Dairy Chitchat 3

Snowfire

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Lol, yea we’re in a real snow zone

Beast from the east less than 2 years ago....?

mahoney_j

Snowfire wrote: »

Beast from the east less than 2 years ago....?

Had to house cows on them for 3 days they all flicked to inside cubicles ,no cow would lie outside slippery passages due to frozen snow load of spoilt feed few cases mastitis from the stress and hit to production .that made my mind up

Keepgrowing

Snowfire wrote: »

Beast from the east less than 2 years ago....?

Once in a generation type few days

straight

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Not banned if they were I wouldn’t be using them

I thought there was something about banning them or derogation or something. I googled topless cubicle ban but I got sidetracked by the search results. Ooops.

kevthegaff

I have no experience of outdoor cubicles.. . But I outwintered cows here on v high but dry ground for 5-6years and had no problems until we had a really bad winter a few years ago and I had losses. I haven't outwintered cows since and have never had any losses but worse lameness problems on cubicles. I can see the benefits of outdoor cubicles on a grass based system in a kinder climate. I'm a criminal for justification of certain things at times to herself, I think wer all guilty of it

kevthegaff

One thing with outdoor cubicles foot rot/infections and mortelario are probably reduced I'd imagine

Snowfire

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Once in a generation type few days

Or so we’re told...,

Timmaay

In a week like this I think about putting up more sheds and more cubicles. But I would literally only use them for about one week of the year, I have plenty enough shed space the whole way across the rest the winter with stock in the calf sheds and calving bay. Straw is cheap enough around here for me not to bother with anymore cubicles also. Another silage slab which will free up one indoor silage pit, thats about as far as I'll go I think.

Castlekeeper

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

The cost of extra silage there is too high, imo. You'll only get losses on wet days. On normal winter days, the losses are the same as if there was a shed over the silage.

I had some uncovered cubicles for a while and it was manageable as long as some extra feed was given. We forget that cows being housed is a relatively recent thing. They have a large rumen that provides heat from fermentation every single day and the only time they come under pressure is when it's cold and wet. Every other weather situation causes no problem to cattle but when they're wet and it's windy, they will need more feed to make up for the heat lost in those conditions.

The 5% is for extra intake more than loss and has been well measured. As for cows being housed only recently? Sure cows were housed in dwelling houses where necessary long ago.
If you're talking about "wild" cows, well that's what they were, not modern breeds, calving in late spring and they were free too, to find shelter depending on where the weather was coming from.
Its a tough few weeks on freshly calved cows out now, it's hard to imagine that there wouldn't be some fallout.

Gawddawggonnit

Anyone have a cure for this?
Freshly calved heifer.

yosemitesam1

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Once in a generation type few days

More like a decent fall every 5-10 years?

jaymla627

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Anyone have a cure for this?
Freshly calved heifer.

Some udder mint rubbed in with intra hoof gel brushed on on top of it, the aloe vera is a great antiseptic. in the gel

whelan2

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Anyone have a cure for this?
Freshly calved heifer.

Looks very sore. I would dry her off if possible. Sudocreme is good

Gawddawggonnit

whelan2 wrote: »

Looks very sore. I would dry her off if possible. Sudocreme is good

She’s being treated with sudocreme with 3 weeks and it’s getting worse. The lads say that she’s never lifted a leg, so it can’t be too sore. The likes of cheno unction would be good but it’s off the market.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

She’s being treated with sudocreme with 3 weeks and it’s getting worse. The lads say that she’s never lifted a leg, so it can’t be too sore. The likes of cheno unction would be good but it’s off the market.

Is the teat sphincter damaged? Is she bleeding? If not, I'd be keeping it moist like you're doing or use something like E45 cream, whatever there is for sale for treating eczema in your part of the world. And use it as often as possible, 4 or 5 times a day at least if possible.

hildywildy

I have had a heifer calve, she has six teats, will I just leave well enough alone or what. can she get mastitus through them.

blackdog1

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Anyone have a cure for this?
Freshly calved heifer.

3% hydrogen peroxide for 3 days will kill that but be careful you might get a flare up of mastitis while your doing it. i had 2 this year one cured one got a big flare up and had to be culled as she was on 3 tits already. My advice if shes not giving trouble leave her be . if your concerned give her an anti inflamatory and some tylosin and then the hydrogen peroxide. make sure you were goggles when applying. you dont want that in the eye.

Gawddawggonnit

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

Is the teat sphincter damaged? Is she bleeding? If not, I'd be keeping it moist like you're doing or use something like E45 cream, whatever there is for sale for treating eczema in your part of the world. And use it as often as possible, 4 or 5 times a day at least if possible.

Thanks Chief.
What about a crème for treating orf in sheep? It’s kinda the same breed...
It’d be a shame to dry her off as she’s doing 34kg and only freshly calved.

awaywithyou

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Anyone have a cure for this?
Freshly calved heifer.

no blood circulating there.... u can treat her with everything but them 2 teats will go black.. shrivel up and go dry... she just be milking in the 2 back teats... been there done that....

Buford T. Justice XIX

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Thanks Chief.
What about a crème for treating orf in sheep? It’s kinda the same breed...
It’d be a shame to dry her off as she’s doing 34kg and only freshly calved.

I just enlarged the photo, didn't see the far off tit. That one's not going to come back, like awaywithyou said. The near one might with time.

I think something with petroleum jelly would be what you're looking for. I would be cautious about using something for orf on a milking cow, there might be a danger of inhibitors showing up depending on what's in it.

My go to for cows and myself with cracks and wounds is Silcocks Base.

https://www.inishpharmacy.com/p/ovelle-silcocks-base-emollient-moisturiser-500g/300033

Oldest lad had eczema when he was little and a dollop of that was a godsend with him.

Freejin

How long would before lads graze ground that got 2k gallons/acre of slurry via a dribble bar?

Reggie.

Freejin wrote: »

How long would before lads graze ground that got 2k gallons/acre of slurry via a dribble bar?

Usually you could go out in a week. Sometimes even after 3 days. Ideal conditions of course

Keepgrowing

Cows back out yesterday till 2 pm out today till milking at 3.

65 cows calved in the last 36 hours, three sets of twins one was a first calver and all twins were heifers. Delighted with that.

First calver not gone to grass, on straw bed and oad milking with extra rations for the next week.


42% calved
49% heifer calves

Reggie.

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Cows back out yesterday till 2 pm out today till milking at 3.

65 cows calved in the last 36 hours, three sets of twins one was a first calver and all twins were heifers. Delighted with that.

First calver not gone to grass, on straw bed and oad milking with extra rations for the next week.


42% calved
49% heifer calves

Not bad figures there. BIL is getting a serious run of bull calves

Mooooo

@ keepgrowing Do you get someone in fulltime fornthe calving period in top of regular staff or can the year round team manage it?
52% calved here, I think, running at 58% heifers so nearly there in replacement requirements now as well 5 or 6 more heifer calves and we'd be sorted. Great to have them so early for a change

Snowfire

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Cows back out yesterday till 2 pm out today till milking at 3.

65 cows calved in the last 36 hours, three sets of twins one was a first calver and all twins were heifers. Delighted with that.

First calver not gone to grass, on straw bed and oad milking with extra rations for the next week.


42% calved
49% heifer calves

I had 8 sets of twins so far, one set of twin heifers all the others were bull and heifer. Is there any way of telling at this stage if these heifers are capable of breeding..,?

Keepgrowing

Snowfire wrote: »

I had 8 sets of twins so far, one set of twin heifers all the others were bull and heifer. Is there any way of telling at this stage if these heifers are capable of breeding..,?

I’m not sure. I know some are very obvious when adolescent.

Keepgrowing

Mooooo wrote: »

@ keepgrowing Do you get someone in fulltime fornthe calving period in top of regular staff or can the year round team manage it?
52% calved here, I think, running at 58% heifers so nearly there in replacement requirements now as well 5 or 6 more heifer calves and we'd be sorted. Great to have them so early for a change

No, we’d be a little over staffed here tbh.
We calve in October as well as spring. We have one guy dedicated to baby calves at calving during both periods. We have 2 on milking. I take care of calves from 7 days.
Two college students come here Friday from 10-5 and we’d dehorn, vaccinate, move calves etc on those days. They do all the milking on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday and Sunday treated the same here, morning jobs lads go home and return for evening. Everyone one gets a lie in each week

Calf guy would tell you where to go if you interfere with him.

We’d be very busy up till end of ai and then we all go on the milking rota.

Everyone out of yard before 6

Keepgrowing

Snowfire wrote: »

I had 8 sets of twins so far, one set of twin heifers all the others were bull and heifer. Is there any way of telling at this stage if these heifers are capable of breeding..,?

How did you get on registering them. Dept flag rises on 4th set?

Snowfire

Keepgrowing wrote: »

How did you get on registering them. Dept flag rises on 4th set?

First 6 sets registered fine anyways, 2 more still to be registered
I’ve heard nothing, back, years ago, we used to be getting forms sent out in the post to confirm the twins. They probably allow a percentage of twins to herd size nowadays before they start queries. I’d prefer not to have any at all tbh, as it can take its toll on the cows