yearling bulls poor thrive??

richie123

i weighed 40, year old plus bulls the other and gain worked out at .4 kg day..which is terrible... were on good silage and 1.5 kilos rolled barley day.i got some dung samples tested for fluke last november and it was a problem but treated for it straight away..any opinions welcome.

blue5000

Only thing I can think of is maybe they were full of grub at the first weighing and empty the second weighing? How far apart were the days you weighed?

the al kid

What did you treat the fluke problem with and how long were they housed?

Al

richie123

the al kid wrote: »

What did you treat the fluke problem with and how long were they housed?

Al

Zanil and endofluke twice altogether at housing and just before i let them out

richie123

blue5000 wrote: »

Only thing I can think of is maybe they were full of grub at the first weighing and empty the second weighing? How far apart were the days you weighed?

138 days gain s actually closer to .35 kilo no were weighed jus before feeding..

ZETOR_IS_BETTER

Are the bulls doing much coughing?
I had one bull with a viral infection and his weight gain was miserable in comparison to others.

bob charles

You will be grand, compensatory growth for the calves will make up the difference. Putting weight on GROWING animals during the winter is expensive business and often the results dont reflect the gains talked about on paper, but as we all know paper never refused ink. Your idea of good silage may not be what you think it is

pakalasa

I agree with Bob Charles, If the frame has been growing away over the winter, then in a way you're better off. No point putting on condition with expensive feed over the winter, better to do it with cheap feed, grass in the spring.
I could never understand this target weight gain over the winter lark.

fatoftheland

There doesn't seem to be enough protein in their diet for bulls also watch for low copper levels as this will also lead to poor growth rates

snowman707

fatoftheland wrote: »

There doesn't seem to be enough protein in their diet for bulls also watch for low copper levels as this will also lead to poor growth rates

+1

was going to suggest the same , for growth in young stock you need high protein


high p intake also gives the animal a better appetite, thus they will benefit from higher forage intakes as well

as mentioned minerals are also necessary

richie123

ZETOR_IS_BETTER wrote: »

Are the bulls doing much coughing?
I had one bull with a viral infection and his weight gain was miserable in comparison to others.

i actually had 2 that had pretty much nonexistent weight gains(tho they could have been ones that went lame on me) im finding it hard tofigure it out...no coughing not a problem

richie123

fatoftheland wrote: »

There doesn't seem to be enough protein in their diet for bulls also watch for low copper levels as this will also lead to poor growth rates

possibly but where do you draw the line here ..slightly higher weight gains or a greater feed bill on somthing like soya to increase weights suppose only one way to find out.

richie123

pakalasa wrote: »

I agree with Bob Charles, If the frame has been growing away over the winter, then in a way you're better off. No point putting on condition with expensive feed over the winter, better to do it with cheap feed, grass in the spring.
I could never understand this target weight gain over the winter lark.

you could well be right to look at these bulls they have good frames but most are not shapey in any way ..there on grass not and doing well hopefully the weather holds up and i can keep them out.

richie123

bob charles wrote: »

You will be grand, compensatory growth for the calves will make up the difference. Putting weight on GROWING animals during the winter is expensive business and often the results dont reflect the gains talked about on paper, but as we all know paper never refused ink. Your idea of good silage may not be what you think it is

i will admit silage average enough hard to go out an cut in mid may before it heads out ..the yield loss is significant..probly time to chage back to mid may..this poor thrive during the winter is a load a bollix hard enough make money out of them.

Muckit

RE: silage... Quality over quantity every time for young stock, different if your feeding dry cows. First week of june is a good compromise on yield v quality. If your making baled silage, yield shouldn't bother you.

I couldn't see feeding barley, or any bag stuff for that matter, to weanlings as being cost effective.

Getting them out to grass asap should be your priority. Watch them grow

Bizzum

What breed are they?

fatoftheland

richie123 wrote: »

possibly but where do you draw the line here ..slightly higher weight gains or a greater feed bill on somthing like soya to increase weights suppose only one way to find out.

rapeseed meal is more suitable for young bulls as it has a good supply of rumen degradable protein

richie123

Muckit wrote: »

RE: silage... Quality over quantity every time for young stock, different if your feeding dry cows. First week of june is a good compromise on yield v quality. If your making baled silage, yield shouldn't bother you.

I couldn't see feeding barley, or any bag stuff for that matter, to weanlings as being cost effective.

Getting them out to grass asap should be your priority. Watch them grow

true mucky early grass is the best of the whole lot!

richie123

Bizzum wrote: »

What breed are they?

charolais bull (son of mozart)and a blonde which was fattened and killed few months ago..as his hurt himself. cows are mixture..mostly lims out of fresins sims and some char heifers.

pat73

richie123 wrote: »

i weighed 40, year old plus bulls the other and gain worked out at .4 kg day..which is terrible... were on good silage and 1.5 kilos rolled barley day.i got some dung samples tested for fluke last november and it was a problem but treated for it straight away..any opinions welcome.

I always was under the opinion that u couldnt feed barley or any straight on its own.It wouldnt be good for the stomach.Barley would be for fattening cattle and soya for growing but its a dear feed.maybe a cheap ration with a scoup of soya thrown over it would have kept them going along with a beef block for minerals.