feeding weanlings

jd06

hi all, i have two weanlings this year, which i never had before two limos
around 320 kgs
i was wondering what feed i should give them and how much?
i have no creep feeder so ill be feeding in a trough. they havent been fed so far either. im taking de cows away so hope to leave de weanlings at grass
i plan to wean this week. i have a red mills 16% nut here, would that do. thanks

Miname

when were they born? what are you doing with them, are you selling as weanlings or keeping till next year?

john8984

jd06 wrote: »

hi all, i have two weanlings this year, which i never had before two limos
around 320 kgs
i was wondering what feed i should give them and how much?
i have no creep feeder so ill be feeding in a trough. they havent been fed so far either. im taking de cows away so hope to leave de weanlings at grass
i plan to wean this week. i have a red mills 16% nut here, would that do. thanks

yes 16% nuts are ok I use them every year. If they are around 320 kg no need to keep them very long if they are good quality. Very good prices at the moment for that weight, You dont say if they are heifers or bulls, but both are now selling well especially if they are red not black.

jd06

thanks lads
there both red bulls and ill be selling them in de next six weeks or so
they were born in dec
theyll prob go back a lot when they are taken off the cow?????

Miname

leave them on the cow and feed them 2 kg each from now till they are gone. in six weeks they should be up near 400kg.

jd06

Miname wrote: »

leave them on the cow and feed them 2 kg each from now till they are gone. in six weeks they should be up near 400kg.

i mighn be able to do that, ive no creep feeder
should they not be weaned before selling

Miname

jd06 wrote: »

i mighn be able to do that, ive no creep feeder
should they not be weaned before selling

they wont be long getting used to you coming with a bucket, set up an electric fence and keep the cows out one side of it when your feeding the calves, they will be following you within a week. they will loose the bloom if they are weaned and i see a lot are going back to selling off the cow. im leaving my bulls on the cows till they are gone this year.

jd06

Miname wrote: »

they wont be long getting used to you coming with a bucket, set up an electric fence and keep the cows out one side of it when your feeding the calves, they will be following you within a week. they will loose the bloom if they are weaned and i see a lot are going back to selling off the cow. im leaving my bulls on the cows till they are gone this year.

the only prob with that is that one of the cows is a divil
shed go through de wall if she heard nuts, and then eat them out of my pocket
shes a loveable rouge, so electric fence prob wouldn work!!!

grange mac

Miname wrote: »

they wont be long getting used to you coming with a bucket, set up an electric fence and keep the cows out one side of it when your feeding the calves, they will be following you within a week. they will loose the bloom if they are weaned and i see a lot are going back to selling off the cow. im leaving my bulls on the cows till they are gone this year.

"Friend" of mine bought aax weanlings recently... Clearly missing mommy as when he brought them home wouldn't stop bellowing & when left out following day off through fields they went in search of her.....never saw any fence wire....the joys of farming I suppose.
As punishment they are now indoors on hay.

Sam Kade

jd ease up on the text talk, reading your posts is wrecking my head.

sandydan

jd06 wrote: »

the only prob with that is that one of the cows is a divil
shed go through de wall if she heard nuts, and then eat them out of my pocket
shes a loveable rouge, so electric fence prob wouldn work!!!

well imprison her and calves for few days, i have 3 boyos and if you kissed their aa they wouldn't eat nuts till i gave them hunger sauce in shed beside cows with strong gates(tied together) between them , don't starve cows Btw, if possible leave them option to access field. calves will need water btw .once they have eaten about a pound twice a day leave them back out with cows. but make sure they eat,by way suggested by Miname , ive seen similar done indoors using length of pipe set at height to keep cow away from calf trough.
anyways at price of them id make one first using secondhand pipe and galvanize iron.

jd06

Sam Kade wrote: »

jd ease up on the text talk, reading your posts is wrecking my head.

tough luk, ya needen read em
try some asprin

Sam Kade

jd06 wrote: »

tough luk, ya needen read em
try some asprin

jd there's rules on this forum NO text talk

jd06

Sam Kade wrote: »

jd there's rules on this forum NO text talk

yer up too late

severeoversteer

Miname wrote: »

they wont be long getting used to you coming with a bucket, set up an electric fence and keep the cows out one side of it when your feeding the calves, they will be following you within a week. they will loose the bloom if they are weaned and i see a lot are going back to selling off the cow. im leaving my bulls on the cows till they are gone this year.

and im going around the farm all day after a bull weanling I bought who's looking for mammy ! a pair of earmuffs is what I need

wean them properly lads for chr1st sake

epfff

You would be mad to wean if yo going selling
Why wait for six weeks

Limestone Cowboy

Sam Kade wrote: »

jd there's rules on this forum NO text talk

And there's mods to enforce them if they so wish isint there? Not being one bit smart in saying this but for all you or I know the fella could be dyslexic and spelling might not be something he is great at. My own grammar and punctuation is far from perfect at times but I'd be sudden enough too if you only contributed to tell me I was wrecking your head trying to read my posts. Little wonder why posters are leaving in droves when this is the kind of reply they get

Kovu

C'mon lads, it's not college here. We could even try smoke signals if it kept ye to the topic at hand....

Hack, I'd even be impressed:D

jd06

epfff wrote: »

You would be mad to wean if yo going selling
Why wait for six weeks

hi epfff, six weeks was only a guess, i thought it might take that long to get de calf to pull back up and put on more more weight after being weaned?
do you think i should use de electric fence idea???? thanks

sandydan

severeoversteer wrote: »

and im going around the farm all day after a bull weanling I bought who's looking for mammy ! a pair of earmuffs is what I need

wean them properly lads for chr1st sake

told recently ya can get them with radio. ive now got noise inm my ears permanently due to not wearing muffs, cant remember number of times i was told long"take them fecc things off sure you can hear nothing with um"

house for few days and feed id say, bit noisy but helps induce memory loss some say

jd06

sandydan wrote: »

told recently ya can get them with radio. ive now got noise inm my ears permanently due to not wearing muffs, cant remember number of times i was told long"take them fecc things off sure you can hear nothing with um"

house for few days and feed id say, bit noisy but helps induce memory loss some say

how many kgs would ya reckon from day one onwards

have a pair with radio, de ordinary radio ear pieces dont fit in my ear so i got de ear muffs with de wireless! great job

sandydan

jd06 wrote: »

how many kgs would ya reckon from day one onwards

have a pair with radio, de ordinary radio ear pieces dont fit in my ear so i got de ear muffs with de wireless! great job

get them eating constantly first its main problem i find

as for amounts im no expert but id say if eating 2 kgs/daily its easy to increase

Miname

severeoversteer wrote: »

and im going around the farm all day after a bull weanling I bought who's looking for mammy ! a pair of earmuffs is what I need

wean them properly lads for chr1st sake

and youll pay how much extra?
ive weaned them every year and even the autumn lads that are sold already and i wont be at it again. nice calves with a good bloom, clearly not weaned making more than mine. I'm sorry to say it but best practice and all that suits the following man and not me, neither financially or the hassle. ive a batch of spring born bulls here, that i wont be vaccinating for pneumonia or ibr and will be going straight off the cow. i havent got anything extra any other year and it definately wont be worth it this year.

severeoversteer

Miname wrote: »

and youll pay how much extra?
ive weaned them every year and even the autumn lads that are sold already and i wont be at it again. nice calves with a good bloom, clearly not weaned making more than mine. I'm sorry to say it but best practice and all that suits the following man and not me, neither financially or the hassle. ive a batch of spring born bulls here, that i wont be vaccinating for pneumonia or ibr and will be going straight off the cow. i havent got anything extra any other year and it definately wont be worth it this year.

there is less demand for a weanling who's sweating and roaring his head off in the mart so its your choice

it doesn't cost much to have calves creep grazing ahead of cows, or once a day suckling etc, to help break the bond between cow and calf

and if you want to have viral disease outbreak in your bunch of weanlings be my guest because a sick weanling will cost you a lot more than a bottle of vaccine

Miname

severeoversteer wrote: »

there is less demand for a weanling who's sweating and roaring his head off in the mart so its your choice

it doesn't cost much to have calves creep grazing ahead of cows, or once a day suckling etc, to help break the bond between cow and calf

and if you want to have viral disease outbreak in your bunch of weanlings be my guest because a sick weanling will cost you a lot more than a bottle of vaccine

the marts a 4 minute drive from my place, i'll b e loading them onto the trailer and straight in, everyone else is at it. i'll vaccinate all i'm keeping but its not paying to do the sale ones, vaccinations are costing e6 per calf, then the hassle of messing with them, theyll be on 2kg of meal from now until they go and thats it. I am one of only 3 in my btap group that vaccinates the weanlings, any other lads im talking to dont bother either. im sorry to say it and im not having a go at you but were not getting paid for it.

severeoversteer

Miname wrote: »

the marts a 4 minute drive from my place, i'll b e loading them onto the trailer and straight in, everyone else is at it. i'll vaccinate all i'm keeping but its not paying to do the sale ones, vaccinations are costing e6 per calf, then the hassle of messing with them, theyll be on 2kg of meal from now until they go and thats it. I am one of only 3 in my btap group that vaccinates the weanlings, any other lads im talking to dont bother either. im sorry to say it and im not having a go at you but were not getting paid for it.

im not having a go at you either just giving my 2 cents

have learned to never compromise on animal health here, I don't spare the dosing and vaccinations and use them when they are needed

I buy in 95% of the stock that's on the farm and have to be proactive rather than reactive as its too late when they are sick

have top class handling facilities here so its never a bother to bring in a bunch and dose them or weigh them etc

tanko

severeoversteer wrote: »

there is less demand for a weanling who's sweating and roaring his head off in the mart so its your choice

it doesn't cost much to have calves creep grazing ahead of cows, or once a day suckling etc, to help break the bond between cow and calf

and if you want to have viral disease outbreak in your bunch of weanlings be my guest because a sick weanling will cost you a lot more than a bottle of vaccine

The funny thing is that weanlings that are sold straight of the cow are more in demand and make more money than ones that are fully weaned before sale.

Buyers don't seem to care that calves are roaring their heads off as long as they look good and have a nice shine off them. Fully weaned calves fail a lot, lose their shine and can take weeks to start thriving again.

I vaccinate all weanlings for pneumonia because I keep all the heifer calves. Had an outbreak of pneumonia years ago and never want to see that again. I think it's money well spent.
However, I had weanlings in the mart a few years ago. A farmer enquired about them, when I said they were vaccinated he said that he wouldn't buy them as most of the calves he bought weren't vaccinated and he couldn't mix both.
Was he talking rubbish?

severeoversteer

tanko wrote: »

However, I had weanlings in the mart a few years ago. A farmer enquired about them, when I said they were vaccinated he said that he wouldn't buy them as most of the calves he bought weren't vaccinated and he couldn't mix both.
Was he talking rubbish?

he only said that cause he had no money !

I buy a lot of weanlings direct from the farm and am a repeat customer for a few lads and I pay well, have given €1100 for weanlings last year and this year and the reason is because I know what im buying and I know that the stock will do well for me

leg wax

severeoversteer wrote: »

he only said that cause he had no money !

I buy a lot of weanlings direct from the farm and am a repeat customer for a few lads and I pay well, have given €1100 for weanlings last year and this year and the reason is because I know what im buying and I know that the stock will do well for me

1100 euro ,sure you had no money either.......................:p

Charliebull

whats lads take on when to feed meal, do people feed twice a day morning and night or just the once or is there any proven difference

sandydan

like to feed morning and evening in ground beside river,as enticement to get them over to higher safer ground, once told by neighbour its best to feed in out-wintering around 3-4 in evening before cattle lie down for night as he reckoned if later especially in wet weather all we did was disturb to feed and they had to warm their patch again, other wise when ever suits probably around mid morning.

Muckit

Charliebull wrote: »

whats lads take on when to feed meal, do people feed twice a day morning and night or just the once or is there any proven difference

I think it's been scientifically proven that if you feed twice in the day, you spend twice as much money on meal. Now don't quote me on that!

Charliebull

Muckit wrote: »

I think it's been scientifically proven that if you feed twice in the day, you spend twice as much money on meal. Now don't quote me on that!

only if ya give them a full bucket each time

sandydan

Muckit wrote: »

I think it's been scientifically proven that if you feed twice in the day, you spend twice as much money on meal. Now don't quote me on that!

well its logical enough i suppose, but maybe if good at sums before they changed to maths id nearly be able to make up costs at a push,:) , i.m.o if such a scientific study into cost associated with feeding same or nearly same quantity of feed twice daily was deemed prudent the study was carried out by academics after a year long series of meetings chaired by highly paid civil servants who needed to use up time left before they would qualify for state pension, hope they had reasonable tea breaks while carying out such important research, isn't R&D tax exempt .

on serious note id feed yearlings once per day,unless i have motive for twice daily ie. when cattle in field by river,but someone pushing feed may decide to keep limit on what they feed at any one time in order to avoid upset stomachs, which may not be bad idea,but what would limit of animals capability of handling feed be for say 350 kg Ch or HD

Milked out

Charliebull wrote: »

whats lads take on when to feed meal, do people feed twice a day morning and night or just the once or is there any proven difference

Dairy here but no feeders in parlour so I just give 2kg In morning now, go twice a day when on more, they do ok but I think it's better to split it easier on the gut esp if feeding over 3 or 4 kgs,
Forgot It was weanlings thread! Feed heifers here, 5 to 11 months old, once a day only getting getting a Kg tho

sandydan

Milked out wrote: »

Dairy here but no feeders in parlour so I just give 2kg In morning now, go twice a day when on more, they do ok but I think it's better to split it easier on the gut esp if feeding over 3 or 4 kgs,
Forgot It was weanlings thread! Feed heifers here, 5 to 11 months old, once a day only getting getting a Kg tho

not changing subject,if no feeders in parlour ,are you feeding cows pre milking in a yard head feed or slatted house headfeed on way in.

have neighbour mile away and wish he fed cattle earlier as they bounds mine across river ,fed about hour ago almost dark and unsettled mine in process, if he stuck to early feeding, cattle would lie imo, they spend evening roaring waiting to be fed even if he fed them in morning,yet he tells me feeding at varying times once daily stops them expecting to be fed at set time, ridiculous imo.

Bodacious

sandydan wrote: »

not changing subject,if no feeders in parlour ,are you feeding cows pre milking in a yard head feed or slatted house headfeed on way in.

have neighbour mile away and wish he fed cattle earlier as they bounds mine across river ,fed about hour ago almost dark and unsettled mine in process, if he stuck to early feeding, cattle would lie imo, they spend evening roaring waiting to be fed even if he fed them in morning,yet he tells me feeding at varying times once daily stops them expecting to be fed at set time, ridiculous imo.

Your neighbour sounds like my ole lad , if you said black was black he'd say it was grey !

sandydan

Bodacious wrote: »

Your neighbour sounds like my ole lad , if you said black was black he'd say it was grey !

got another neighbour like that ,so i want him to agree to do some thing i mention it as a way he might do it and criticize it immediately.never fails to work
but gets on my nerves sometimes:)

Milked out

sandydan wrote: »

not changing subject,if no feeders in parlour ,are you feeding cows pre milking in a yard head feed or slatted house headfeed on way in.

have neighbour mile away and wish he fed cattle earlier as they bounds mine across river ,fed about hour ago almost dark and unsettled mine in process, if he stuck to early feeding, cattle would lie imo, they spend evening roaring waiting to be fed even if he fed them in morning,yet he tells me feeding at varying times once daily stops them expecting to be fed at set time, ridiculous imo.

I feed Them after along barrier in shed. They don't all fit so I let up half lock them back and then let up the rest. It's a balls but it's doing the job at the moment. They must cross a road for a bit so that's why i dont leave the first lot straight out. When they graze near the sheds I leave the gate open and they strike off for the field
Could your neighbor feed In a different part of field while they are there? I reckon before noon is handiest as they mite do a bit of grazing after the nite, before looking for nuts

sandydan

Milked out wrote: »

I feed Them after along barrier in shed. They don't all fit so I let up half lock them back and then let up the rest. It's a balls but it's doing the job at the moment. They must cross a road for a bit so that's why i dont leave the first lot straight out. When they graze near the sheds I leave the gate open and they strike off for the field
Could your neighbor feed In a different part of field while they are there? I reckon before noon is handiest as they mite do a bit of grazing after the nite, before looking for nuts

just wondered ,saw fella feed cows using large timber wheeler that holds around 300 kg with chute just pushed along outside trough in yard,best man wins . feeds about 80 cows.
if he fed them regular at earlier time id be happy. they are about 200 metres away roughly across a valley and sound carries like a loudspeaker