anyone feeding silage yet?

whelan1

i am feeding a couple of bales to springing cows and to suckler calves we weaned last week, pits not open yet

Sam Kade

Nope, tonnes of grass here yet

yellow50HX

Just the weanlings in the shed, rest still on grass, growing great still

freedominacup

I think we managed to stop feeding silage for about 2 weeks since early July. Everything was on silage up to last weekend though if weather is kind we'll have grass until Dec. Covers more than doubled in the past week.

6480

i opened the whole crop last week for the cows but i havent really gave them that much yet just some of the wet days they would be at the gap balling to get in at half 3 , it seems to take feck all of it to keep them full , never had as much grass here at any time and the last few paddock that were grazed seem to be growing back well , i am aiming to keep the cows out til end of november

c_cathal

I've started feeding silage this week, brought in the a few of the heavier animals from pretty much bogland. There is definitely still plenty of grass growing down there still. Had a good dose of rain here last week seemed to soften it up. I can definitely see cattle being out on good land till December if our luck with the weather holds out

delaval

Winter cows settled in the shed on silage and 6 kg 16% nut
Rest on grass + 3kg 16%. These will be getting silage from tomorrow. I will bring to yard at 2pm each day and set timer for 4 am to allow acces to silage. With extra quota to fill I hope to keep on grass for a while longer.
In calf heifers coming in on full silage tomorrow.
Weanlings on their winter grazing since yesterday. 3 groups on 1, 2 and 3 kgs beef nuts along with grass

Milked out

Spring in-calf heifers in with 3 weeks on bales, autumn maiden in with 4 days, fresh calvers on grass 6 kg meal and a bite of silage after both milkings will be put in by weekend on winter diet with late calving spring cows and any not incalf that will be milked on, spring herd housed fulltime 2 days ago, will be drying off half of them tomorrow and going back to a bare paddock on dry rented ground, Springers on rented ground with old grass over the bounds ditch. Calves have another week out, was hoping to use them to graze a bit of heavier ground but water is sitting on the surface now and they're not too happy.

bbam

Small weanlings in two weeks now.
Ground got wet, evenings got dark and I got lazy from looking at them with flash lamp in the evenings - afraid of missing something.
Bought two wee heifers to add to them to fill out a pen. 220kg, seems they were in before they came as they just stepped in on slats and ate silage and meal without bawling once.

Very little stock out round here now. Cull cows mostly from what I can see.

Dozer1

nearly all stock went in around here last Saturday, most were glad to get in. only a few late calving cows still out. Still better than last year

Timmaay

Milkers all mostly in one group (aside from afew lame cows), they get access to silage after both milkings, feed to yield in the parlour (from 3-7kg) on a high spec 18P nut, hard to know if that nut is abit of a waste on the late lactation cows, but silage protein is low so I figure it wont do anyharm. Grass still growing, and the covers they are grazing out now are heavier than I though, so I've reduced the area abit, should stretch out grass another 2wks.

Everything else still out, afew calfs etc get access to hay, drycows and maiden heifers are over a large area on the outfarm, and seem to be happy enough and have abit of grass infront of them.

jomoloney

cows in by night,

some purchased weanlings in full time

about 1 weeks grass for the cattle possibly more for the cows

won't be grazed off a bare as i'd like 'cos of ground conditions, but that's one reason we keep sheep


only using bales so far , great to open a bale and get a reminder of glorious weather

whelan1

all cows in at night, stale ones out during the day, enough grass for sucklers til christmas, will bring in some of the youngstock next week

KatyMac

Started Monday. It didn't seem to take much to fill them and they are out grazing for most of the day. Come to the bale in the late evening and then into the shed with full stomach to chew and lie in the dry. I never have anything in full time during the winter unless something happens to make them sickly - Will have the first cows due to calve just after Christmas and they will be put in for the sake of the calves.

case 956

Cows in by night, get access to silage from 3.30 pm , 2 weeks grass ahead of them, light weanlings be housed from next wed with stronger ones ut til mid dec weather dependent, incalf heifers be housed in 10 to 14 days time

kevthegaff

cows in day and night from now on, everything else out for next 3 weeks hopefully

mahoney_j

Trying my best to hold off with cows as if introduced grass utilisation will suffer.on cold wet days I let cows on at 3 o click for straw which they gobble up ,wire is left open for them to come down at night but they are always out in morning.about 2.5 weeks plus of grass full time for cows left and in calfs and young stock will all be out till early December.
Straw has steadied cows as grass was flowing through them on cold wet days.i may give in and house cows at night late next week just to keep grass into cows for rest of month

bob charles

I see a local guy zero grazing, I prefer to supply the water by pipe than driving around the feed collecting it. ZG looks a right mess where he is doing it and thats on dry ground I used to farm. the clown doesnt realise I set hybrid and red clover in it two years ago before giving the land up, he wont have much red clover left driving around it in such conditions

stanflt

Opened the silage pit this morning- I'd nearly eat it myself


Never in 40 years on this farm that the silage pit remained sealed till November


Cows in at night and hope to have them out till late nov/ dec weather permitting

Cows milking 24.5 litres @ 4.10 fat and 3.78 prot

just do it

bob charles wrote: »

I see a local guy zero grazing, I prefer to supply the water by pipe than driving around the feed collecting it.

:D

Mulumpy

Cows will be in full time from next Weds. Only weanlings left out then for another fortnight.

keep going

bob charles wrote: »

I see a local guy zero grazing, I prefer to supply the water by pipe than driving around the feed collecting it. ZG looks a right mess where he is doing it and thats on dry ground I used to farm. the clown doesnt realise I set hybrid and red clover in it two years ago before giving the land up, he wont have much red clover left driving around it in such conditions

Do you know for once I agree with you, it might appear to be grand stuff at the moment but its hard to feed cows with it.the number of fellas that have told me that the milk is gone since they started on silage is unreal

keep going

stanflt wrote: »

Opened the silage pit this morning- I'd nearly eat it myself


Never in 40 years on this farm that the silage pit remained sealed till November


Cows in at night and hope to have them out till late nov/ dec weather permitting

Cows milking 24.5 litres @ 4.10 fat and 3.78 prot

And my girls aredoing less thanhalf that, I dont know will I do at all at this farming lark

Mulumpy

keep going wrote: »

And my girls aredoing less thanhalf that, I dont know will I do at all at this farming lark

Im sure Stan is including his winter ladies in that figure though

Mulumpy

keep going wrote: »

And my girls aredoing less thanhalf that, I dont know will I do at all at this farming lark

Im sure Stan is including his winter ladies in that figure though

stanflt

Mulumpy wrote: »

Im sure Stan is including his winter ladies in that figure though

Yeah all 14 of them

Bodacious

I have 4 weanling heifers kicking about and id say with this recent wet weather they wont be going back up on the grazing ground this year .. they getting ration mixed with barley on rough grazing now you could say but I opened a 2nd cut bale and gave them some .. well it was lovely stuff altogether

Base price

Bodacious wrote: »

I have 4 weanling heifers kicking about and id say with this recent wet weather they wont be going back up on the grazing ground this year .. they getting ration mixed with barley on rough grazing now you could say but I opened a 2nd cut bale and gave them some .. well it was lovely stuff altogether

I made about 60 bales of second cut after hay this year. It more like haylage than silage. Started feeding it earlier this week to weanlings. Lovely stuff as well and the cattle are mad for it.

I said

Started feeding today not a bit of waste from new reseeds

Reggie.

Base price wrote: »

I made about 60 bales of second cut after hay this year. It more like haylage than silage. Started feeding it earlier this week to weanlings. Lovely stuff as well and the cattle are mad for it.

Same as my stuff only the cattle here are sticking their nose up at it.....choosy buggers

Base price

Reggie. wrote: »

Same as my stuff only the cattle here are sticking their nose up at it.....choosy buggers

You must be spoiling them

Reggie.

Base price wrote: »

You must be spoiling them

Must be. Only half the bale eaten on the feeder in the last 10 days. Too busy eating grass. They will have a chomp at the silage in the morning after the meal and then ramble up the fields then :rolleyes:

Base price

The majority of our ones has access to grass too but since the weather has got colder & wetter they are more inclined to stay in the yards and lie in the bedded sheds.
We have 42 on an hilly outfarm with no sheds but good shelter and cover for lying out, whins, blackthorns and briars (habitat). We are not allowed to clear it per the NWPS but the cattle are allowed to pooch through it. Like your cattle they have only picked at a round bale that we put out last Wednesday. Long may it continue.