that ration is fresh, free from dust and palatable.Make sure there is adequate feeding and lying space for all weanlings in the shed.Have a good health plan in place in relation to vaccination and dosing for parasites.A lying space required: 2m2 to 2.5m2 per head.Feeding space required: 400mm to 500mm per head. 
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: