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Drying-off strategies

  • 26-10-2010 12:30pm
    #1
    5live
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,438 ✭✭✭


    Its getting near that time of year again and i was wondering what other farmers do when drying off their spring calvers and ahd they any tips to make things easier. My plan at the minute is to burn off udder hair this week and clip tails next week. I normally dry off all together and dry cow tube the lot one morning. To reduce milk yield i milk once a day for a week first and then skip sunday milking and tube monday morning. I let them out into a bare dry field for 2 days before bringing them in if it is wet or letting them outside if dry for a week. This year i have sampled the high cell count cows and have dry cow tubes ordered for them and will tube all cows with high counts( over 150) and am planning to leave the others alone or maybe just a teat sealer. Am i mad doing this or what do you think? Any comments or criticism will be appreciated. Thanks:o


Comments

  • #2
    ihatetractors
    Closed Accounts Posts: 338 ✭✭ihatetractors


    We feed a good bit a straw/hay for a week or two before, cleans 'em out well with all that lovely fibre/DM, and brings down amount of milk a good bit too


  • #3
    dar31
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,704 ✭✭✭dar31


    quick and abrupt is the best way.
    take out and dry off, put on a short run of a lane or tight corner of a field with no water or feed for a day and the the second day give them water.
    the water thing you need to use some comon sense with, if it is wet they will do with out for a few days. lack of water is the quickest thing in the world to stop milk production.


  • #4
    bbam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,410 ✭✭✭bbam


    We run them on bare paddock for a week with calves, take them in from the paddock, house the calves and feed straw for week to ten days, have free access to water at all times..

    Has always worked well.. Just done last week


  • #5
    Miller80
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 121 ✭✭Miller80


    where can you get the thing to burn off udder hair?


  • #6
    whelan1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,786 ✭✭✭✭whelan1


    dar31 wrote: »
    quick and abrupt is the best way.
    take out and dry off, put on a short run of a lane or tight corner of a field with no water or feed for a day and the the second day give them water.
    the water thing you need to use some comon sense with, if it is wet they will do with out for a few days. lack of water is the quickest thing in the world to stop milk production.
    yes i second that , put them far way from milking parlour if you can so they cant hear the machine ...


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  • #7
    5live
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,438 ✭✭✭5live


    Miller80 wrote: »
    where can you get the thing to burn off udder hair?
    I got it from Buyrite in wexford. E170. If you not a member then i think magenta direct(?) do it as well. It had better bloody work:o. Thanks for the info. The straw and restricted water are interesting. Do you tube all the cows or do the younger low cell count cows need any tubes?


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