Grassland management for calves

The part time boy

If I am been honest I think this is something I always struggled with . I think my problem has been letting grass get too strong before I start .

How do people manage it for year 1?

How many acres per calf at the start and how many in July and how many in sep .

Is leader follower system too old school now ?

I looking at buying calves again next year

Mooooo

I did as well, used to have just calves on the outfarm only 10 acres but grass would get strong and getting calves to clean out the paddocks puts too much pressure on them. Going to keep the autumn calves at home and spring ones will be going to outfarm this week and will have heifers or cull cows down there for the summer following them to do the cleaning up. Currently have 22 maidens and 14 culls down there and will bring one group out when calves go out. Have paddock they are goin into first topped. Approx 35 calves. Ground is very steep so don't like baling there so will try it this way this year. Can always take the heifers out and use the topper in the end of the summer if growth is slower. Will be fertilised the same as the home block

_Brian

If you've no strong stock like suckler cows to clean out paddocks grass management for calves will involve topping paddocks when they move on, maybe not every time but occasionally.

If you force calves to eat grass down very tight I find it affects their intake and this growth rates. Maybe it's
More of a problem on older ground that hasn't been recently reseeded.

A bit of topping produces fresh palatable grass, this increases intake and weight gain, even a minuscule weight gain increase will more than pay for the price of topping,

pedigree 6

This is the ideal. But it doesn't always happen but it's what you should do.

Max of 5 days in a paddock then move into a new paddock.
Keep thick leafy grass well fertilised with plenty of calcium for bone growth, nitrogen and sulphur for protein % and then keep the phosphorus up too to balance the calcium.

Keep shifting them to new ground around the whole farm so ideally they would be only after grazing the same ground a few times in the year with as big as a gap as possible in the time that calves previously grazed that same paddock. This has to be done with either rotating with other stock or cuts of silage. Don't give the parasites a chance.

theaceofspies

What age would fellas consider calves to be to start eating 'strong' grass???????

The part time boy

If I went in with yearlings to follow the calves around will the yearlings suffer ? Or u better topping after calves

I think another problem I had in past was forseing them to clean out paddock

leg wax

its not easy this time of year but i think we need to start to graze a paddock with calves before we think its ready as it will already be gone to strong and as already said keep moving.

Wessel3

I've 3 acres for calves . Just wondering max numbers and how best manage them. I've 4 and possibly getting another 4 calves below 12 weeks . Should be over 12 weeks when they go out. Would you strip graze or how best to keep grass rotated at all times

_Brian

theaceofspies wrote: »

What age would fellas consider calves to be to start eating 'strong' grass???????

A real piece of string question...

"strong grass" is a compromise for any animal, many lads wouldn't consider it suitable for any stock they are growing to sell.

we used to use cows to clean out paddocks but not having cows we use the topper instead.