Flechvieh Breeding!!

Icelandicseige

Hi folks just wondering does many here use flechvieh breeding and what is your opinion on them and is there any one using them on cross-bred Dairy cows or is it just the Holstein fr guys that would see the benefit of using them. Thanks.

squinn2912

Be interesting to hear the ideas on this one. I can't work out quite what they're for. Terrible in a suckler mart anyhow! Maybe they'd be a decent replacement cow? I think there are many more better options but we've never had one about the place!

Mooooo

Have a few spring born heifers here grand calves anyway, will calve them down and see how they turn out. Going off the size of 3 of them in particular they'd want to have a fair output to pay for what they'll likely to eat...

The man in red and black

Was called out to deliver a couple of Flechviehs out of Holstein heifers nearly two years ago. Severe hardship. They had already lost a couple previous calving them and down cows. All of them were coming massive. The ones I was out to were as tight as could be and still come out without a section or harm. That farm said never again. That's only one farm so may have been unlucky with choice of AI straws, heifer feeding programme etc but it wouldn't make me too keen to recommend them to anyone!

Mooooo

The man in red and black wrote: »

Was called out to deliver a couple of Flechviehs out of Holstein heifers nearly two years ago. Severe hardship. They had already lost a couple previous calving them and down cows. All of them were coming massive. The ones I was out to were as tight as could be and still come out without a section or harm. That farm said never again. That's only one farm so may have been unlucky with choice of AI straws, heifer feeding programme etc but it wouldn't make me too keen to recommend them to anyone!

Ah putting them on heifers is asking for trouble, only put them on cows here, big enough calves they go full term none came before time but cows calved them fine. Had one problem with a bull calf that had the legs down and couldn't get them out without an epidural, calf was gone but cow cleaned fine after. Will see how these calves turn out before I decide to use them again, twas only a mini experiment for me unlikely to be using them broadly across the herd or anything

cacs

I have put three in lim suckler cows will be calfing towards the end of December. I am trying to bring back milk

patsy_mccabe

cathal irwin wrote: »

I have put three in lim suckler cows will be calfing towards the end of December. I am trying to bring back milk

Only an 8 to 1 chance of getting all heifers.;)

oneten

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Only an 8 to 1 chance of getting all heifers.;)

8000 to 1

patsy_mccabe

2x2x2 = 8

oneten

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

2x2x2 = 8

2x2x2x murphys law = 8000

patsy_mccabe

Ah, Murphy's Law. Know what you mean?

Never wrestle with pigs

cathal irwin wrote: »

I have put three in lim suckler cows will be calfing towards the end of December. I am trying to bring back milk

What bulls did you use? You get the straws off Tony?

jaymla627

squinn2912 wrote: »

Be interesting to hear the ideas on this one. I can't work out quite what they're for. Terrible in a suckler mart anyhow! Maybe they'd be a decent replacement cow? I think there are many more better options but we've never had one about the place!

Bought a fleck stockbull here this year, imported from Austria and is off a very easy calving line of bulls, going to keep all the heifer calves and put incalf to a easy calving beef bull, if they look like they have potential to be good cows I'll milk them if not simply sell them as sucklers.....
Unique selling point for me is have a big chunk of ground rented on short term leases and it's not guaranteed after 2018, if I lose the ground at least I can cash in the fleck cross heifers fairly easily but if I was to stay using exclusively Holstein bulls for my replacements depending on what milk price is doing i could take a serious loss if I had to offload them quickly, added bonus of having a saleable bull calf as well

squinn2912

jaymla627 wrote: »

squinn2912 wrote: »

Be interesting to hear the ideas on this one. I can't work out quite what they're for. Terrible in a suckler mart anyhow! Maybe they'd be a decent replacement cow? I think there are many more better options but we've never had one about the place!

Bought a fleck stockbull here this year, imported from Austria and is off a very easy calving line of bulls, going to keep all the heifer calves and put incalf to a easy calving beef bull, if they look like they have potential to be good cows I'll milk them if not simply sell them as sucklers.....
Unique selling point for me is have a big chunk of ground rented on short term leases and it's not guaranteed after 2018, if I lose the ground at least I can cash in the fleck cross heifers fairly easily but if I was to stay using exclusively Holstein bulls for my replacements depending on what milk price is doing i could take a serious loss if I had to offload them quickly, added bonus of having a saleable bull calf as well

That's an interesting point. I was thinking more from a beef point of view. Have you milked any yet? Coming off the fr they should be close to milky enough for you and if not then they will sell to the sucker farmers

J.O. Farmer

squinn2912 wrote: »

That's an interesting point. I was thinking more from a beef point of view. Have you milked any yet? Coming off the fr they should be close to milky enough for you and if not then they will sell to the sucker farmers

Are they not a dairy version of the simmental in a similar way to the dairy shorthorn.

cacs

Never wrestle with pigs wrote: »

What bulls did you use? You get the straws off Tony?

Tony all the way. He’s a great character. Tried a bull called winsler. Seen calf’s off him this year really nice stock. Should be a good cross of lims cows

Never wrestle with pigs

cathal irwin wrote: »

Tony all the way. He’s a great character. Tried a bull called winsler. Seen calf’s off him this year really nice stock. Should be a good cross of lims cows

He's leaving really nice calves, you'd want him on a good calving cow though. You have them on lims? They would make as good of a cow as you would get.

You get the milk and fert with winsler but don't loose your good shape and bone with him like you would with most other flec. He's the type of bull that's almost too muscular for dairy but is a really good match for what you are doing.

Mooooo

jaymla627 wrote: »

Bought a fleck stockbull here this year, imported from Austria and is off a very easy calving line of bulls, going to keep all the heifer calves and put incalf to a easy calving beef bull, if they look like they have potential to be good cows I'll milk them if not simply sell them as sucklers.....
Unique selling point for me is have a big chunk of ground rented on short term leases and it's not guaranteed after 2018, if I lose the ground at least I can cash in the fleck cross heifers fairly easily but if I was to stay using exclusively Holstein bulls for my replacements depending on what milk price is doing i could take a serious loss if I had to offload them quickly, added bonus of having a saleable bull calf as well

Keep an eye on the calving, a lot of the calving ease these days comes from the short gestation, the bulls calves may go full term. Had no issues on cows here from the few I had but they were all the biggest frames of any calves born

cacs

Mooooo wrote: »

Keep an eye on the calving, a lot of the calving ease these days comes from the short gestation, the bulls calves may go full term. Had no issues on cows here from the few I had but they were all the biggest frames of any calves born

Now you got my attention the cows I gave the flechvieh to are mid framed cows definitely not the biggest. From what a few of the lads said winsler throws big boned calf’s. I spoke to someone who has calf’s off winsler and he told me the calf’s birth weight was 35-40 kg which isn’t that big at all. Let’s see I will know in a few weeks

cacs

cathal irwin wrote: »

Tony all the way. He’s a great character. Tried a bull called winsler. Seen calf’s off him this year really nice stock. Should be a good cross of lims cows

Had my first Fleckvieh winsler calf today. Heifer calf out limx cow about 35 kg. Delighted with the calf tall thin calf long head big ears . I have big hopes for Fleckvieh bull crossed with red limx beef cows. Let’s see

squinn2912

Is your plan to go fleck for replacements? What colour is your calf?

Dakota Dan

Icelandicseige wrote: »

Hi folks just wondering does many here use flechvieh breeding and what is your opinion on them and is there any one using them on cross-bred Dairy cows or is it just the Holstein fr guys that would see the benefit of using them. Thanks.

I checked them out before and heard nothing positive about them.

squinn2912

Where do you even get the straws? Very few on a glance in progressive or dovea

cacs

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

Are they not a dairy version of the simmental in a similar way to the dairy shorthorn.

Yea they are dairy Simmentals. But they are dual purpose beef and dairy the bull winsler is the beef side of the Fleckvieh which should mean oceans of milk for us suckler breeders and shape. They would have more if a frame than shorthorns

cacs

squinn2912 wrote: »

Is your plan to go fleck for replacements? What colour is your calf?

Yeep I hoping they will be the perfect replacements. They calf is red with a white head. Shape from the bull and the cow and milk from the bull honestly I haven’t a drop of milk in the cows I have. The cat has more milk

cacs

squinn2912 wrote: »

Where do you even get the straws? Very few on a glance in progressive or dovea

Got them off a man in cork pm me and I can send you his details. The bull is top German bull with strong beef traits as well as milk.

squinn2912

Be interesting to see if they prove milky. I've been told it's hard to get milk from the bull if the cow hadn't much to begin with. Strange the lims haven't much milk for you

cacs

squinn2912 wrote: »

Be interesting to see if they prove milky. I've been told it's hard to get milk from the bull if the cow hadn't much to begin with. Strange the lims haven't much milk for you

Yea your right I have heard that too. The cows will rear a calf alright but adg if the calf’s at 200 days is about 0.9 kg for the heifers and 1.2 for the best bulls. I met a man a free months ago and is getting 1.4 kg on the heifers and up 2.0 on the bulls he is sim all the way

tanko

Why did you go for Flechvieh over normal Simmental bulls?

cacs

tanko wrote: »

Why did you go for Flechveih over normal Simmental bulls?

More milk I have met a few Commerical sim breeders and they are crossing Fleckvieh in as they say milk is leaving the sim.