Winter finishing?

blue5000

Well anybody going to bother this year? If so, what sort of cattle and what are you feeding them?

tismesoitis

blue5000 wrote: »

Well anybody going to bother this year? If so, what sort of cattle and what are you feeding them?

Yeh going to chance 10 bulls. weighed yesterday morning averageing 465kgs . currantly on 2.5 kgs meal and good grass. will be over 500kgs by mid november and will then begin to build them up on finish ration which will be 10kgs per day of a finishing ration straw and silage through keenan.

Farmer Pudsey

No not going to finish anything in the shed over the winter. Unless I decide to hold a few of the Fresian bullocks but as of at the moment I will not put anything in. If anything stores are as dear as last year.

I might chance buying a few backward stores or light weanlings and sell in the spring but these are creeping up in price as well

farm14

No not going to finish this winter. It wont pay

Willfarman

Will be doing the same as usual. My calculator says I need 4.10 a kilo for a reasonable return next February. But either way I'm not a believer In storing cattle.

The Letheram

I see two big finishers down this way that had been out for 2-3 years filling sheds at the moment. Paying well too. I am just wondering have they contracts with the factories or are they big gamblers?

Mad4simmental

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blue5000

Probably too late in the year now, a wet week will flush cattle off grass.

Farmer Pudsey

blue5000 wrote: »

Probably too late in the year now, a wet week will flush cattle off grass.

if they are there cannot see where all the cattle are coming from. Farmers must be throwing young cattle into factory's.

Base price

OH picked up some ex parlour HO cows last week. They are drying off on bare ground and hay at the min. Other than them, we have a few FR bullocks and 6 bulls that should be fit mid December.
Will not be buying in stores as they are way too expensive even though the price of meal is back.

Mad4simmental

Base price wrote: »

OH picked up some ex parlour HO cows last week. They are drying off on bare ground and hay at the min. Other than them, we have a few FR bullocks and 6 bulls that should be fit mid December.
Will not be buying in stores as they are way too expensive even though the price of meal is back.

How long do you expect to feed the cows? Would 5kg barly/soya mix and silage for 80 to 100 days get them reddy?

Miname

Intended finishing more but not now, I've uped the sucklers a small bit and going to move on another few of last autumns calves.

Deepsouthwest

tismesoitis wrote: »

Yeh going to chance 10 bulls. weighed yesterday morning averageing 465kgs . currantly on 2.5 kgs meal and good grass. will be over 500kgs by mid november and will then begin to build them up on finish ration which will be 10kgs per day of a finishing ration straw and silage through keenan.

Does it pay to put a silage, ration and straw through a Keenan for just 10 cattle?

TITANIUM.

Will be finishing for the first time ever on this farm this winter. Not out of choice mind.

Base price

Mad4simmental wrote: »

How long do you expect to feed the cows? Would 5kg barly/soya mix and silage for 80 to 100 days get them reddy?

After our annual test in about 2 weeks, they are heading to a dry hilly out farm that has a good cover of grass and plenty of dry lays - fingers crossed the test goes well.
They will get barley straw ad lib with and about 2 to 3 kgs of rolled barley with minerals plus a injection of ivermectin.
If the weather gets nasty early then they will get a mix of brewers grain/wheaten straw/rolled barley with a sprinkle of maize meal and minerals otherwise they will be on that diet from mid/late Dec on.
We have not made silage on this farm (or on mine) for the last 8 years.
We find that it is more economic to graze the grass while it is growing, buy in straw (roughage) and add a balancing meal/nut.
Having said that I had too much grass on my place this year due to excellent growth rates and made excellent round bale hay which will come in handy with next years batch of calves.
Addendum - HO/FR cattle have the frame to work off, as in length (which equates to real money) and size. The trick is to get them into a fat score of +3 or even +2 at minimum cost.
I have bred pb and cross bred Continentals for years and made nice money from them but in fairness if you can buy a HO/FR at the right money and feed them on to the correct fat score then you are on to a real winner.

Mad4simmental

Tanks base price. Sumthing that I've been thinking of trying the last while. Going to try pick up two or three cows for feeding and see how I go. Never fed cows before so I've a bit to learn!!

simx

Mad4simmental wrote: »

Tanks base price. Sumthing that I've been thinking of trying the last while. Going to try pick up two or three cows for feeding and see how I go. Never fed cows before so I've a bit to learn!!

Buy for grass, better idea IMO

Willfarman

Friesian cows eat a lot and fatten slowly. And unless the fat is really up on their back they kill out incredibly poorly. Been there done that! Summer grass is the only way of getting a consistent turn out of these ladies.

rangler1

Supposed to be blocking factories next week, will be interesting to see if it happens.
Can't see it being supported around here, was flagged at the last Co. exec and it didn't go down well.
I know I haven't time for it anyway

Base price

simx wrote: »

Buy for grass, better idea IMO

If you can get them at a reasonable price because lots of others have already plucked them up and the ain't on the ground any more.
This year is one of the better years to feed cattle as straights are cheaper than the last 2 - 3years.
It really depends on what price you pay for the initial animal, what stock you want to rear and what finances you can tie up on meal bills.

simx

Willfarman wrote: »

Friesian cows eat a lot and fatten slowly. And unless the fat is really up on their back they kill out incredibly poorly. Been there done that! Summer grass is the only way of getting a consistent turn out of these ladies.

Would agree, not buying anymore for finishing out of shed unless are warmish and shouldn't need long, thinking of trying to pick up a few blks if got right, what would ya think of buying overage blks?

tismesoitis

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Does it pay to put a silage, ration and straw through a Keenan for just 10 cattle?

Not sure what you mean but they're not the only cattle we have. 80 cows with calves plus followers also.

Base price

Willfarman wrote: »

Friesian cows eat a lot and fatten slowly. And unless the fat is really up on their back they kill out incredibly poorly. Been there done that! Summer grass is the only way of getting a consistent turn out of these ladies.

Willfarman - have to disagree with you. We have been feeding dairy culls for years although the winter of 2010/2011 was particularly testing
Friesian cows ex the parlour will fatten a lot better on the correct diet than their squeezed offspring.
At the end of the day these ladies have the frame and we need to do is have expertise to put the skin of flesh on them.

Willfarman

simx wrote: »

Would agree, not buying anymore for finishing out of shed unless are warmish and shouldn't need long, thinking of trying to pick up a few blks if got right, what would ya think of buying overage blks?

Bit of value in bullocks late 12 early 13 480 to 580 kgs last few marts I've been in.

And in overage 600 plus but the pot of money would go quick.. They'd be up in the money as they say!:D

Willfarman

Base price wrote: »

Willfarman - have to disagree with you. We have been feeding dairy culls for years although the winter of 2010/2011 was particularly testing
Friesian cows ex the parlour will fatten a lot better on the correct diet than their squeezed offspring.
At the end of the day these ladies have the frame and we need to do is have expertise to put the skin of flesh on them.

That is your prerogative! But it wouldn't be my experience anyway. But I should of bought a few bags of expertise maybe:D

simx

Willfarman wrote: »

Bit of value in bullocks late 12 early 13 480 to 580 kgs last few marts I've been in.

And in overage 600 plus but the pot of money would go quick.. They'd be up in the money as they say!:D

That's what had me thinking, was in a mart the other day and thought some were well worth the money, especially one 2011 lim blk, good growthy lad 615kg sold for €950, couldn't bid on as lad buying does stand for me now and again, wouldn't be talking big no.s maybe 10/15 and see from there kind of thing

Base price

Willfarman wrote: »

That is your prerogative! But it wouldn't be my experience anyway. But I should of bought a few bags of expertise maybe:D

Different strokes for different folks. Wheels and roundabouts :D