Creep feeding calves

reilig

Have you started yet? What are you feeding and how much? Are you giving them as much as they can eat or limiting it a bit?

I've just finished making a new creep - a bit rough looking but it will do the job. Has the roof section of an old cattle trailer that was cut off to make a low car trailer. Cut the sides out of it. Made a frame out of scaffolding bars that were left over from building my house and I couldn't sell them on. Put a Hopper and trough into it and put the roof on top of it. Made the trough from steel scaffolding planks. It is 8 foot wide. Has restricted entry for bigger cattle (same way as any other creep with an adjustable bar). I have hooks welded to the front of it so that I can lift it and move it around. Material was free as it was just stuff that was lying around the yard. Took about 2 days labour in total.

Bought 3 ton of good quality meal and had it blown into the store on tuesday. Was paying €7.50 per 25kg bag in the local co-op. At the quoted price for the bulk it will cost me €5 per 25kg and I may get another few € per ton off it when the rep comes to collect.

bbam

We're feeding about 5 weeks at this stage, building up slowly... We're short on grazing ground until the second cut is done.. ~1lb beef nuts a day no add lib feeding as there is no hopper in the feeder (mad looking yoke, home made from stuff round the yard ).

We were feeding crunch/pencils in the creep when the calves were in the yard in the spring as we find a better success in getting calves into it out on the field..

Tora Bora

Normally creep feed from first of August for Feb / April born calves. Sell in October.
This year I started in mid May, but at a very small rate. Still only getting about quarter kg a day. I will up to 1kg a day from August 1.
I wean mid Sept and sell end October. Post wean I split heifers from bulls and give heifers 1kg a day andf the bullocks 2kgs.
My Feb born bullocks weighed over 460kg last year when I sold. I was mighty pleased with their performance, and I reckon the past 6 weeks creep feed at 2kg a day really paid off. All Charolais.
I'm interested to see if I get better weight this year having started creep a good bit earlier.

reilig

Tora Bora wrote: »

Normally creep feed from first of August for Feb / April born calves. Sell in October.
This year I started in mid May, but at a very small rate. Still only getting about quarter kg a day. I will up to 1kg a day from August 1.
I wean mid Sept and sell end October. Post wean I split heifers from bulls and give heifers 1kg a day andf the bullocks 2kgs.
My Feb born bullocks weighed over 460kg last year when I sold. I was mighty pleased with their performance, and I reckon the past 6 weeks creep feed at 2kg a day really paid off. All Charolais.
I'm interested to see if I get better weight this year having started creep a good bit earlier.

You should get better results because of the drier summer. I know that mine are heavier than they were this time last year as i weighed them last weekend, they have received less meal but have had better grass and drier weather and haven't had to move around as much to get the same volume of grass. Last year they seemed to be hungry all the time.

Bitten & Hisses

I just started creep feeding this week too. At present, I've only used a few bags of beef nut, but I'll be getting 4 tonne of good beef ration in about two weeks. I'm building a new entrance off the public road and the whole thing won't be artic-friendly for another while. They'll be going ad-lib straight away, but I'll be removing a few for sale in August.

Shauny2010

Bought a second hand creep feeder earlier on this year Paid 300, but its as good as brand new. Never creep fed before so I wasn't going to start until late September. Is that too late i wonder? calf's are Feb/Mar/April born.